Liba Hopeson
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As we grapple with the taint of corruption in this perverse generation, we also wrestle with the host of evil forces which relentlessly assail us, although we are not conscious about it all the time. Indeed, there are different opinions about the existence of evil, but it’s a big problem for many, for its existence is through the knowledge of our loving God, who is expected to be kind and merciful in every aspect. It is no wonder that, even the Christians are bemused and doubtful about evil and hence raise several questions. Perhaps, many assume that life without evil would be good, holy, strong and peaceful. Contrastingly, those who do not have problem with the existence of evil hold that, life without evil or temptation would be worse. For them, it’s a kind of source of help where we can strive for good things and live a better life. But, many flatly reject this notion and say that all the bad things that are happening in this world are because of evil. Therefore, several questions have been raised against God and blame God for all the bad and unwanted things on this earth. Many ask, “How can a loving and forgiving God allow Satan to attack the world and the human beings who are created in His image”? Where do the evil come from? How do they have much power? Yes, we learn from the Bible that the evil forces are the group of Lucifer who was a Great Angel in heaven. He was a great singer, worship leader in heaven, but was cast out from heaven because of his pride. He wanted to become like God, ruling the nations, where people bow down and worship him. But, he was brought down to She-ol. So, Lucifer, along with his angels was cast out from heaven. It raised doubt and confusion in minds of many as they ask; can the beings of heaven conceive evil thoughts though the heaven is holy, pure and peaceful? It’s quite interesting to note that even some kids have asked me this question. Some are still doubtful about the everlasting life that we would inherit if we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Is there any possibility that our life in heaven will end up in heaven miserably like Lucifer who was not a mere angel of God? Indeed some are of the view that our life in heaven might end up one day. They think it might not be for eternity. Where do we stand? Where is our faith?
Obviously, Lucifer is furious with God and hence his forces are unceasingly waging a fierce battle with human beings. They use all the crafty tricks to pull humans down so that they can take the unbelievers to the terrible place (hell) prepared for them. It is believed that many are not able to lead a good life and obey God because of the presence of evil. If evil forces can pull us down, why did God allows them to be on earth? What is the problem of evil on the Universe? If God is love, why does he allow satan to attack and destroy the earth and human? Will many forfeit salvation because of evil or satan? Do you have problem of evil? It’s worth reflecting on few eminent scholars’ view on theodicy:
Irenaeus of Lyons: Irenaeus represents a major element within Greek patristic thought, which regards human nature as a potentiality. Humans are created with certain capacities for growth toward maturity. That capacity for Godward growth requires contact with and experience of good and evil if truly informed decisions are to be made. This tradition tends to view the world as a “vale of soul-making” (to use a term taken from the English poet John Keats), in which encounter with evil is seen as a necessary prerequisite for spiritual growth and development. His argument too resonates with the experience of many Christians, who have found that God’s grace and love are experienced most profoundly in situations of distress or suffering. However, criticism has been directed against one aspect of this approach in particular. The objection is often raised that it appears to lend dignity to evil, by allocating it a positive role within the purposes of God.
Augustine of Hippo: The distinctive approach adopted by Augustine has had a major impact upon the Western theological tradition. By the fourth century, the problems raised by the existence of evil and suffering had begun to become something of a theological embarrassment. Gnosticism – including its variant form, Manichaeism, with which Augustine became fascinated as a young man – had no difficulty in accounting for the existence of evil. It arose on account of the fundamentally evil nature of matter. The entire purpose of salvation was to redeem humanity from the evil material world, and transfer it to a spiritual realm which was uncontaminated by matter.
A central aspect of many Gnostic systems was the idea of a demiurge – that is, a demigod who was responsible for forging the world, in its present form, out of preexistent matter. The sorry state of the world was put down to the inadequacies of this demigod. The redeemer god was thus regarded as being quite distinct from the creator demigod. Augustine, however, could not accept this approach. It might offer a neat solution to the problem of evil, yet the intellectual price paid was far too high. For Augustine, creation and redemption were the work of the one and the same God. It was therefore impossible to ascribe the existence of evil to creation, for this merely transferred blame to God. For Augustine, God created the world good, meaning that it was free from the contamination of evil. So where does the evil come from? Augustine’s fundamental insight here is that evil is a direct consequence of the misuse of human freedom. God created humanity with the freedom to choose good or evil. Sadly, humanity chose evil; as a result, the world is contaminated by evil.
Still the problem is not solved. For people continued to ask, where did the evil come from, if God created the world good? Augustine traces the origin of evil back by another step. Satan is a fallen angel, who was originally created good, like all the other angels. However, this particular angel was tempted to become like God, and assume supreme authority. As a result, he rebelled against God, and thus spread that rebellion to the world. But how, Augustine’s critics asked, could a good angel turn out to be so bad? How are we to account for the original fall of that angel? And there, Augustine appears to have reduced to silence.
Karl Barth: One aspect of Barth’s theodicy has caused considerable discussion. Barth describes evil as das Nichtige – a mysterious power of “nothingness,” which has its grounds in what God did not will in the act of creation. “Nothingness” is that which contradicts the will of God. It is not “nothing,” but that which threatens to reduce to nothing, and thus poses a threat to the purposes of God in the world. For Barth, the ultimate triumph of grace ensures that “nothingness” need not be feared. However, his critics have found the idea of “nothingness” problematic, and have charged him with lapsing into arbitrary metaphysical speculation at a point at which fidelity to the Biblical narrative is of central importance.
Reflection: There are still different views about theodicy, propounded by different theologies. Evidently, many have doubts, questions and problems with the existence of evil. If we support the idea of Irenaeus and say that evil is required for spiritual growth and maturity, we are saying that God allows evil to be on the earth just for the good of humanity. I reckon that nobody can give the definite answer about evil, and intending to do that would be like the Lucifer who wanted to be like God. The blame-game in the Garden of Eden is still going on in our life. When certain things go wrong in today’s world, satan is often blamed. We pose many questions to God… why??? Do you think, all can be saved or receive salvation if there is no temptation? Of course, we cannot picture precisely the situation of a life without any evil, but I feel it would be worse. However, we cannot say that God place evil just to train us in order to redeem us. The simple reason is that God created Lucifer and his angels good and for good, not to turn into evil beings and use them for the well being of human. In one way, if we are to ask questions, there are reasons to be doubtful, confusing and questioning. It is a topic, wherein, the more we think, the more we are confused. But, on the other side, if we truly know God, the existence of evil is not a problem. Through our relationship with God, we learn that satan is subject to Him and He is in control of everything. Personally, I’m overwhelmed by the love of God, so much so that, I feel so insignificant to ask God, why He allows evil to attack us. I’ve learnt, ‘if I have the love and help of God, evil cannot defeat me for he is under God. So, the problem of human beings for the problem of evil is the problem of lack of faith, belief, trust, hope and obedience. Belief is lacking in us, which make us doubtful on the story of the fallen angels – cast out from heaven due to pride and rebellion. And lack of faith in God easily makes us the prey of devils. The main problem of entire humanity is not the presence of evil on this earth, but it is the problem of disbelieving God, limiting God’s power, disobeying God – problem of not fearing and obeying Him. For, we’re promised by God that if He is with us, satan cannot overcome us. If our life is enveloped by the love of God, the problem of evil is not a problem. To raise critical questions about the existence of evil is not a complex matter, but unworthiness surrounds us when we think about the love of God. The love of God is so great that, it has blocked the door of doubt and question about evil. Of course, many theologians will not accept simple idea which I’m projecting, but I want our faith to be heavier than research and analysis. Indeed many theologians are quite smart in conceptual world – debates, arguments, questions etc. We are smart in thinking, researching, raising questions, analyzing and so on, but fail practically in many ways. In compromising and defending, we are experts. In reality, many illiterate persons do better than us. I believe, all the great theologians will not mind or turn their face against me for confessing the weaknesses and limitations of us. I think it’s good to admit our flaws sometimes. On the other hand, it would be wrong for the lay persons to consider that all the theologians are bad and not spiritual. But I’m intending to throw some areas of weaknesses about us because many a times we problematize certain ideas or topics which are not very relevant, and moreover, it is done though we are sure that we can never get the answers. However, I don’t mean that it’s wrong to ever think or ask about evil, we may do sometimes, but we must not challenge our God who created us in His image and try to defame His name. We are sure, evil spirit is there, but, we are also sure Holy Spirit is with us and it can help us overcome evil, provided, we seek Him and do His will. So, the problem of humans of the problem of evil is the problem of distrusting and disbelieving God. Are we still going to ask, why does our loving God allow evil forces to attack the humanity? Yes, if God is not love…does not deliver us… does not help…. Or powerless – the existence of evil on earth could be a big problem. But, He is much more than what we think or know. “Therefore, the problem of evil is our problem.”
