A Talmidi friend recently asked me, “How do we cope with the presence of evil in our world, and not fall into a state of mind whereby we blame God for allowing evil and heinous things to happen?”
Let’s approach this problem from the extreme position. Sometimes, atheists will object to God and say, ‘Why doesn’t God stop all evil from happening? If there is a God, then God would stop evil from ever happening, and so if evil exists, there cannot possibly be a God.’
There are several unfortunate assumptions that this atheist viewpoint makes about the nature of God:
1. If God exists, then the only kind of God who can exist must be a puppet-master, who pulls our strings and directs our every single action in life
2. If God exists, then God would ensure that nothing can happen in the natural world, except when God makes it happen
3. If God exists, then such a God should make sure that nothing bad ever happens to good people
4. If God exists, then such a God should allow the permanent suspension of all natural laws, to ensure that there is never any kind of suffering or evil
5. If God exists, then when bad things happen in nature (earthquakes, floods, diseases etc), that is a form of evil, and someone is always to blame for it – God
I can understand these objections. Even some religious people have a hard time coping with misfortune, because many of us have been brought up with a child-like view of God – that God should stop all bad things happening to us, and that that is the whole point of religion and God. When bad things inevitably happen to us, such a mindset causes us to become resentful of God. If we want to get to know what God is really like, it becomes necessary to change our approach to how the world works, and re-examine our approach to the fundamental nature of God.
Natural Misfortune
The first thing is to address ‘natural evil’ (natural disasters, disabilities and illnesses) , and come to the realisation that this is not ‘moral evil’ – it’s not evil as people use the word evil to mean. Natural misfortune is morally neutral. We live in a universe, and in a dimensional plane of that universe, where the laws of physics operate in a particular way. In order for all natural misfortune to stop happening, the laws of physics would have to be permanently suspended, in order to ensure that nothing bad ever happens to any one of the 8 billion humans on this planet, and anywhere else where sentient beings with a moral code exist.
So how is YHVH Sovereign over any of that? Because of how the universe works, a thinking, intelligent religious person has no option but to change their entire attitude to natural misfortune. Misfortunes happen – that is the way our universe works. However, YHVH has prepared a way for us to cope with natural misfortune. YHVH has given humanity the intelligence and skill to help stave off the worst effects of natural disasters; in time, we will become better and better at dealing with natural misfortunes, illnesses and disabilities. YHVH has also given us the compassion to help those hit by natural disasters. In times of natural disaster, the love and compassion of YHVH is shown to humanity through the compassion that we show to others, and in the help that we give to one another in such difficult times.
If we are to maintain our view of a compassionate and loving God, we need to stop seeing natural misfortune as completely preventable, and we need to stop seeing them as coming from God. YHVH’s love is in the help that God sends to rescue people caught in disasters, and to look after people who are sick or disabled.
Evil caused by human beings
The second type of evil is human evil, moral evil. The vast majority of evil is caused by the wickedness of certain human beings. YHVH has given us moral and ethical laws to live by, so that human evil is diminished, but nevertheless, there are some people who do not wish to live by these laws. It is the job of moral humans to teach a good and decent way of life to others, and to enact laws that deal with the crimes of evil people. God is not to blame for the existence of evil people, or for their wicked actions – it’s their fault, not God’s.
We might be drawn to ask, ‘Why does God allow people to do bad things?‘ But the thing is, God doesn‘t – people do. It‘s people who do bad things to others; it’s human beings who have no concern for the effects of their actions on other people who make bad things happen to innocent people.
When evil happens, God will sometimes use the end-result of the evil and turn it for the purpose of good. Joseph’s brothers intended evil towards him, but God turned the purpose of what they did for the good (Gen 50:20). God didn’t cause the Holocaust, but YHVH did turn the magnitude of what happened for the benefit of the Jewish people, by enabling the foundation of the State of Israel.
It wasn’t a case that, ‘the Holocaust happened so that Israel could be founded’, but rather, ‘The Holocaust happened, caused by human beings, so God used the circumstances to enable Israel to be founded’. What humans intend for evil, God will find some way of turning its result for the good. That is the nature of YHVH, and that is how YHVH conquers evil.
YHVH is not a puppetmaster; YHVH does not control every single action that human beings take every second of every day. In this dimension, YHVH does not permanently suspend the laws of physics.
I do believe in miracles though. I don’t know the mind of God, as to why miracles only occur in certain circumstances, but miracles remain an exception, not the rule. I will say that nothing can thwart the will or plans of God – God will find a way to fulfil God’s Kingdom on earth. What happens happens, but YHVH gives us the strength and courage to get through whatever we cannot change. That is what we draw from God in times of trouble – strength and courage, resolve and wisdom.
It’s OK not to know or understand the reason behind everything that happens
We cannot always see the reason for things in this world; there are things we don’t know and cannot know with our current level of knowledge, and we should not be afraid to not know. But one day, when we are with our beloved YHVH in heaven, we will know everything, and it will all make sense.
In this world, we are on the side of the tapestry that has all the knots and the mess of colours and threads, and very little of it makes sense. However, in heaven, when we are with YHVH, we will be on the other side of the tapestry, with its beautiful pictures and scenes. It will all make sense one day, but for now, we should not be ashamed to say that we don’t know, or that we don’t understand.
I previously wrote an article about the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, which touches on many of the same points, and I would encourage you to read it.
I hope you all have a good week