Definitive Theodicy

To suggest that if God exists then there should be no evil equates God with justice. God created justice, and therefore He transcends justice. 

The first problem with the argument of evil suggests that there are such things as good and evil without God. How could one be certain that some things are good and some things aren’t if there is no higher authority to be deferred to for these most consequential matters? Why would good and evil be anything more than an opinion if it comes from no place other than human thought?

If an atheist were to say that murder is evil, that would merely be an opinion, because he believes in no higher source to corroborate it. If asked why murder is evil, a variety of answers may be given: That one should do unto others as you would have them do unto you, that it causes grief to people around the victim, that it is irreversible, that most people agree that it is wrong, or that society can not function if it is permissible. 

The belief that you should do unto others what you would have them do unto you is a fundamentally religious conviction, as it was articulated by Jesus(Matthew 7:12) to refer to His prescription to social problems. The belief that murder is wrong because it causes grief to people around the victim suggests that if a man who has no friends or family is killed that this is morally permissible, which is an obvious absurdity that is believed by no one. The belief that murder is wrong because it is irreversible fails to recognize the fact that nothing is reversible, so unless all things are evil, evil cannot be contingent on reversibility. The belief that most people believe it is wrong and therefore it is evil is ludicrous because social perceptions change throughout time and throughout cultures, and higher understandings of moral right and wrong inform society rather than society informing it, lest there would be no higher morality. 

An example of cultural differences on issues of morality can be reflected in the countries of Norway and Afghanistan. The vast majority of people in Norway believe that fornication is not morally wrong, while the vast majority of people in Afghanistan believe that fornication is morally wrong. To suggest that objective morality varies by nation or by culture is extremely dubious, because if this were the case, it wouldn’t be objective morality, but rather subjective, which is to say that either one is right and one is wrong, they are both wrong, or it is purely subjective, and if the most basic moral evil is subjective, then so is everything. 

Lastly, the belief that murder is bad because society cannot function if it is socially permissible firstly suggests the Christian belief that all humanity is so hopelessly depraved that murder would be a commonality if not illegal. It secondly suggests that there is a direct correlation between that which is good and that which advances society, which is demonstrably untrue as usury has led to economic flourishment even though it is immoral. If right and wrong were dependent only on what betters society at large, then it could even be argued that people who can’t contribute to society in the traditional way, such as those who are elderly or infirmed, should simply be killed, which would likely be recognized even by atheists as a moral atrocity, though they will have no reason to provide for why such a thing is morally wrong. 

Another problem with the argument of evil disproving God is that, according to Christian theology, all human beings are evil and we have been evil since Adam’s betrayal of God in the Garden of Eden. This means that there is no such thing as bad things happening to good people and good things happening to bad people, as is considered the moral contradiction, but rather, there is only good things happening to bad people, or bad things happening to bad people. 

It is commonly agreed that bad things should happen to bad people so this is not a moral quandary, but as to good things happening to bad people, this is only as a result of the infinite love and mercy of Almighty God. When God does good things for us, even though we are wholly undeserving of it, that is testament to the love He bears to us, and when He does ill by us, He does it because we deserve it, and we deserve far worse than what He serves to us in this life, for we are such vile and abominable wretches that we all deserve eternal punishment which will be handed to us on judgement day, lest we accept the free gift of God, that through faith in Jesus Christ, we may not suffer this punishment which we deserve, but inherit a kingdom which we are unworthy of, and live within the pearly gates of Heaven until the end of time. 

It is essential to understand that God did not create evil, nor did He create humanity with a sinful nature; Adam, the first man, was perfect in every way, so perfect that He even resembled God, but God bore such love for Adam that He didn’t want him to be His slave, but rather a man with free will, and so He gave Adam free will. But rather than remaining obedient to God by not eating from the tree of knowledge, he ate from the tree, and from Adam, not from God, did evil come into the world. 

God did not bring evil into the world but rather allowed it to come into this world because He placed such high value on free will that He allowed for humans to act freely even if it meant that evil would result from it. And for this reason is Calvinism wrong; that even though they have the strongest doctrine of sin, they don’t have a correct understanding of the nature of sin. 

Predestination claims that free will doesn’t really exist, and that grace is irresistible, but this would mean that Adam was predestined to disobey God by God, which would make God responsible for evil. Doctrinal disputes amongst denominations should not cause one to hastily judge the other as heretical, for heresy is that which undermines the Word of God, which no true Christian denominations do. Differences between denominations matter only insofar as we are bound by earthly limitations, and our churches are reflections of our earthly limitations, but in heavenly matters, there are no differences in the saved that can’t be reconciled, which will be done by God, who will destroy all those who are apart from Him, and unite all those who are within Him. Therefore rejoice, for “...there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”(Galatians 3:28)