One of the most popular arguments against God’s existence is the so-called “Problem of Evil.” One form of this argument can be expressed this way: “If there is a good, loving God, then why is there so much evil (or ANY evil) in the world?” The problem of evil can also be expressed in this form: “If God has allowed or caused this evil to happen, then how can I trust Him or know that He is good?” Sometimes, instead of looking at evil and saying, “Why, God?,” we may have particular evils come into our lives and we personalize it and say, “Why ME, God!?” When we look at evil on a larger scale such as the Holocaust, or the Killing Fields of Cambodia, or the African Slave Trade, or the labor and sex-trade that exists today, one wonders why the world is so full of injustice if such a loving God exists. Then, alongside evil on those larger scales we then look at evil, or pain, on a more individual level. We experience brokenness in our personal relationships, we suffer miscarriage, our young child dies of brain cancer, a spouse develops cancer at 37, physical illnesses come one after another, financial hardship comes unexpectedly, etc.
The Bible is a book familiar with pain and suffering. God Himself, in the Bible’s pages, is very familiar with the pain and suffering of the world. Oftentimes we see God either doing something about the evil in the world or He promises to do something about that pain. For example, in Isaiah 13-14 we see God angry and pronouncing judgement against Babylon. Isaiah 13:9 says, “Look, the day of the Lord is coming–cruel, with rage and burning anger–to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners.” In verse 11 God says, “I will punish the world for its evil and wicked people for their iniquities. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.” Speaking of the fear that will come upon humans, Isaiah warns the people in verse 6 to “Wail!” for “the day of the Lord is near.” He says, in verse 8, “They will be horrified; pain and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look at each other, their faces flushed with fear.”
These instances of judgment in Isaiah are but mere pictures and foreshadows of a greater Day of judgment that will come. One may look at all of this talk about judgment and say, “Whoa! God sure is angry! WHY is God so ANGRY!!??” Indeed, whenever someone looks at the idea of an eternal hell we can scoff and furrow our brow and become angry at God (or His followers) for speaking of such a horrible place. We look at the concept of an eternal hell and we ask, “Why is God so angry?” Let us now think about the anger of God, Judgment Day, and the prospect of Hell and the Lake of Fire within the context of the Problem of Evil.
DON’T YOU WANT EVIL TO CEASE?
We may look horrified at the wrath of God as expressed in Isaiah 13, or as expressed in the Lake of Fire, but then we must also ask the objector, “I thought you wanted evil to cease, correct? I thought you wanted the problem of evil to NOT be a problem anymore, yes? Don’t you want genocide and pain and cruelty and injustice to go away? Well, then Judgment Day is the Ultimate and Final Answer to the problem of evil!” The very concept that many abhor (Judgment Day, Hell, Lake of Fire, etc.) is the very concept that provides a solution to evil in the universe. One cannot blame God for evil and scream at Him wondering why He isn’t doing anything about evil whenever He has set a Day to do away with evil. God will do something about evil, it is simply not the set Day yet. We must wait and be patient. God’s response is coming, but not on our timetable.
YOU CANNOT DESTROY EVIL WITHOUT JUDGING PEOPLE ON JUDGMENT DAY
In order to take care of the problem of evil you have to take care of the people causing the problem of evil (which is ALL of us!). If God were to “take care” of the problem of evil right now, then there would be no people left on the planet for we ALL contribute to the problem of evil. The problem of evil is a people problem, primarily. Even in cases of natural disasters, while we do not control where and when hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes appear, we are often aware of certain environmental conditions wherein these “acts of nature” often ofccur. We know that the Gulf of Mexico, during “Hurricane Season,” often experiences many hurricanes. If we build a house in or near the Gulf of Mexico, then we assume the risk of being flooded or blown away by a hurricane. In the same way, if we build a city on a fault line, then there’s a risk of an earthquake swallowing that city. That aside, most of the evil that appalls us is that done by humans, and humans will be judged on Judgement Day to rectify this situation. We cannot abhor evil and groan about the problem of evil and then groan at Judgment Day at the same time, for the very people who cause evil will be judged on that day. That should be a relief to us; it should also be a warning to us, because we will be judged too. Where do we stand with God? Have we trusted in Christ to save our souls? Judgment Day is God’s solution to the problem of evil (to the people who cause evil), and Christ is the solution for those who desire to be saved from the wrath of God on Judgment Day for the evil each individual has caused.
Q: WHY IS GOD SO ANGRY?
When we look at all the verses mentioned above about God’s anger, someone could ask, “Why is God so angry? I thought God was a God of love and grace!” Here’s a question for the objector, “Aren’t YOU angry at sin and evil (when you see it)? Don’t you feel, deep in your gut, a sense of great disgust and injustice when you see blatant evil happening?” And if, we, as mere humans, feel that injustice, then how much more does the holiest Being, the purest Being, God Almighty, feel that injustice and express great wrath at injustice? We do not see sin as clearly as God sees it, so even our anger is tame compared to God’s for we only see sin in a faint light. If we saw sin in its full light, then we would not only understand God’s anger towards sin, but we might even be in full support and “Amen” His anger. But, alas, our sight is so limited.
Also, God loves deeper than we do. Our love for our loved ones is quite tame compared to God’s love for His own. Could God’s love for others, for the “least of these,” for the oppressed, for His own, be a reason that His anger is so fierce? Maybe God’s wrath need not be seen as the absence of His love, but the fullest expression of the presence of His love? If God did not love, then He would not care; if God did not care, then there would He would have no wrath. One cannot have a God of love without a God of wrath as well for God’s attributes are all connected and a part of His being.
**In my next blog post I will continue this line of thought, but will shift my focus on Judgment Day being a day of Hope for the oppressed of the world alongside other thoughts related to this topic.