Deliver us from Evil - Introduction

• If God were all powerful,
He could destroy evil
• If God were all good, He
would want to destroy evil
• But evil is not destroyed
• Therefore, an all-powerful
and all-good God does
not exist
- J. S. Mill

“Is He willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He
is impotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is
malevolent. Is He both able and willing? Whence
then is evil?” – David Hume

“But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. ” (Psalm 115:3)

“„Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great
power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, ”
(Jeremiah 32:17)

“The Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done”
(Daniel 9:14)

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. ” (Romans 8:38–39)

The Problem of Evil and God

the·od·i·cy
A vindication of the divine attributes, particularly holiness
and justice, in establishing or allowing the existence of
physical and moral evil.

Evil is a privation or
corruption that
exists in something
that was originally
good and perfect.
- Augustine

Evil is signified by
the absence of
good.
- Thomas Aquinas

Darkness is the
absence of light

Sickness is the
absence of health

Hate is the absence
of love

“This doesn‟t mean it‟s in any way
nebulous or vague or not to be
worried about. If there is a hole in
the road where I expected solid
stone, the fact that there is
„nothing there‟ is very dangerous
whether I‟m walking, cycling, or
driving a car. The fact that a rung
is missing halfway down the ladder
into the basement is neither
nebulous nor vague when I‟m
feeling my way around in the dark.
Evil is then the moral and spiritual
equivalent of a black hole.”
- N. T. Wright

Word Study - Evil
Greek Meaning
ponēros ① Morally or socially worthless
② wicked, evil, bad, base, worthless,
vicious, degenerate
③ deficient in quality in a physical
“The good man brings out of his sense; being in an unhealthy condition
good treasure what is good; and physically
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-
the evil man brings out of his evil English lexicon of the New Testament and other early
Christian literature.
treasure what is evil. ” (Matthew
12:35)

Interpretation & Application
All definitions of the term point to something that has lost is value; there appears
to be nothing of worth; nothing to redeem. Part of the word meaning implies a
sickness, much like a malignancy that has attached itself to something of worth and
is destroying it. Scripture warns many times for a person not to be overtaken and
overrun by evil, else it will destroy what goodness is there and leave the person in a
state of total destitution.
www.confidentchristians.org

Evil cannot exist on its own

Just as rust on a car
cannot exist without the
car or rot on a tree
cannot exist without the
tree, evil cannot exist by
itself. Like a wound, it
can only exist in
something else.

What are the Types of


Two broad types of evil

1. Moral evil - manifests
itself in the way humans
choose or choose not to
do something
2. Natural evil - realized
through natural disasters
and human disease and
sickness


Moral Evil

“When the chips
are down these
civilized people
… they‟ll eat
each other!”


the privation that causes moral evil

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things
there is no law. ”
(Galatians 5:22–23)

Natural Evil

“For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of
Him who subjected it, in hope that
the creation itself also will be set free
from its slavery to corruption into the
freedom of the glory of the children
of God. For we know that the whole
creation groans and suffers the pains
of childbirth together until now.”
(Romans 8:20-22)

Notice how the world has been
„corrupted‟ because of sin.


Did God Create


“A good tree
cannot produce
bad fruit”
(Matthew 7:18)


•God created every substance.
•Evil is not a substance (but a privation in
a substance).
•Therefore, God did not create evil.

•God is perfect.
•An effect must resemble its cause.
• Evil is an imperfection
•Therefore, God could not have caused
evil.

The Problem of Pantheism & Evil

Pantheism says all is
God („pan‟=all,
„theism‟=God). But if
all is God, that „all‟ must
include evil. This
equates to the
conclusion of God
having evil in His being.

God Creating Evil…?

“I am the Lord, and there is
none else. I form the light, and
create darkness: I make
peace, and create evil: I the
Lord do all these things. ”
(Isaiah 45:6–7, KJV)

The verse seems pretty clear
that God does create evil…


God Creating Evil…?
Knowing the various literary techniques
used in the Bible helps solve this problem.
This is a case of antithetic parallelism; the
first is set against the second. What is the
opposite of light? Darkness. But what is
the opposite of peace? Evil? No. This
leads us to consider that the KJV has a
poor rendering of the Hebrew word „‫.‟רע‬
The NASB and other versions properly
render the word in this verse „calamity:

“I am the LORD, and there is no other, The
One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being [peace] and creating
calamity; I am the LORD who does all
these. ”
(Isaiah 45:6–7)

Another Problem…

“I am the LORD, and there is no
other, The One forming light and
creating darkness, Causing well-
being and creating calamity; I am
the LORD who does all these. ”
(Isaiah 45:6–7)

If darkness is the absence of light
and evil is the absence of
something, then the verse still says
God created evil (darkness).


Aquinas Tries to Help…
“Not every absence of good is evil. For
absence of good can be taken (1) in a
privative and (2) negative sense. Absence
of good, taken negatively, is not evil;
otherwise it would follow that what does not
exist is evil, and also that everything would
be evil, through not having the good
belonging to something else; for instance, a
man would be evil who had not the swiftness
of the roe, or the strength of a lion. But
the absence of good, taken in a privative
sense, is an evil; as, for instance, the
privation of sight is called blindness…”
-Thomas Aquinas

But … let‟s look at these next examples

But we Still Have a Problem…
We have this from Exodus in God‟s
discussion with Moses:

“The Lord said to him, “Who has made
man‟s mouth? Or who makes him mute or
deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the
Lord? ” (Exodus 4:11)

And this from Job:

“The Lord said to Satan, “Have you
considered My servant Job? For there is
no one like him on the earth, a blameless and
upright man fearing God and turning away
from evil. And he still holds fast his
integrity, although you incited Me against
him to ruin him without cause.” ” (Job 2:3)

… which leads to more insight

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His
disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that
he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this
man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God
might be displayed in him. ” (John 9:1–3)

Behind this man‟s blindness was a purpose – to glorify God. God is
sovereign over everything, including this man‟s blindness, so while an
absence of good existed, it existed for a higher purpose than mere
sight alone.

Darkness can have a purpose
“He made the moon for the seasons; The
sun knows the place of its setting. You
appoint darkness and it becomes night, In
which all the beasts of the forest prowl
about. The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God. When the
sun rises they withdraw And lie down in their
dens. Man goes forth to his work And to his
labor until evening. ”
(Psalm 104:19–23)

“He sent darkness and made it dark; And
they did not rebel against His words. He
turned their waters into blood And caused
their fish to die. ”
(Psalm 105:28–29)

Evil is a violation of
God‟s purpose.
- Ravi Zacharias


A More complete definition of Evil

Evil is an absence of good,
resulting in a violation of
God‟s good purpose.

A mere absence of good is not evil as
Aquinas points out, however it cannot be
defined to just be an absence in
something that should be present by
default. God, through His own good
purpose, may will such a privation to bring
about a greater good.


• An Omnibenevolent God
has a good purpose for
everything
• There is some evil for
which we see no good
purpose
• Therefore, there is a good
purpose for all evil, even if
we do not see it
- Norman Geisler


“The Lord has made everything for its own
purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. ”
(Proverbs 16:4)

No Good or Evil in Atheism?

“Humans have always
wondered about the meaning
of life...life has no higher
purpose than to perpetuate
the survival of DNA...life has
no design, no purpose, no evil
and no good, nothing but
blind pitiless indifference.”
- Richard Dawkins


No Good or Evil in Atheism?
If there‟s such a thing as evil, you assume there‟s such a thing as good.

If you assume there‟s such a thing as good, you assume there‟s such a
thing as an absolute and unchanging moral law on the basis of which to
differentiate between good and evil.

If you assume there‟s such a thing as an absolute moral law, you must
posit an absolute moral law giver, but that would be God – the one
whom the atheist is trying to disprove.

So now rewind: if there‟s not a moral law giver, there‟s no moral law. If
there‟s no moral law, there‟s no good. If there‟s no good, there‟s no
evil.


“The problem of evil, for instance, can
hardly be separated from the problem
of goodness. Were there no goodness
in the world, we would not even be
considering the problem of evil. It is a
strange thing. Dozens of times I have
been asked by patients or
acquaintances: „Dr. Peck, why is there
evil in the world?‟ Yet no one has ever
asked me in all these years: „Why is
there good in the world?‟ It is as if we
automatically assume this is a naturally
good world that has somehow been
contaminated by evil.”
-M. Scott Peck
People of the Lie

No ‘Good’ or ‘Purpose’ in Atheism

You cannot define good without defining „purpose‟

You cannot define purpose without defining „cause‟

The atheist‟s /philosophical naturalist‟s worldview has no
ultimate purpose or cause behind anything, therefore they
have no way of determining good.

Word Study - Good
Greek Meaning
kalos ① pert. to being in accordance at a
high level w. the purpose of someth. or
someone, good, useful.
② free from defects
“Let your light shine before men in
such a way that they may see your Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-
English lexicon of the New Testament and other early
good works, and glorify your Father Christian literature.

who is in heaven. ” (Matthew 5:16)

Interpretation & Application
Again, you cannot call something bad without knowing what good is. And „good‟,
as defined in God‟s Word, corresponds both to purpose (God‟s) and speaks to
their being no „lack‟ in the object in question. Both (purpose and completeness)
are embodied in this statement from James: “And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ” (James 1:4)


Whence came


“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it
was very good [no privation]. And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ”
(Genesis 1:31)

The first Acts of Evil
“You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on
the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. “You were
blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was
found in you. “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with
violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain
of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the
stones of fire. ” (Ezekiel 28:14–16)

“And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven ” (Revelation 12:4)

“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to
the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit
and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ” (Genesis 3:6)


The Root Cause of Evil

Every drop of evil – both moral and natural – can be traced back to
one thing: the misuse of freedom. God Himself is free, and He
created free creatures. Freedom is a very good thing, however
freedom allows the ability to act contrary to the good purpose of
God. This is what Satan and Adam/Eve did.


Defining ‘Cause’

What „caused‟ evil? There are three possible options:

1. Determinism: something outside of Satan/man caused them to
sin. Ultimately this would have to be traced back to God. But
God is perfect, cannot sin, and does not tempt anyone to sin (cf.
James 1:13)
2. Indeterminism: nothing caused evil; it just arose. Impossible
because God will not hold a being accountable for something that
just „happened‟; no accountability without responsibility
3. Self-determinism: the evil in Satan and man was self-caused.

Conclusions Regarding


Conclusions

• The attempt to reconcile an all-good and all-powerful God with
the reality of evil is called a theodicy
• Evil is an absence of good, resulting in a violation of God‟s good
purpose
• The two major types of evil are moral evil and natural evil
• God did not create evil but created the possibility for it
• The root cause of evil can be traced back to the misuse of a very
good thing – free will
• Evil came about from the self-determined actions of creatures
created with free will

Deliver Us From


Deliver us from Evil - Introduction

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