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It is one of the most common questions.  Here we will give 7 logical and rational answers to why evil exists if there is a good God.

Many say something like“Look at the world, if there was a God, all this evil wouldn’t exist”. Especially, if that God is good. This is often used by those who do not understand God, or Faith as an excuse or a reason for not believing in Him. 

They will use the Epicurean paradox or  similar logic to affirm that there cannot be a God like the Christian One, who at the same time allows evil:

God, he says, either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them?

Lactancio, De Ira Dei, 13, 20-21

So, why does evil exist if God is good?

1.- God did create that perfect world without evil but we humans chose otherwise. 

2.- Because God gave us Free Will. 

Remember that God made us free because He loved us so much. That is how we ended up choosing to eat from the tree of good and evil. 

When we love someone we want that person to love us freely on their own. We do not want them to love us by force, it does not make any sense, a forced love would not do us any good, it is an unrequited love. We all deserve to be loved, but by free choice. The same goes for God. He wants us to love him freely, to choose him by our own decision.

Because by loving us and making us free, God created free will. Having free will does not mean doing what we please. Free will is to say yes or no to God. If we say yes to following his commandments, we will do good and accomplish his will.

If we say no, a rejection of God means that we decide to lead our lives in our own way.  God proposes to us a specific way to live. If we decide we don’t want to live that way, We will end up violating his laws and then there will be evil as a consequence.

Free will is the reason why there are people as evil as Hitler and there are horrible things like wars. It is also the reason why there is something as simple as selfishness, or sins like pride and arrogance. While there are different levels of evil, the origin is the same.

If God ended evil on this earth we would have no choice. We would not see the difference and thus we would not have any other option. Then we would not be free, and our love for Him would not be free either. God made us free!

3 .- So we could discern the difference between good and evil.

Without the existence of good and evil, we would not be able to discern one from the other. We could not be grateful or generous to each other and could not appreciate the good and pretty things this life has.

Let’s take a look at the definition of darkness:

“The direct opposite of lightness is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black.” 

In the same way, evil is the absence of God.  Not just in the world but mainly in our hearts.

I am not saying that there are no nonbelievers who are not good, or who do not try to be good. Remember that all human beings reflect the qualities given to us by God because we are made in his image and likeness. Because of this many nonbelievers seek to do good. All can understand that it is good and evil and differentiate one from the other.

How is it possible that we can define or differentiate what is right from what is wrong? Where does that wisdom come from? Where does Good come from?

For me, it is very evident. All the good things and the wisdom to know the difference between good and bad come from God. God is all love and goodness, whether we believe in Him or not.

4.- Because God will get a greater good out of every evil action. 

God doesn’t want bad things to happen to us. It is just not his will. As they say “God is always in control”. The devil cannot move a finger without God’s permission. If He allows something to happen, it is because something good and much better and greater will come out of it.

Even if we do not understand at the moment why things happen the way they do, due to our limited human condition. Hasn’t it happened to you before? Try to remember. The hard times are the ones that allow us to grow and improve as a person.

I know nobody wants to be in those situations. For example, you might experience a terrible disease or the loss of a loved one. But I am sure that situation didn’t last forever. And when it ended (after having time to process it), you grew up, you learned, and you matured. Maybe even a lot of blessings came out of it, even years afterward.

I understand there may be very hard situations that are very hard to process. A good example is Jesus’ death. God allowed his only child to have an unfair trial, to be brutally beaten, and to have one of the most horrible deaths. The salvation of humanity and Christianity came out of there.

Another good example of terrible, horrible bad things that can happen and good come out of it is the history of Saint Maria Goretti.

5.- God can end evil if He wants to, and He has done it before.

If God wants, He can end evil.  On an individual level, God also acts by freeing us from evil. Remember, we ask for it every time when we say the “Lord’s Prayer”.

We can see His ability to end evil in the many miracles that occurred in the Old and New Testaments. For example, miraculous cures for diseases, when Jesus revived Lazarus, or when demons were cast out of a possessed person.

God never leaves us alone in this world. I am certain that if you pay attention, you can recall miracles in your own life. Things that you didn’t even expect, such as perfect coincidences that there is no other explanation for, except for the miraculous. I don’t know about you but I have seen several miracles in my own life. 

On a larger scale, God is very capable of ending evil, let us remember the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. That happened because people not only refused to be good but chose to be evil. The great difference is that at that time they did not have the Messiah, they did not have the full revelation. We do have it, and from that point of view, we do not have an excuse.

Remember that if we convert our hearts to Him, we can avoid great tragedies. If the people’s hearts had changed, Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the flood, would not have taken place in the first place.

For example in the case of Ninive. God wanted to end the city because they were misbehaving, but, they decided to convert to God. From the King to every man and beast. God in his mercy forgave them.

³ And Jonas arose, and went to Ninive, according to the word of the Lord: now Ninive was a great city of three days’ journey.

⁴ And Jonas began to enter into the city one day’s journey: and he cried, and said: Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed.

⁵ And the men of Ninive believed in God: and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least.

⁶ And the word came to the king of Ninive; and he rose up out of his throne, and cast away his robe from him, and was clothed with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published in Ninive from the mouth of the king and of his princes, saying: Let neither men nor beasts, oxen nor sheep, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water.

⁸ And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and cry to the Lord with all their strength, and let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.

⁹ Who can tell if God will turn, and forgive: and will turn away from his fierce anger, and we shall not perish?

¹⁰ And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that he would do to them, and he did it not.

Jonah 3:3-10

6.- Because God is Merciful

Most of us consider ourselves to be good people. While most people are not bad, we all are sinners, even the best people. 

If God came tomorrow to end all evil on this earth, I think He would end all humanity (except the very young children). Because as I said, we are all without exception sinners, we have all done something that is wrong.

One of the reasons why God does not end evil is also the work of His love and mercy. The point is that we still have the time to repent and change our hearts to Him. So, if God came tomorrow to end evil, would we survive?

7.- Because God is also Just

God respects our free will because He loves us. As I explained, there are many people who commit acts of evil. This does not mean they get away with it. Every action has consequences, good or bad. And although God is merciful and forgives our sins, in the same way, God is Just. 

If you have been the victim of a horrible action, God hasn’t forgotten about you at all. The victims of the bad actions of others sooner or later will have justice. At the same time, we will have to pay for all the bad we do sooner or later. When I say sooner or later, I mean that justice will be done either in this life or in the next.

Conclusion

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