Part 4 - The Problem of Evil

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY
The insights of these philosophers present a backdrop against which Scripture can be compared in order to build a Biblical Theology. Job is probably the most familiar story of pain and suffering. “The book of Job recounts the difficulties experienced by Job through loss of physical health.”[1] The story unfolds with Job, who is an honorable, God-fearing man, losing his children and possessions. The only background is that Satan asked permission from God to devastate a man through evil and suffering to the point that he would reject God, turning his back on Him. “Regardless, the Book of Job does not give the reason for the suffering of innocent individuals; rather, it affirms that, if one will be submissive to God even in the midst of suffering then one may experience a meaningful relationship with God even in the direst of circumstances.”[2]
Habakkuk offers us another view of Theodicy. Habakkuk questions why God is allowing suffering for His people (1:2-4), especially why God would use the Babylonians (1:12-2:1).
The Lord answers the questions leveled by Habakkuk. He answers the first
question in 1:5-11 and the second in 2:2-20. God spoke to Habakkuk to let him know that sometimes there are reasons for the suffering. Through the difficulty and “violence”[3] that God’s people were facing, God was preparing to judge the attackers as a perverse and greedy nation.
John 9 shows another theological perspective of Theodicy. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born bind?” Blindness is a result of evil in the world, most would agree. The Theodicy put forth by the disciples was that sin directly influenced a physical manifestation of evil.
Jesus elucidates that it was neither a result of his nor his parents’ sin, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed.”[4] It is possible that the finite creature could be at an intellectual disadvantage to the infinite creator. Man inevitably sorts through the situations of life through the lens of his mind, but that may not always be an adequate resource. The human mind is among the most fantastic displays of complexity and simplicity, yet there is much of it that we do not use or control. For instance, education has been a great delight of mine. I enjoy reading and learning, but there are some subjects that are beyond me. There are some instances when my opacity about a subject leaves me unable to know, what I don’t know. Often we find great help in seeking the counsel and sentience of someone else because they can see things that we’re blind to. Like Job and Habakkuk, Jesus shows that God’s action or inaction is not measured in man’s standards, but is working in conjunction with the attributes of God Himself.
Finally, Paul shares a theological perspective in Romans 11:32, “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”[5] And in Galatians 3:22, “But the scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.”[6]
Sin is clearly a factor in the Biblical depiction of Theodicy. Evil is a result of sin and the imprisonment of the world is wrapped up in it. Therefore Christ was God’s answer for us in delivering mankind from evil. David Hart wrote, “And while we know that the victory over evil and death has been won, we know also that it is a victory yet to come, and that creation therefore, as Paul says, groans in expectation of the glory that will one day be revealed. Until then, the world remains a place of struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death; and, in such a world, our portion is charity.”[7]
So in light of the facile naysayers, questioners, philosophers, and theologians, what answer can be given? A Biblical system unfolds that satisfactorily represents a defense of the purpose and involvement of a loving and good God in the midst of a world filled with suffering and evil.
[1] Trent C. Butler, Holman Bible Dictionary. (Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Parsons Technology,
1999).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Habbakuk 1 :2 NIV.
[4] John 9 :2-3 NIV.

[5] Romans 11:22 NIV.
[6] Galatians 3:22 NIV.

[7] Hart, 9.