The Problem of Pain: Part 3
The Truth About Moral Evil
When we see the massive amount of suffering in our world, it is easy to think of evil as something outside of us. We imagine evil as a dark, invisible force hiding in the shadows of the world. But the Bible forces us to look inside ourselves. Evil is not just "out there"—it is a human capacity. It is the strong desire in humans to act against the character and plans of a loving God.
A famous writer and philosopher named G.K. Chesterton once responded to a newspaper question that asked, "What is wrong with the world?" He sent back a very short and powerful answer:
"Dear Sirs, I am. Yours truly, G.K. Chesterton."
This internal problem is exactly what the Bible calls sin. God did not bring corruption into our world; human beings did. When we look at the worst events in history, we cannot blame God. Evil itself did not organize the Holocaust—human beings did. Evil did not cause the genocide in Rwanda—human beings did. Evil does not drive drunk, hurt children, or lie to get money—people do.
The vast majority of suffering on this planet is caused or made worse by human choices. Even our daily physical illnesses are often made worse by the stressful lives we build, the pollution we put into our air and water, and the bad personal habits we refuse to give up.
The Fractured Earth
But what about the pain that is not connected to a human choice? What about "natural evil"—like terrible tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods that kill thousands of people in a few hours? Even if we do not blame God for human cruelty, isn't He still responsible for a broken physical planet?
To understand this, we must look back at what happened when humans fell into sin. When God put humanity in the Garden, He gave them a job. He gave humans authority over the earth. He put the care, safety, and management of the physical world directly into human hands.
When humanity broke its relationship with the Creator, that act of rebellion threw the whole physical world into chaos. In Genesis 3:17-18, God explains this change to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you... It will produce thorns and thistles for you."
The Apostle Paul talks about this later in the Bible, in Romans 8:20. He writes that creation itself was ruined and is now in a state of decay and frustration.
The Unattended Garden
Think of creation like a large, beautiful garden without its gardener. Without a perfect human partner to take care of it in cooperation with God, the natural world becomes wild, messy, and dangerous.
Most of the time, the earth still works according to its original, beautiful design. The sun rises, crops grow, and our physical bodies heal from cuts and bruises. But because we live on a fractured planet, things sometimes go wrong. Tectonic plates move suddenly to cause earthquakes, rivers overflow into towns, and dry winds ruin farmland.
On a microscopic level inside our bodies, biology goes wrong too. Genes change in bad ways, nerves misfire, and dangerous cells grow out of control to cause cancer. This is not how God originally designed the world to be, and it is not what He wants for us. But when humanity walked away from God, the natural world suffered the consequences of that broken relationship.
When we see the massive amount of suffering in our world, it is easy to think of evil as something outside of us. We imagine evil as a dark, invisible force hiding in the shadows of the world. But the Bible forces us to look inside ourselves. Evil is not just "out there"—it is a human capacity. It is the strong desire in humans to act against the character and plans of a loving God.
A famous writer and philosopher named G.K. Chesterton once responded to a newspaper question that asked, "What is wrong with the world?" He sent back a very short and powerful answer:
"Dear Sirs, I am. Yours truly, G.K. Chesterton."
This internal problem is exactly what the Bible calls sin. God did not bring corruption into our world; human beings did. When we look at the worst events in history, we cannot blame God. Evil itself did not organize the Holocaust—human beings did. Evil did not cause the genocide in Rwanda—human beings did. Evil does not drive drunk, hurt children, or lie to get money—people do.
The vast majority of suffering on this planet is caused or made worse by human choices. Even our daily physical illnesses are often made worse by the stressful lives we build, the pollution we put into our air and water, and the bad personal habits we refuse to give up.
The Fractured Earth
But what about the pain that is not connected to a human choice? What about "natural evil"—like terrible tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods that kill thousands of people in a few hours? Even if we do not blame God for human cruelty, isn't He still responsible for a broken physical planet?
To understand this, we must look back at what happened when humans fell into sin. When God put humanity in the Garden, He gave them a job. He gave humans authority over the earth. He put the care, safety, and management of the physical world directly into human hands.
When humanity broke its relationship with the Creator, that act of rebellion threw the whole physical world into chaos. In Genesis 3:17-18, God explains this change to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you... It will produce thorns and thistles for you."
The Apostle Paul talks about this later in the Bible, in Romans 8:20. He writes that creation itself was ruined and is now in a state of decay and frustration.
The Unattended Garden
Think of creation like a large, beautiful garden without its gardener. Without a perfect human partner to take care of it in cooperation with God, the natural world becomes wild, messy, and dangerous.
Most of the time, the earth still works according to its original, beautiful design. The sun rises, crops grow, and our physical bodies heal from cuts and bruises. But because we live on a fractured planet, things sometimes go wrong. Tectonic plates move suddenly to cause earthquakes, rivers overflow into towns, and dry winds ruin farmland.
On a microscopic level inside our bodies, biology goes wrong too. Genes change in bad ways, nerves misfire, and dangerous cells grow out of control to cause cancer. This is not how God originally designed the world to be, and it is not what He wants for us. But when humanity walked away from God, the natural world suffered the consequences of that broken relationship.
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