The following article is Lesson 1 from my book, Superhero University: The Ultimate Superhero Training Manual:
What About Evil?
Everyone knows that superheroes fight against evil villains. But how could superheroes fight against evil if they are unable to recognize evil? Superheroes recognize evil because they realize there is an absolute standard of goodness by which all evil can be known (the Supreme Superhero is the standard for all that is good).
But if the Supreme Superhero and Source of goodness exists, what about evil? We know evil is real because as we will learn in Lesson 24, Truth is correspondent with objective reality and evil is evident in reality. Evil is real. But as we will learn in the next lesson (Lesson 2), there must be an objective moral standard; in addition, the Moral Lawgiver must be absolutely good.
Ponder: evil in the world presupposes a perfect standard of goodness. For if anyone insists there is real imperfection in the world, then there must be a perfect standard by which this is known. Think about it. C. S. Lewis was once an atheist who believed that evil disproved GOD. However, upon deeper reflection, he changed his mind:
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?
—C. S. Lewis
The existence of evil ends up being an argument for the existence of GOD. But if GOD exists, GOD must be either evil or good. However, if GOD is all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, and created everything and everyone, where did evil come from? How could an absolutely good GOD create evil? Wouldn’t GOD want to end evil? Is there a contradiction in the conception of GOD and the reality of evil? According to Richard Dawkins, here is what you can expect from the naturalistic account of reality:
In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at the bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no other good. Nothing but blind pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is. And we dance to its music.
—Richard Dawkins
If DNA neither knows nor cares, then why is it that I do care and know that I care? In fact, all superheroes care. According to Christianity, GOD is not silent. GOD humbled Himself and lowered Himself in the incarnation of Jesus, who is the Supreme Superhero. GOD is not indifferent to our suffering. The Lord absorbed the sin from us so that we will experience joyful salvation with Him. At the cross, the reality of evil and sin was made known when Jesus allowed death to overcome His body; however, in the resurrection, there came the beginning of the absorption for restoration. The Bible is clear: evil will not win; the Savior will have the final Word, and GOD’s beloved children will be rescued, redeemed, and then restored (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 7:17; 21:4). Therefore, GOD is absolutely good.
I have collected and composed the argument of evil from multiple philosophers. So although I did not create this argument, I believe it to be true. It can be summarized as follows:
- GOD is absolutely perfect.
- GOD created only perfect creatures (because GOD is incapable of making mistakes).
- One of the perfections GOD gave some of His creatures was the power of free will.
- Some of these creatures freely chose to do evil by rejecting the absolute standard.
- Therefore, a perfect creature caused evil, thereby choosing to be imperfect, no longer in alignment with the perfect design.
In GOD’s absolute perfect love, GOD gave humans free will. With the gift of free will, some humans chose evil. But what caused the first creature to choose evil? There are three basic views of the nature of choice:
- determinism
- indeterminism
- self-determinism
In determinism, a free act is caused by another; in indeterminism, it is uncaused; and in self-determinism, it is caused by oneself. Determinism would eliminate human responsibility since another caused the action, not ourselves. Indeterminism is irrational since a fundamental rule of reason is that every action has a cause. It follows, then, that every free choice must be self-caused (this will be explained in greater detail in Lesson 41). Hence, GOD is responsible for making evil possible, but free creatures are responsible for making evil actual.
What Is Evil?
Evil is real, but what is evil? Evil is not a thing or substance; rather, it is a lack or privation of a good thing that GOD made. Privation is the loss or absence of a quality or attribute that is normally present. With that in mind, evil can be explained. There is no such thing as something that is totally evil. If it were totally deprived of all good, it would be nothing. Rust is the privation of metal. Rot is the privation of wood. Evil is like moth holes in a garment. A totally moth-eaten garment would be only a hanger in a closet; the garment wouldn’t exist. Cold is the privation of heat. Darkness is the privation of light. Evil is the privation of GOD (objective moral standard). When a human rejects or refuses the objective moral standard (GOD), evil will be evident and seen as the corruption of what is good.
A classic argument against GOD is the persistence of evil. Many skeptics argue that if GOD is all-powerful, He could destroy evil; if GOD is absolutely good, He would destroy evil. However, evil is not destroyed and still exists and persists; therefore, there is no such GOD.
But is it possible to destroy evil? The accepted philosophical argument is as follows:
- GOD cannot do what is actually impossible.
- It is actually impossible to destroy evil without also destroying free will.
- But free will is necessary to a moral universe.
- Therefore, GOD cannot destroy evil without also destroying this good moral universe.
It is impossible for GOD to do what is contradictory because GOD will not contradict Himself. GOD cannot make an affirmation to be true and false at the same time. GOD cannot stand for Truth while opposing and objecting Truth. GOD cannot make a square circle or a stone so heavy, He cannot lift it. It is not possible to force people to freely choose the good. Forced freedom is oxymoronic and is not freedom at all. Therefore, GOD cannot literally destroy all evil without annihilating free will. Unless hate is possible, love is not possible. Unless evil is possible, good cannot be freely chosen.
What then, is the purpose of evil? If GOD does not create evil but does permit evil to happen, why does GOD permit evil to happen? Is there any other reason that GOD permits evil to exist other than the gift of free will? Many people argue that an all-good GOD must have a good purpose for everything. Some people argue that there is no good purpose for some suffering; therefore, there cannot be an all-good GOD.
Pain Serves a Purpose
The ability to have pain has a good purpose. Pain helps us to know we are alive, and it also helps guide us in the right direction. If one were to put his/her hand in fire, the pain would help that person to realize his/her limitations and to stay within boundaries that are beneficial to health and prosperity. Likewise, much pain we experience in life are warnings and provide us with opportunities to correct ourselves. With free will comes opportunities to learn from mistakes.
Evil is sometimes a by-product of a good purpose. Plants and animals die so that humans may have food to live. GOD had a good purpose for creating water (to sustain life); however, this makes it possible for someone to drown. It is good to have sexual intercourse (within the confines of marriage) for procreation and enjoyment; however, this makes it possible for someone to get raped. It also makes it possible for a woman to abort her baby.
It is evident that much good has been produced from the evil acts that have been experienced. Although the lives of trees are taken, a house can be built. Sawdust is an unintended by-product of making lumber, but it can be salvaged to make paper. Consider the example of MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving). MADD was founded on September 5, 1980, by Candace Lightner, after her thirteen-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. But now there is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has shown that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding. The death of a thirteen-year-old girl was due to another human’s free will; some human chose to get drunk and then operate a vehicle, consequently killing Cari. However, since the death of a thirteen-year-old girl in 1980, MADD has saved an estimated three hundred thousand lives (and counting).
Consider the example of America’s Most Wanted. In 1981, John Walsh’s six-year-old son, Adam, was abducted from a mall. Two weeks after Adam’s disappearance, his severed head was discovered in a canal 120 miles away from the mall. Truly, evil is real. The devastation led Walsh to dedicate himself to catching fugitives and seeking justice for crime victims. The FBI credits America’s Most Wanted for leading to the capture of seventeen of the fugitives who have appeared on the agency’s Ten Most Wanted list. Walsh says an estimated 1,200 suspects have been caught as a result of the show (and these statistics are even old and outdated because it is now 2020). John Walsh is also a cofounder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Before Adam Walsh’s kidnapping and death, there was no national database on missing children. Law enforcement officers could enter information on stolen cars, stolen guns, and stolen jewelry—but there was no central place to keep information on missing children. So John Walsh and his wife pushed Congress to pass the Missing Children Act, which led to the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to its website (www.missingkids.com), the center has helped law enforcement find almost two hundred thousand missing children since it was founded in 1984. The death of a six-year-old boy was due to another human’s free will; some human chose to disregard the absolute moral standard and abduct and murder Adam. However, since the death of a six-year-old boy in 1981, thousands of suspects have been captured, and thousands of missing children have been found.
What about suffering? Why does GOD permit evil if people suffer? First and foremost, much of the suffering in the world is due to free will. Some suffering is brought on directly by free will. Some suffering is brought on indirectly by free will. The choice to be lazy can result in poverty. Some people suffer directly from free will, as in the case of spouse or child abuse. Some people suffer indirectly from free will. Alcoholism can lead to poverty of one’s children. Also, some suffering may be a necessary condition of a greater moral good. Just as diamonds are formed under great pressure, our character is also formed under pressure and suffering (this will be discussed in greater detail in Lesson 17).
What about Natural Disasters?
Free will might explain the vast majority of evil, but what about natural disasters? Moral evil is explained by free will. But some natural evil does not result from free will. Natural evil cannot always be explained by free will of creatures. Hence, it is argued that GOD must be responsible for natural evil. But natural evils cause innocent suffering and death. Hence, it is argued that GOD is responsible for innocent suffering and death; therefore, GOD can be all-good yet not all-powerful, or GOD can be all-powerful yet not all-good. But is this true?
We cannot assume that earthly deaths of natural disasters are evil. Death may seem evil to us mortals in a self-seeking state in a temporal mindset, but that doesn’t mean that earthly death itself is evil. If those who died might be joyful in the presence of the Lord, then it is possible that they received a shortcut, or “fast pass,” into a blessing. We must also consider displacement from natural disasters. If people get shifted around and go to different locations, some people might meet their future spouse in the process. I personally met a couple where that was the case. Because of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, the man fled to a different location; it was in that new location he met the woman who later became his wife. And who knows—from that person’s lineage may be the next scientist, inventor, or leader.
Natural disasters also give communities a chance to improve infrastructure and reprioritize community needs. Researchers from Duke University’s School of Environment and Earth Sciences assert that hurricanes and tropical storms help spread about environmental necessities; furthermore, without hurricanes, barrier islands on coastlines and their ecosystems would not survive.
Fires can eliminate unwanted invasive plants from certain ecosystems (but can also help spread them), enrich soils with fresh nutrients, and encourage greater plant diversity. Some plants are even dependent upon fire for their seeds to sprout in the long-term. Also, animals are sometimes attracted to the new growth in areas recovering from fire.
The only logical conclusion I can find is that the Supreme Superhero produces a lot of good out of what humans consider to be evil acts of nature. Just as MADD and America’s Most Wanted produced a lot of good from initial evil, the Savior is also able to produce a lot of good from natural disasters. In addition, we have no earthly way of knowing just how far the effects of natural disasters can extend. We simply do not know enough information about natural disasters to assume their purposes. Many people can claim that a volcanic eruption is bad, but what if it creates a new island and provides opportunity for life in the future? At one point, the formation of the Hawaiian Islands could have been viewed as a bad or evil eruptive force; however, the people who now live on the Hawaiian islands would tell you that much good has come from some initially destructive eruptions.
Conclusion
The vast majority of all evil exists due to free will and the privation of what is good. Free will is a loving gift to humanity. The majority of all evil exists because humans refuse to abide by the objective moral standard (discussed in the next lesson). Only some of the evil we experience is due to natural disasters. However, many people have come to GOD through suffering. Although we know that evil exists, we also know that much good has come from much evil. Simply because finite minds cannot conceive of a good purpose for some evil does not mean that there is none. Also, the existence of evil acts does not mean that GOD condones evil acts but merely permits them to happen. As C. S. Lewis rightly noted, pain is GOD’s megaphone to warn a morally deaf world. And if we, as finite beings, know a good purpose for much evil, then surely an infinite Mind can know a good purpose for the rest; after all, GOD’s thoughts and ways are much higher and deeper than our own (Isa. 55:8–9). So long as humans possess free will, it will always be possible that someone will refuse to do what is good and right. I believe that what we view to be worst-case scenarios in our limited perception of this physical life will turn out to be an awesome story that will help us connect the dots and remain humble and grateful in the restored life with the Savior. After all, you must keep in mind that after all is said and done, the Supreme Superhero is going to restore people, wipe away every tear, and ensure that His children will live in eternal joy and peace (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 7:17; 21–22).
Using logic and reasoning, I have concluded that if evil is not permitted, then it cannot be defeated; the only way to overcome evil is to allow it to be permitted. I believe that GOD permitted evil in order to overcome it. I believe this physical life on earth is merely a boot camp training ground. Just as filters are used to purify our drinking water, I believe GOD uses this life to filter bad from good. Just as dross is removed from gold, I believe GOD uses this life to filter bad from good. Just as wheat is threshed and winnowed to remove chaff, I believe GOD uses this life to separate bad from good.
Think about it: On Judgement Day, people will only be separated into two classes. Darkness will be separated from the light, the common from the Holy, unclean from the clean, impurities from the pure, curse from the blessing, the bad from the good, evil and lawless from the righteous, and the sinner from the saint. At Harvest Time, the weeds will be gathered and thrown into the fire. (Gen. 1:4; Lev. 10:10; Deut. 11:26–28, 30:19; Job 14:4; Ezek. 44:23; Matt. 7:13–14, 21–23; 10:32–33; 12:30, 33–37; 13:18–23, 37–43, 47–50; Luke 13:23–30; Rev. 3:15–16)
I believe this life is a mere accumulation of evidence (through our free will) that will serve to either testify for us on our behalf to proclaim our righteousness or the choices we make will condemn us as being wicked. Evidence is brought into a courtroom in order to declare an innocent or guilty verdict upon someone. I believe our entire lifespan will amount to the evidence that will speak for itself. Everything we do or do not do is creating our own case. An entire life span of evidence will not be discredited or denied and declared inadmissible. When it comes time for Judgment Day, we will have no excuses that will be able to counter the amount of evidence for or against us.
Reflection
(Ps. 97:10, NLT)
“You who love the Lord, hate evil!”
(Prov. 8:13, NLT)
“All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.”
(Amos 5:14–15, NLT)
“Do what is good and run from evil… Hate evil and love what is good…”
(Rom. 12:9, GNT)
“Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.”
So ask yourself, why do you believe evil exists? From where did you get this concept of evil? And if you oppose evil, why do you think that is? All superheroes recognize evil as being bad because they understand that evil is not the right design and is a privation of what is good. If you hate evil, then you possess one of the qualities of a superhero, and you just might be one someday!
Quest For Truth 