Page 129 - Advanced Apologetics and World Views Revised

Don’t you think what makes people do bad things is the fact that they have learned
bad things by living in a bad environment?

Certainly, our environment in which we grow up or live in influences what we do.
But is does a negative environment cause a person to sin. The answer is NO! Every
man sins because he possesses a nature to sin. The Bible describes the nature of
man in these verses:

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Romans 3:10-18 There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none that
understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; They have all turned aside,
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they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one: Their
throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their
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lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction
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and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God
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before their eyes.

Paul concludes the condition of mankind with these words:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

That leads us to the next question…

Why is there so much evil in the world?

We have answered this question previously to some degree. Evil is the byproduct of sin. When Adam
brought sin into the world by his disobedience to God, rebellion against God became an integral part of
man’s nature. It was not long before Adam’s son, Cain, killed his brother Abel over jealousy over God’s
acceptance of their sacrifices. A nature to sin was passed down to all of mankind. Evil is the result that
comes to all people because of their nature. Not only was mankind cursed because of sin, but the entire
Creation was degraded and influenced by man’s wickedness. Two kinds of evil were born: moral evil of
man’s treatment with man, and natural evil derived from a cursed creation.

There's a difference between moral and natural evil. Moral evil is explained by the fact that human
beings commit evil against one another. People lie, cheat, steal, hurt, and more. This does not argue
against Christianity, but instead proves the point that there is something very wrong with human nature
as it now is.

But what about natural evil? Couldn't there be less suffering? Why doesn't God stop things like
earthquakes and tsunamis? Again, this ties into the broad Christian explanation of the human
predicament. Paradise has been lost due to human moral shortcomings. As a result, we live in a fallen
world, east of Eden. As a result, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of
childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22, NIV).

The good news is that although this is not the best world, it is the best way to the best possible world.
Someday God will ultimately and finally overcome evil entirely.

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