Page 88 - Advanced Apologetics and World Views Revised

Chapter 12: Questions about World Issues

Connect …

When you look at our sinful world, it seems like the bad guys prosper and the good guys endure
hardships. Corrupt government leaders live in nice homes and have comfortable lives, yet many honest
people endure great hardships. The nation of Venezuela is an example of that at the time of this
writing. The economy has collapsed, and millions of people are starving. The US sent huge loads of aid
in food supplies and essential supplies, but they ended up in warehouses controlled by the government.
Rather than giving it out to their starving citizens, the leaders are consuming it themselves. What an
injustice! The questions rightly asked by some is, why does God allow this? It is just not right! Let’s see
if we can see why God allows evil men to prosper……

Objectives …

1. The student should be able to explain why evil prevails in the world.

2. The student should be able to explain that God did not create evil but how evil came into existence in
God’s world.

3. The student should be able to explain why God does not put an end to all suffering in the world.

The Lesson …

If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world?
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The Bible describes God as holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Psalm 7:11), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and
sovereign (Daniel 4:17-25). These attributes tell us the following about God: (1) God can prevent evil,
and (2) God desires to rid the universe of evil. So, if both are true, why does God allow evil? If God has
the power to prevent evil and desires to prevent evil, why does He still
allow evil? Perhaps a practical way to look at this question would be to
consider some alternative ways people might have God run the world:

1. God could change everyone’s personality so that they cannot sin. This
would also mean that we would not have a free will. We would not be able
to choose right or wrong because we would be “programmed” to only do
right. Had God chosen to do this, there would be no meaningful
relationships between Him and His creation.

Instead, God made Adam and Eve innocent but with the ability to choose good or evil. Because of this,

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