Chauncey C. Riddle
Brigham Young University
c. 1984
This work was stimulated by the BYU forum address of Professor Robert Nozick of Harvard University given March 1984.
- Statement of the problem: If God is good and omnipotent, why is this world so evil? If God is not good, the evil is understandable. If God is not omnipotent, the evil is understandable. But if God is both good and omnipotent, surely he would have created a better world than this one.
- Observation about the problem: This is a genuine problem. Human beings are finite; God is infinite. It is not possible for a finite being to understand fully an infinite being. Nevertheless, it is most important for human beings to come to a finite satisfaction regarding this problem.
- Observation about the historic solutions to this problem: Many of the historic solutions are good in that they lend understanding to the situation. No one of them is sufficient to stand alone. The problem is to find a combination of ideas which will bring satisfaction to finite human souls.
- Definitions are in order to clarify this problem:
Good: To say that God is good means two things. It means that God is morally right in what he does. We shall henceforth express that idea by saying God is righteous. The other thing meant by saying God is good is that I like (love) God. We shall henceforth assume that to say God is good means I like (love) God.
God: We define God as an exalted man, which is to say he once was a human being. But having sought for and attained righteousness and truth, and having learned to act according to them, he has progressed beyond the state of man. He is now a perfect (morally righteous) being, omnipotent (he can do anything which can be done because he has all the power which exists), omniscient (he knows everything about everything, past, present, and future), is a personal being of flesh and bone, and is the literal father of the human race. His purpose in creating this earth is to provide a situation where his children can (a) choose the degree to which they desire to become as he is; and (b) learn and develop themselves to become as he, God, is to that degree which they have chosen.
The earth: The earth is the physical globe upon which the human race resides. It is governed by laws which God has ordained, and nothing happens in what we call “nature” except by his personal permission. Thus natural calamities as well as more desirable natural sequences are all manifestations of his will.
The world: The world is the dominion of Satan on this earth. Specifically, the world consists of all human beings who hearken to Satan, and includes the social institutions and accomplishments of those persons. Nearly every adult human being is or has at one time been part of the world. The opposite of the world is those people who manage to establish a personal daily association with God which enables them to detach themselves from the world and to serve God, the Father, through his son Jesus Christ, according to the instructions each receives through the Holy Spirit.
Evil: Evil is anything which is not as good as it could and should be. The standard of good is God. Whatever is created or done under instruction from God is holy and good. Whatever else exists or is done by the will of man or of Satan is evil. The commission of every godly person each day is to take something that is evil within his own stewardship and turn it into good through faith in Jesus Christ (direct obedience to the personal revelation one receives from God).
- Why evil is allowed to exist: Evil in the world exists for three main reasons: (1) That every man may observe evil, compare it with good, and choose good or evil for himself; (2) That every man might be free to create and do evil, to see if that is what he really wishes to choose and promote; and (3) That those who choose to do good and become like God may have ample opportunity to grow towards becoming like God by many choices of good over evil and much experience in turning evil situations into good situations. Evil is not good, but the presence of controlled evil on the earth is good, because without it, man could not grow to become as God is. When the growth period for every human being has been fulfilled, then there will no longer be a need for evil on this earth and the earth will be cleansed of all evil. Then God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
- Views of traditional answers to the problem:
- “The world really is not evil.”
An LDS view would say that the earth is not evil, nor is any natural event that takes place on it. Storms, lightening, volcanic eruptions, floods and cold winters are all the handiwork of a good God who is reminding all of his children that he is in control of all things and that perhaps they might wish to repent so that they would no longer need such reminders. It is true that the innocent often perish with the wicked in natural disasters. For that reason God gives the innocent another, opportunity to choose between good and evil and to repent to that degree to which they so desire. That opportunity takes place in sheol, or the world of departed spirits. If every person were born and lived at the same time and could not use his agency to bring adversity on others, such as his children, then the opportunity in sheol would be unnecessary. But it is necessary.
- “Evil is an illusion.”
The world is evil by definition, since it is the kingdom of Satan on earth. The world is no illusion, so evil really does exist, and in rather overwhelming abundance. But when people see natural events as evil, that is an illusion created by their misunderstanding of what is happening.
- “The purpose of evil is to educate us.”
This statement is partly true. We need to see evil as a possibility that we may choose. But we do not need to do evil to know of evil. There is sufficient evil around that no one languishes for lack of observation of it. Thus we are educated as to the difference between good and evil.
- “Evil comes from free will.”
Free will is free choice. Free agency is the power to carry out free choice. No human being is completely free, because only an omniscient being understands all the possible choices. No human being is completely an agent, because no human being is omnipotent. But to the degree which a person has knowledge, one does choose, and to the degree one has power, one does act to carry out that choice. As a person chooses other than the will of God and carries out that choice, that person creates evil in the world. If a person knows not God, then everything that person does is evil. Thus is the world created and perpetuated by the choices and acts of human beings. Yes evil comes because men are free.
- “God is not the absolute creator.”
This statement sheds some light on the situation. God is not the absolute creator in the sense that he created everything out of nothing and all creation thus is the fulfillment of his desire. God did not create the intelligences of human beings, which is the personality, the true self of each person. God did give each intelligence a spirit body and a premortal life with himself. He gives many a mortal body, and each person who receives that body is given an opportunity to live eternally with him in the resurrection. But God did not create some human beings to be good and some to be evil. Each human being is a cocreator with God in that each determines for himself what he shall become. Thus God is not the absolute creator.
- “God’s justice and mercy are in tension, out of which comes the problems of the world.”
This statement has an important element of truth for this discussion. God is love: he acts only to benefit the world. That righteous, pure, selfless love must abide the eternal principles which obtain, two of which are justice and mercy. Love is not pure or righteous unless it is just: God’s justice is that he is a lawgiver who cannot look upon defiance of his law with the least degree of allowance. For compliance with his law, God bestows blessing, even sharing all that he is and has with those who repent and learn to be completely obedient (who learn to love him with all of their heart, might, mind and strength.) But God’s justice also decrees an eternal damnation (stopping of blessing) for all who will not repent.
God’s mercy is that he desires to forgive all men their trespasses against his law so that he can bless each one. But he cannot forgive unless they repent of their sins, lest he become unjust and deliver blessing where none is due. All men who become accountable sin because of the fall of Adam. Once a person has sinned, the Father’s justice demands that he be cast out forever to satisfy justice. Thus all mankind would be lost, were it not for the Messiah.
God sends his anointed one, his only begotten son, to atone for the sins of every creature, that every’ man may become as though he had not sinned through repentance and acceptance of that atonement. Thus God is just in that he gives the law and demands an eternal satisfaction of that law, but he is also merciful in that he provides a way for a man who has sinned, and thus learned of evil first hand, to now turn from sin and become just. A man becomes just through faith in Jesus Christ, who teaches him how to live a sinless life henceforth. He becomes a just man-made perfect when he receives that merciful forgiveness of his sins from the Messiah, who has paid for his sins with his (the Messiah’s) own suffering. Thus God is both just and merciful.
But God cannot be just and merciful, give freedom to sin and reward for not sinning without both allowing sin and paying for all sin allowed. So that same God who created this world by allowing Satan to come on this earth and have a kingdom then pays personally for every jot and tittle of sin which he has allowed, that he might provide a means by which men can be forgiven and become as God is.
Evil is allowed to exist on this earth so that God can be just, and give his law by which men may be exalted. Men may choose to abide that law of their own free agency, and thus become one with God to share all that he has. But God must also be merciful to those who sin but are later sorry, that they may repent, learn to live by God’s law, and be exalted. God could not be just without giving men both law and agency, whereby they sin and create evil. He cannot be merciful without providing a Savior to show them the way out of sin and to forgive them. The tension between his justice and mercy indeed is the occasion for the freedom of man, which makes evil possible on this earth.
- “This is the best of all possible worlds.”
Yes, this is the best of all possible worlds, if what you have in mind is the moral development of mankind. If what’ one wants is the most peaceful and physically non-threatening place which could exist, then this is not the best of all possible worlds for such an one. But if what is desired is a place of freedom, where a man must rely on his heart, his true desires, to choose between good and evil, and where those who choose good will have a virtually unlimited quotient of evil to turn to good as they progress toward becoming as God is, then there could be no better place for such an one to be than on this earth. This earth is the most wicked of all the many earths which God has created. As an incubator for gods and devils, a place where every person may seek and find exactly that pattern of moral choices which he wishes to pursue, this earth and its present world are without peer. They cannot be improved. This is the best of all possible worlds.
- The tests for an answer to the problem of evil.
- It must preserve the traditional view of God.
The question is, whose tradition? The view of God here presented is certainly not “traditional,” but it is scriptural, meaning that it is the same God as that of the Old and New Testaments. It does preserve the idea of a God who is perfect, omnipotent, and omniscient, but doubtless provides an out for everyone who wants one.
- Does it help a person who is suffering?
This view does indeed help those who have found a personal relationship with the true and living God. They know that suffering, not peace and plenty, is the key to spiritual growth. They know that the Lord sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. They know that each human, good and evil, must die. But they know that God is good, and that nothing ever happens to any human being but what God will use that as an avenue of heaping blessings upon the head of that person, both in time and in eternity, if only that person will meet whatever the problem is with love of God and faith in Jesus Christ.
But how can a person who is suffering love God? There is a formula whereby any man can find God. It is to pray in his own secret place in the name of Jesus Christ and humbly to ask for wisdom as to what to do. God; who is merciful, gives wisdom to those who ask in faith. Thus can every human being establish personal contact with the true and living God, and immediately begin to know of his love and goodness as he repents and turns his life towards that light. When one has that personal, experiential (not just rational) relationship with the true and living God, he will know that God is good, for he will taste of God’s love. That love will be his assurance of things not seen, things not understood as yet. It is the assurance that he can trust that the love he feels from God is the safety he need to feel to trust that God has all of the evil of the world in hand, and that God will not allow one iota of evil more than is necessary for the salvation of mankind. Thus are some comforted in their suffering.
- Is God affected by the evil of the world?
He most certainly is. It causes him to weep. He would that it might be otherwise. But justice and mercy cause that it may not be otherwise. So the God of heaven comes down to earth, takes upon himself the form of man, and personally pays for every sin which his justice has created. He personally teaches each human being how to avoid unnecessary suffering in this world, and how to eliminate evil from his own life. There could not be a God who is more personally concerned about the evil of this world and the involvement of each of his children in it.
- Is the God of this explanation worth worshipping?
This answer must be the personal decision of each human being. It is plain that for some persons on this earth, the true and living God is not someone whom they care even to know, let alone worship. But each person must decide this matter for himself when he meets this God, for all do, sooner or later. Some seek him while yet in mortality and find him and worship him. Some find him, worship him, and then decide that they don’t really like him after all; he is not a good God to their thinking. Others hope against hope that he doesn’t even exist. But all will know he exists when they stand face to face before him at the bar of judgment. Then each will know of his love, his justice and his mercy. Nearly all will worship him then.
- Does this explanation account for the magnitude of the evil on the earth?
This explanation holds that the amount of evil on the earth at any given time is simply the sum of the evil desires of the human beings who happen to live on the earth at a given moment (allowing for the sins of the fathers to be visited upon the heads of the children). In times of great evil or of natural disaster, the evil or the natural disasters are simply a function of the desires and actions of the inhabitants. Thus nations ripen in iniquity and are destroyed. Thus nations and peoples humble themselves before God and are prospered. Thus there will come a time again when the earth will be a paradise and when the gross evil of this age will be done away: the earth will enjoy a sabbath of peace and rest from wickedness, which is what evil is. That Sabbath will be brought to pass by the destruction of the wicked people who inhabit the earth, leaving only those who will serve the true and living God of love.
Note: This paper is entitled “An LDS Answer to the Problem of Evil” because there is no orthodoxy to which everyone must adhere in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are certain doctrines which are assuredly false, and there are others which are surely true. But each individual must seize the freedom to search for himself or herself. This allows one to believe false ideas, which if they are serious enough, will become an occasion for someone in authority to attempt to dissuade that individual. But this also allows a person to go beyond the boundaries of that which is commonly acknowledged as true in the church to discover truths that as yet are not known to many. Each is cautioned not to discuss these matters unless he or she is prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so. Thus every person is invited to become a profound theologian, but not so that they can profess this knowledge Rather is the intent that each would be enabled by this knowledge and thus bring forth greater fruits of repentance and love in his or her life.
The result of this situation is that two Latter-Day Saints may not agree at a given moment about a matter of doctrine. Each is working the matter out in his own mind, but the two may not be at the same point of development. The goal is that all who are faithful may come to see eye to eye. Meanwhile, the freedom to grow and be personally creative about searching for the truth about theology brings a necessary evil, a lack of agreement at times.