The Mere Absence of Good?

I. Existence of evil
A. Evil is an illusion
1. Faulty sensory perception
B. Evil is real
1. Standard of judgment
2. Evil is a real non-entity

II. Origin of evil
A. Dualism
1. Good and evil – coeternal
B. God
1. Indirect Cause
C. Man
1. Direct cause

III. Kinds of evil
A. Moral evil
1. Direct result of the abuse of free will
a. Thoughts
b. Actions
B. Natural evil
1. Indirect result of the abuse of free will

IV. Evil Foreseen
A. A world of turmoil
1. Could have been prevented

V. End of evil
A. All evil has some purpose
1. Some purposes are unknown
2. Some purposes are known
B. Evil will end
1. Why it isn’t destroyed now
a. Preservation of free will
2. Will be overcome
a. By means of free will

There’s really no easy way to deal with the problem of evil. Evil is a real issue we must face, and giving mere intellectual answers is sometimes not enough. Nonetheless, we must attempt to structure a proper view of evil if we’re going to make sense of the world; and evil is indeed a part of our world. Also, it’s been said there are three types of people in the world: those presently experiencing some form of evil, those just coming out of some form of evil experience, and those who are about to experience some form of evil. Therefore, since it affects all of us, we proceed to face the issue of evil.

EXISTENCE OF EVIL

If this is a morally neutral world, with no essential difference between good and evil, then perhaps “evil” is nothing more than a word we use to describe things that are unpleasant and painful to us. In that case, there’s really no standard to determine what’s evil, other than our own subjective interpretation. If so, then evil could be just an illusion. But if there is a real essential difference between good and evil, then there would have to be some objective standard to determine the difference.

Evil as an illusion – There are certain things we perceive through our senses that some would call “evil”. In the least, we might call them unpleasant and/or painful experiences. But can these senses really be trusted to interpret reality? If all we experience in the senses are illusory – and evil is what we experience through the senses – then evil itself must be an illusion. But in order to be certain in our conclusion, we must have some basis for being certain that all we experience through the senses is an illusion. But if we had certainty of anything experienced through the senses, then the illusion disappears. On the other hand, if all sensory experience truly is an illusion, then absolute certainty of anything disappears, including the certainty that evil is an illusion. We could say we have certainty that “evil is an illusion”, but on what basis? Still, there are those who affirm that evil is only an illusion (see Worldview/Pantheism). What then do we make of the problem of evil as only an illusion? Perhaps the idea that evil is only an illusion is an illusion itself. Either way, this idea doesn’t successfully solve the problem of evil; it only denies its existence on no certain grounds.

Evil as real – But if evil is not merely an illusion, then it must be real. And if it is real then we would have to have some ultimate standard by which to determine what is evil. Simply because I don’t like something does not make it evil. Nor just because I do like something does not make it good. If something is to be determined evil, then the standard to judge it must transcend all culture, lest we fall prey to cultural relativism.

But even with an objective transcending standard to determine what is evil, just what are we looking for? If evil is real, then must we classify it as an entity such as we do with good? Perhaps the best answer to this is the Augustinian approach to evil. According to Augustine evil is not a thing, but a real corruption in things. It exists as corruption in a good thing but is not a thing itself. Evil is real; it is a real lack of something that ought to be there. For when you take all good out of something, you end up with nothing. But when you take all evil out of something, that thing gets better. As Thomas Aquinas has put it, “All being is good; evil does not exist except in a good subject.” It’s assumed that just because something is essentially good, that something can be also essentially evil. But when attempting to compare good and evil, you discover that you end up making a category mistake since the two are not comparable; one (the good) is a real substance, and the other (the evil) is not. Thus evil, unlike good, has no being of its own but is real nonetheless. It is non-thing, but not nothing.

ORIGIN OF EVIL

Dualism – Manichaeism of the third century A.D. taught that good and evil are two coeternal principles. It was believed that evil, like God, has no beginning. God was seen to be in an eternal conflict with evil, even before the creation of the world. But since there is something outside of God to which He has not (and likely will not) overcome, their view was of a finite God – finite godism. And if evil is defined as a lack in a good thing, then God Himself would be lacking in some quality that should be there. However, a God that lacks in His goodness would cease to be God. And with God out of the equation, there remains no objective standard of judging evil. We have no basis for calling something evil unless we have an absolute good with which to compare it.

God – If God is the cause of all things, and evil is a thing, then God is the cause of evil. But if God is not the cause of all things, then He is not sovereign. If evil is not real, then we are back at illusionism. But if evil is not actually a thing, but a lack in a good thing, then God can be not only the creator of all things without being the creator of evil but also the ultimate standard of determining what is evil. And if evil is not eternal, nor was created by God, then God must be responsible for the possibility of evil – not the direct cause of evil, but the Indirect cause.

Man – In the creation of man, there were only two alternatives: 1.) create him with free will, or 2.) create him without free will. He is not without free will (see man, free will), therefore he has free will. Determinism not only shifts the cause of all actions to God as the First Cause of all that occurs, including evil, but it turns man into a robot performing only what he is programmed to do. But this is contrary to the love and respect in which God is said to have extended towards man, and the love and respect expected to be returned back to God. To force man to love him is neither love nor respect. However, with the gift of free will came the possibility to choose evil over the good. Therefore, evil is a direct result of the misuse of free will.

KINDS OF EVIL

There are two broad categories of evil: 1.) moral evil, and 2.) natural evil.

Moral evil – Among the moral evils are those that take place in thoughts and actions. Some evils such as murder and adultery begin in the thoughts before they ever take place through actions. The fact that they take place only in the mind makes it no less evil than taking place through the body. Neither do evils of the mind affect only the individual; it affects all people in the same way a single rock thrown in a pond causes ripples throughout the whole pond.

Natural evil – Among the natural evils are those that take place in nature, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, sickness, and disease. Perhaps it’s the natural evils that seem most inconsistent with a good God. How could such a good God allow such natural disasters to overtake innocent people? It’s a good question with no easy answer. In a theistic framework, all creation is suffering because of the first couple’s abuse of free will. A moral line was crossed by Adam and Eve. It was the introduction of a new order, the effects of which can still be felt today.

EVIL FORESEEN

A world of turmoil – If the world was created with the foresight of all that would occur, including all the evil, then why create a world at all? If it was destined to be subject to such suffering, it seems like some form of cruelty to create rational and emotional beings just to watch them suffer. And it would be cruel if that was the purpose. But what were the options? We could have not been created at all, which is not necessarily a better option since we cannot compare the present world with nothing. We could have been created preprogrammed to always do good, which is not really good since forced love is a contradiction. There are several alternatives to this present world, but neither one is likely to have been a better one than what we actually have: a world where free rational creatures can choose good and evil, with good consequences following good choices, and bad consequences following bad choices. Thus, the only way to prevent the possibility of evil is not to create at all.

And surely we were created with the foresight of all the evil that would occur. But that doesn’t mean we were destined for suffering. Nor is it cruel to create humans knowing the turmoil they would get in. Neither is it cruel to create a world where evil prevails forever. But that is not what we have. What we have is hope of overcoming evil.

END OF EVIL

All Evil Has Some Purpose

But to assume there is an all-good, all-powerful God is to assume He has a good reason and purpose for all that occurs, including bad things that happen to people who don’t deserve it. And if He is good and powerful, then He would also not fail to take into account all the good things that happen to those who least deserve it.

The purpose of much evil is unknown

Is there really such a thing as evil having a good purpose? We may witness some evil to which there seems to be no purpose for. But just because we don’t know any good purpose for some evil doesn’t mean there is none. If we were all-knowing, we might know the purpose. But if we were all-knowing, we’d be God. Therefore, since we are finite, we should expect not to have all the answers to the “why’s” of evil.

The purpose of some evil is known

There are some evils that can be shown to have a good purpose. The suffering that evil causes is not enjoyable, but it’s here for us to deal with. Pain can sometimes serve as warning signals. Character is often not developed unless going through hardships, which would otherwise never be experienced. We would never know the joys of forgiving and being forgiven unless we’ve first experienced some type of moral evil from another. Diamonds aren’t formed except under pressure. Going through the horrors of losing a child to a disease or illness can develop compassion for others going through the same experience. Some evil may also serve as a reminder that we’re not yet in the best of all worlds, and that there is a better world to come. And if finite minds can know at least some purpose for evil, then an Infinite mind knows a good purpose for the rest. Therefore, none of the sufferings we endure is going to waste.

Evil will end – Why isn’t evil destroyed now? If God is all-powerful, then He has the ability to destroy evil. If He is all good, then He has the desire to destroy evil. Yet, evil still remains to be part of our world. However, the evil that exists in the world is not necessarily incompatible with a good God who’s all-powerful. He does have the power and desire to end evil. But in order to destroy evil, He must destroy the means through which it comes – human free will. If human free will is destroyed, then we’re back to the deterministic programmed robots that love because they’re preprogrammed to do so. If a person is not free to express evil, then neither is he free to express love. But in order for love to be possible, free will must be granted, And if free will is to be granted, then there must also be the possibility for evil. But if evils are a result of human freedom, so also can good result from human freedom, Therefore, it’s impossible to destroy evil without destroying the possibility of good. But that does not mean that evil will not be overcome. It will.

The way to overcome evil is with good, and the way to bring about good is the right use of free will. This will not immediately end all evil. It will certainly not put a stop to natural evil. But a tenacious and persistent exercise of good (against not only the effects of evil, but also the cause) ultimately will bring about the downfall of moral evil. And if this is a theistic world, then we have the hope of a new world where evil will receive its just retribution through the use of our free will. In this way, the goodness and power of God are not incompatible with evil.

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Nature of Evil