THE THIRD IN A SERIES OF FOUR ARTICLES BY PIERRE GILBERT. BASED ON GOD NEVER MEANT FOR US TO DIE: THE EMERGENCE OF EVIL IN THE LIGHT OF THE CREATION ACCOUNT (EUGENE, OR: WIPF & STOCK , 2020).
hristians have traditionally linked the emergence of evil to the exercise of free will. This may seem reasonable and plausible, but as I will demonstrate, it is not quite as simple as it sounds. In order to account for the presence of evil in the world, we must begin with the right question: what was God’s original intention for humanity? To attempt to make sense of our existence by looking at the world in its present condition is as futile as attempting to figure out the design of a cannibalized car abandoned in a field. No amount of philosophical speculation could ever account for the apparent incompetence of the engineers who designed a contraption that has no wheels, no engine, and no transmission. Most philosophers and theologians tend to approach the problem of evil from this side of history. Like those who might follow a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way back home, they are convinced they can arrive at an explanation for what is wrong with the world by deductively working backwards from our present situation. This is, however, a strategy that will always prove to be inadequate, for there is critical information that is not directly accessible to us. The painful discrepancy we feel between what is and what ought to be is not simply the result of our overactive imagination. Unless we resign ourselves to believing in a world that accidentally emerged out of some mindless chaos, we are compelled to peer into the fantastic chasm that separates what is from what should be, and despair. If, as Christians claim, the world was created by an intelligent, loving, and all-powerful designer, there must be an explanation that accounts for the suffering, so much of it gratuitous, that men and women experience or inflict on others. I contend that there exists such an explanation. The first step consists in discovering God’s original plan for humanity. To get an adequate picture of what that intent might be, let us turn to Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”1
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1 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version © 2011.
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The reference to the image of God implies a special status for humanity. Human beings are not simply given the mandate to rule, but to rule like God would, showing love, concern, fairness, and justice. Only a special kind of creature can follow through on such a mandate. If the creature is to have the capacity to love others, show kindness to all of creation, and be loyal to the divine king, it needs to be endowed with free will. For without this attribute, impulses like love and loyalty are impossible to express. That God wished to create a creature that would be most fundamentally defined by its ability to act freely is confirmed throughout Scripture. The Torah contains repeated exhortations to choose God and to reject idols.2 The prophets call on the Israelites to abandon idolatry and to turn to Yahweh. 3 The wisdom writers invite an audience that is convinced meaning and truth can be found outside of biblical faith to consider trusting in God.4 The gospels present Christ to men and women who are expected to decide whether to follow him or not. The epistles contain countless exhortations for Christians to remain faithful to God. 2 Cf. Exod 20:2–5; Lev 26:1–46; Num 14:9–10; Deut 4:1–40; 5:1–11; 6:1–25; 7:11; 27:15–26; 28:1–68; etc. 3 See, for example, Is 1:18-20; Jer 4:1-2; Hos 14:1-9; Am 4:1-13; etc. 4 See for instance Prov 1:1–33; Eccl 12:1.
