- Well, the fact of the matter is
this is not a simple question.
It's a very complex question that predates even Christian
times when pagan philosophers asked it.
Typically, it's framed something like this,
if God is all powerful and He knows everything
that's going on and He's really all loving,
how is it that there's any evil in the world.
Couldn't He stop it if He's all powerful
and if He knows that it's there?
And if He's really loving wouldn't He want to stop it?
And it's led to the kinds of answers that say,
either there is no God or He can't do anything about it
with His power or He really doesn't care.
Now, Christians, of course, cannot accept this answer
and, in fact, the answer is no.
God is not the author of sin.
He doesn't approve of it and this is the message
of the Bible from cover to cover.
And there are many unanswered questions here philosophically,
but that is the answer in the Bible.
And there's a reason for this fundamental Christian
conviction and it's because of what I call
his omni-attributes.
So, as in the original question that the pagans raised,
God is omnipotent.
He can do anything that's consistent with His nature.
That is to say because He is God there are things He can do
that, of course, we cannot.
He is Omniscient.
He knows all things.
So there is nothing hidden from His sight.
All things are laid bare and open to the eyes of Him
with whom we have to do.
And He's omni-benevolent.
This means that God is perfectly good.
There's no shadow of darkness in God like there are these
things in even Christians are aware of their own sinfulness.
So, we hold those omnis together in a balance
that allows us to answer this question the proper way.
And so for instance, I like to say there are goalposts
like in football, there's a range in which
if you put the ball through those posts, you're safe.
Outside the posts, you're not.
And, historically there are a number of ways that people
pit the omnis against one another.
So, for instance, some people are so infatuated with God's
goodness or His love that they're not even willing
to say that bad things happen and they will then reduce
His knowledge of the future,
or they will undermine His omnipotence.
On the other hand, there are people who sometimes make
the mistake because they're so infatuated with God's power
and His sovereignty that they will underplay
His omni-benevolence.
And in fact, will end up actually making God the author of sin.
None of these things are within the historic goalposts
of what we call Orthodox Christianity.
I like to point out at this point other world views
have much worse problems with the very same question.
Put it this way, why is there any evil in the world
or maybe we could even say it this way,
other world views can't even make a distinction between evil
and good because their world view really doesn't permit it.
So, for instance, many Eastern world views refer to evil
as as an illusion.
And in a way what this does is belittles people
who are suffering mightily or indeed it doesn't make
a good thing any different from an evil thing.
Atheists face the same problem.
They may be able to say I don't believe that is a good thing
or that's a bad thing.
But, their worldview doesn't give them a way
to fundamentally ground that other than a mystery.
Why is it better for Christians,
it's because God is a person,
and good and evil are attributes of persons.
We don't attribute good and evil to quarks or to tomatoes
or to animals, it's to persons.
And so, fundamentally the Bible gives us the best answer
to this in the end.
God, who is perfectly good, and perfectly powerful,
and perfectly all knowing proves that He's not the author
of evil by sending His own son to die on the cross
so that we who are evil can be forgiven
and have eternal life.
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching Honest Answers.
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