One of the most horrible answers to evil and suffering in the world is that “God allows it.” Once again, God is the perpetrator or an accessory to crimes against humanity. Such a belief system effectively challenges the justice system of any civilized society. If God allows evil, what right do we have to punish evil doers? That which God allows for His own divine purposes should be celebrated, not criminalized. For some reason, nonsense makes sense to some religious minds.
The truth is that God did NOT allow sin and evil into the earth. Man allowed it. God created man in His own image and gave man the power to make choices. Everything God created was good. There was no sin, no death, no sickness, no war, no natural disasters and no suffering in God’s creation. God specifically told Adam and Eve to NOT eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He did not allow evil.
We must understand that the nature of God is good. Good has one Source; God. Evil is the absence of good. Evil is the consequence of independence from God. It was never God’s will that His creation live independently from Him. Jesus declared that He could do nothing except what He received from His Father (Jn. 5:19). He is our pattern. If we don’t abide in the Vine, we are cooperating with the consequences of independence, i.e., corruption.
Sin entered the world through man, not through God (Rom. 5:12). What God allows is for man to choose dependence upon Him and live. If man chooses darkness and death, God will respect that decision, but He is not responsible for the heartache and suffering that will come from such decisions.
God does not allow evil. He allows man to choose dependence or independence and He will respect those decisions. Evil is man’s fault, not God’s.
Barry Bennett
Lively Hope 