Why did God create evil?

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The other day I posted a very brief review I wrote at goodreads.com about Gut Check, a book I finished last week. There were so many good parts of this book that I wanted to share with you, but I didn't bookmark them and, of course, now my memory fails me.

But there is one section of text that has stuck with me, and it answers one of those age-old questions that those who question God's presence will throw out. For those teaching catechism (or those who remember their catechism) it's a basic premise that we know, but is explained in the book so well.

The author of the book, Tarek Saab, during a period of questioning God's existence, asks his spiritual adviser (a Benedictine monk), "If God is good, why did he create evil?" Below is the conversation that follows this question.

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"A warm and holy man, he appreciated the genuine skepticism in my voice, and he approached my question with the simplicity and conviction of a man who has devoted his life to the topic.
'Ah, the problem of evil! That's a tough one, isn't it. Mr. Saab?' he laughed.

'Yes, father. I can't wrap my mind around it. I've been thinking about it a lot.'

'Well, what is evil, son? Let us start with that question, okay? St. Augustine in his Confessions explains evil this way: he says that evil, as a thing, does not actually exist, you see, because evil is a term used to describe a deficiency in goodness. Understand? If you bought a whole pizza and it came with only one slice, that pizza would be deficient because it is missing the other seven slices. Where goodness is not perfect, that is what we call evil. In other words, good is something, evil is something missing. Therefore, good and evil can more accurately be stated as good and not good.'

'Okay, I follow you, father.'

'Walk with me,' he commanded. 'God only created good, you see. So Mr. Saab, your question really is this: why does God allow good to be missing in the world, is it not?'

'I guess so, father.'

'Okay. Well why did God create the world in the first place?' he asked rhetorically. 'God created the world because He desires that we share in His perfect love, you see. It is really that simple. In order for this perfect love to exist, it requires that He bestow upon man the gift of free will, giving us the option of loving Him. How can there be true love if we are forced to love Him? Love without free will is nothing! Imagine if a person forced you unwillingly to love a woman off the street -- we wouldn't call that a relationship at all, would we, let alone the foundation for a covenant? God endows us with the ability to reject Him, and this rejection is what evil is, you see. Evil is choice. Sometimes it is a direct choice, but very often an indirect one. That's why it's important for us, as Christians, to rid not only ourselves of evil, but the whole world of evil as well."

'I understand father, thank you.'

'Does this answer your question?'

'Well, kind of. What about suffering? What about a tiny baby in Africa who has no food? Is that his choice? He's innocent, isn't he?'

'He's suffering because of another man's evil. He is suffering because of a tyrannical government that controls the food supply,' he replied. 'But, to your point, let's take another example. Let us say someone is suffering because of a natural disaster, an earthquake or something. Now you might argue there is no evil involved at all correct?'

'Sure,' I nodded.

'Well, suffering in general is a very difficult concept for us. To suffer, it would seem, is the greatest human fear. Theologically, we would say that suffering entered the world the moment evil entered the world, and is therefore a byproduct of evil, you see. But the glory of the Passion is that suffering can be made into something beautiful.'

'But I thought that was the point of the crucifixion. Didn't Christ take our sins upon Himself? Why would God want us to suffer?'

'God wants us to love, Mr. Saab. To LOVE! You see? I will ask you then: can there be love without suffering? Can there be love without sacrifice?'

'Without sacrifice, no. But suffering?'

'We can turn our suffering into a gift, son. A gift to God. We can offer up our pain to God and bear it nobly, and pray that our sacrifice might appease the sorrows committed against His love. Do you understand?' he asked. 'Why did Christ suffer and die for us?'

'To save our souls.'

'Ahh, but He is God. He in infinite Goodness. One tiny minuscule drop of His blood would have been enough to save all of mankind for eternity,' he explained, squeezing his thumb and index finger together. 'So why did He suffer and die the most horrible death imaginable?'

'To be an example?' I guessed.

'Precisely! Precisely. Now you understand. He offers us the most perfect example of love. Eleven of the twelve apostles -- now I'm including Judas' replacement Mathias here as well -- they followed Christ's example and they all suffered and died terribly out of love. You see? Only John averted a martyr's death, and you might say that his suffering came at the foot of the cross. The early Christians, a good many of them suffered and died horribly out of love. In fact, the Roman Coliseum was irrigated by Christian blood. Do you see? We are not all called to be martyrs, to be sure, but we are all called to love God with that same passion and zeal, with that same urgency. The suffering we bear should be offered up to God as a wonderful gift of love, my boy. If you only knew! Suffering can be transformed into something very beautiful!'

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This passage is just one of many beautiful learning experiences in this book. I highly recommend it for all adults, but especially young adults, both men and women. This young author was very fortunate to learn the gifts of our great God so early in his life. I hope that he touches many others and turns many hearts toward the Father.


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