The real problem in the problem of evil is how to reconcile belief in theism with the existence of evil in the universe. If God is truly omniscient, omnipotent, and perfectly moral, then why is there any evil at all? If he is aware of it, able to eliminate it, and willing, then it is assumed that he should destroy evil, or better yet, create a world without it. Therefore, it is claimed, the reality of evil cannot be squared with belief in a theistic God. Evil makes theism incoherent.

            But is there really a problem with evil? I don't think there is, not at least for God. The problem is, in reality, a manufactured one: it only exists when we try to make God dance to our human constructs of morality. But God is not moral. Morality implies oughtness, and oughtness can never be demanded from a truly sovereign God. By what standard is God to be measured? Certainly not the human standard; and because there exists no standard outside of God, we must confess, with the Scripture, that God's very nature is the standard of morality. God is good and therefore does good according to his own nature. Now I am not saying that our basic notions of goodness are wrong, but they are certainly imperfect, as all humans are. And furthermore, what is morally binding for humanity is not necessarily so with God.

            So the evil in the world decreed by God, though not created or sustained by him (because evil is not a thing in itself but a privation of the good), must be good. Not that the evil itself is good, for it is evil and rightly hated, but it is good that God has decreed it, else it would not be so. Yes, God can decree evil that results in good. But is this not utilitarianism? Maybe so, but once again, we are not justified in forcing our standards of right and wrong, fair and unfair, and just and unjust upon God. It is wrong for us to justify the means by the end, but it is certainly not wrong for God to do so. For God himself is the only one who can clearly see the good end, and he alone has the power to actually bring it about. It is always wrong for us to will evil, but it is not wrong for God, according to his good nature, to will that evil exist for some good purpose.

            I am absolutely convinced that this is precisely what the apostle Paul was referring to in Romans chapter nine. Paul anticipates the question and raises the issue of fairness concerning God's sovereign election. His answer: the creature has no right to question the actions of the Creator; imperfect man, with his imperfect judgments, has no right to question the actions of a perfect God. If God desires to make vessels of rebellion to demonstrate his power and wrath, then that is his sovereign prerogative. Likewise, if he wills evil for a greater good, then who can object? God is transcendent; he exists as a different order of being. We should expect that his relationship to evil is not univocal with ours.

            The atheist who raises the problem of evil must play by the theist's rules, the rules of Scripture. The Bible does not describe a God who conforms to good, nor a God who capriciously determines it, but a God who is goodness himself. Game over. Admittedly, this takes the eyes of faith to see. We must trust that the Bible is right when it describes God as goodness, and love, and righteousness. Evil does not pose a problem for God's existence. Rather, the problem lies in the Christian's understanding of how God relates to evil. Of course, this is not a real problem, but simply a problem of the understanding.

Anthony Alberino