This is perhaps one of the most agonizing and honest questions anyone can ask, especially when confronted with the deep suffering, injustice, and pain of our world. To address it, Scripture carefully distinguishes between who God is and the origin of evil. The Bible affirms unequivocally that God is completely holy, light, and righteous; in Him there is no darkness at all, and He is neither the author of sin nor tempted by evil. Rather than being a tangible substance that God created, moral evil is fundamentally the corruption, privation, or rebellion against God’s good design—much like darkness is the absence of light or cold is the absence of heat. When God created humanity and angelic beings, He endowed them with genuine moral agency and freedom, desiring authentic fellowship rather than robotic obedienceObedience is the active, willing alignment of one’s life with God’s commands, rooted in love, loyalty, and covenant faithfulness. In Scripture, obedience is not mechanical rule‑keeping but wholehearted devotion flowing from the Shema: loving God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength. More. However, love cannot be compelled; genuine free choice necessitates the real potential to reject God’s goodness. Humanity chose to turn away from God’s command in the garden of Eden, unleashing sin, death, and a broken cosmos upon creation. While God currently permits evil to run its course for a season—often working patiently to allow time for repentanceRepentance is the biblical act of turning away from sin and turning toward God. More than sorrow for wrongdoing, true repentance produces a change of heart, mind, and behavior that leads to obedience, spiritual growth, and a closer relationship with the Lord. More and redemption—He has not remained detached or indifferent. Instead of leaving us to our self-inflicted ruin, God entered into human suffering Himself through the person of Jesus ChristJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More, bearing the agonizing weight of human evil upon the cross to disarm it. The presence of evil is not permanent; Scripture promises that God’s patience will culminate in a final judgment where all wrongs are made right, every tear is wiped away, and evil, suffering, and death itself are permanently destroyed.
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