Theologians have typically explained the presence of evil in our present world by resorting to one of five different arguments or explanations. The first is that an individual does not really need to try to resolve the existence of evil, nor to question the fact that it is. Instead, that person should just accept it. The second explanation for evil is that its presence in this world indicates a limit of God's knowledge. With this argument is the idea that the Lord cannot stop or control that which He does not fully know. Therefore, this is a rationale which requires that a person also rejects the biblical teachings of God's infinity and omniscience.
The next three explanations for evil are discussed by Mr. Erickson. He says that some people, such as the Zoroastrianists and other dualists, choose to limit God's power. These people characterize God as being in the midst of a great struggle with another kind of eternal, evil force, and as such, He is not always in complete control of the situation. The next argument presented by Mr. Erickson addresses those who respond to the presence of evil by modifying their own assumed high degree of His goodness. Perhaps, our "good" God is not as good as we think, and maybe, He is the One Who really brings about so much of the evil in our world. Calvinists, such as Mr. Gordon Clark, take this view and state that humans do not possess absolute free will, that there is no such thing as a permissive will of God. The last argument presented by Mr. Erickson is that evil does not exist, an argument which finds its origins in the teachings of monism and pantheism. With this view, a person maintains that there is only one ultimate, eternal substance and that that substance is God. Because He is all-good and all-powerful, He cannot have part in anything which is evil. Therefore, nothing which exists is evil.
In his response to these five explanations about evil, Mr. Erickson points out that there are some things which God cannot do. For instance, relative to this discussion about the presence of evil, a loving God cannot create a man who does not possess a free will. That being the case, a big part of the problem of evil in this world can be explained. People hurt people. People hurt the environment. According to Mr. Erickson, people as they exercise their free will cause much of the evil which we experience in our everyday lives, and I agree with his assessment.
Tom of Spotswood "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
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