The source of evil

Recently, I came across an article most likely written by a non-Christian that had a very interesting statement about the source of evil. In the article two people who were held in captivity on two different continents discuss their painful memories from captivity.

Towards the end of the article the two former captives discuss the impact of their faith (or lack thereof). One did not feel he could pray during his ordeal for two reasons: first of all, he had not been praying before he was kidnapped and felt it would not be right to start then. Secondly, he heard over the radio of people whose condition because of war was even worse than his own and believed that if God was not helping them, God would not intervene on his behalf. Curiously, when he was released from captivity, he failed to see God's intervention in his release. That simple omission may reveal a foundational problem in his attitude: he is not seeking God and therefore is not "finding" Him.

The second captive challenged his thinking by commenting that the first captive had been asking God the wrong questions. She went on to say that the source of the world's ills was not God or His lack of intervention. According to her, the source of the world's ills was mankind.

I do not know her spiritual state; she may be a Christian or she may not. However, her insight is impressive. It is not that God wants sin and evil to be present in the world or even that He allows it. What God grants mankind for good or ill is the ability to choose. Robbed of our right to choose but allowed to express our opinion, we would probably complain that God was keeping us confined. Conversely, having the right to choose, we complain that it is God's fault that men are so evil. There is certainly something sinfully perverse in mankind's thinking.

I do not claim to be able to understand or explain how God's complete sovereignty interacts with man's free will. However, I do know this: as I look at the social ills in Mongolia and the United States, I see people consumed with selfishness and willing to injure others in their efforts to advance their own interests. The problem of evil is not God's but ours.