The Epicurean Paradox
About 300 years ago before Christ’s birth, a philosopher in Athens named Epicurus put to words one of philosophy’s greatest questions. Or at least that is what Lactantius claimed some 600 years later. While the origin of the question is uncertain, there is no doubt that the Epicurean Paradox is the most famous version of the Problem of Evil. There is no telling how many Christians have been plagued with anxiety and doubt from the implications of the problem. If you are unfamiliar, the below picture explains it succinctly.
The Epicurean paradox, and all other versions of the problem of evil, struggles to reconcile the existence of evil with the omnipotence of God. It is quite a conundrum, especially if we are unfamiliar with the Bible passages that defy this paradox. Personally, as someone that lives in Nashville, TN, I feel compelled to write this after the tragic shooting that occurred a few days ago. Such senseless violence, especially when the victims are innocent, can rock any believer. It can make us doubt our beliefs and it can turn non-believers off from the Gospel. that is why we must have a good, biblical answer to the problem of evil.
We will of course dive into this assuming that 1) evil is real 2) God exists 3) the Bible is true. We need the first two factors to even consider this paradox, and we need the third if we are ever going to find an answer that validates the Christian faith.
Question 1: Can God prevent evil?
This question is an easy one to answer, because there are examples littered throughout scripture. In Genesis 19, the Lord’s angels blind men attempting to rape Lot’s guests. In Daniel 3, the Lord saves Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from being burned alive. The entire book of Exodus is God intervening to save his people from slavery by the Israelites and death in the wildness. The Bible makes it obvious, through repeated examples, that God very much can intervene in evil.
Question 2: Does God know about all the evil?
This is another easy question, because the Bible makes it clear that God is omnipotent. Psalm 147:5 says “His understanding is beyond measure.” Proverbs 15:3 says “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” On top of this, the Bible contains hundreds of prophecies that came true, including ones that contained evil actions or consequences for evil, such as Peter denying Christ or Moses being unable to enter the Promise Land. We can check this one as a yes.
Question 3: Does God want to prevent evil?
This is the last of the layup questions. Once more the Bible lists out a litany of verses that answer this question with a resounding yes. Psalm 5:5 blatantly says “you hate all evildoers”, referring to God. Proverbs 6 and other passages list out sins that God abhors. He constantly teaches a hatred of wickedness and a life of righteousness to his followers. In addition, the mere fact that God does prevent evil in scripture means that he wants to prevent evil, because an all-powerful being will do whatever it wants, because there are no restraints preventing it from doing so. With this being true, it leads directly into the difficult question this paradox presents.
Question 4: Then why is there evil?
This is where people trip up. The balance between the existence of evil and the existence of a good God. In order to start answering this question, however, let’s look at the fifth question in the paradox:
Question 5: Could God have created a universe without evil?
Yes, in fact he did. Heaven is a place without evil. We know this because when there is sin in Heaven, God immediately casts the evildoer out, because evil is not tolerated. Evil is incompatible with God’s perfect presence in his perfect home, therefore evil must be cast out. Otherwise, evil would taint a perfect place and make it not so. The most famous example of this is the origin of Satan, who fell from Heaven due to his sin, as told in Isaiah 14: 12–15 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Because there is no iota of sin in Heaven, there is no evil allowed in it, which is why Satan and his minions were cast out. But if there is already a place that exists with no evil, then why bother creating a place that has evil in it? This is where we circle back to question 4 (and 6), why is there evil?
The answer to this question lies in in 1 Peter 1:3–12:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
That last part of verse is the key to this puzzle. Angels who reside in Heaven have not committed sin. We know this because sin cannot exist in a perfect place, and the angels who did sin (Satan) were immediately cast out. They are not as holy or powerful as God, since they were created by him and serve him, but they are much holier and more powerful than us. Throughout scripture, seeing angels made men recoil with fear or be compelled to worship them. So why on Earth would a mighty angel who has not committed sin and inspires worship long to look at the salvation of humans? Romans 5:6–11 provides an answer:
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Let’s say you have been kidnapped with one other person, and the kidnapper offers you a deal. If you die, the other person will be set free. Let’s say that person is your spouse, who has never done anything wrong to you. In that case, it may be hard to die, but because of your love for them and their treatment of you, it’s not a stretch to say you might be willing to make that sacrifice because they deserve to live. Now let’s say that the other person is someone from high school who bullied you in the past and has been unrepentant. It is much tougher to justify dying for someone who has shown no love for you in the past or the present. We might say that they have done nothing to deserve our sacrifice. Jesus could’ve made the same judgement on us because of our sinful nature. We are naturally stubborn, unloyal, and unloving towards God and his commandments. And yet He still chose to die for us, despite us doing nothing to deserve his sacrifice.
Contrast that with an angel, which is a perfect being. They are easy to love, because there is nothing they have done that requires forgiveness. They look at our salvation with awe because we are difficult to love. It takes a greater sacrifice, a greater degree of love for God to forgive us and gift us salvation. You cannot have that great act of sacrificial love without the existence of evil. That is why evil exists: it allows God to love to a greater degree than He can in a perfect world. It allows Him to make the greatest act of love the universe has ever known and sacrifice His only son in order to redeem His people, despite their evil.
Another piece of the puzzle that is crucial to understanding this concept is our role in God’s creation. Part of the reason we have a tough time understanding the existence of evil is we believe ourselves to be the center of the universe. We think the existence of evil to be unjust towards us, as if we deserve a perfect world to reside in. But this is not our universe, it is God’s. We are His creation, and as Romans 9:19–24 states, He has every right to do whatever he wants with us:
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory — 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
This can be difficult for us to stomach, especially if we have doubts that God is good. How can God be good if He allows evil, even if the purpose of evil is to express His divine love? It is because of his divine justice. Ecclesiastes 3:17 states 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. This means that at the end of this world every action will face God’s judgement, and those sins will be paid for. Either they will be paid for by the blood of Jesus on the cross on our behalf, or they will be paid for by the evildoer. No sin will go unjudged. No one will get away with sin without someone paying the price. That divine justice is the key to this divine plan, which was established before creation itself. It ensures that evil can exist and yet God can be good, because in His providence He ties up all loose ends.
It can also be difficult to come to terms with the idea of being a clay pot: a vessel for God’s glory. We are naturally independent and self-serving, so the idea that God’s primary purpose in His creation is His own glory is naturally offputting to our sinful nature. But God is perfect, and He is deserving of our love and worship, because even though His primary purpose is love and glory amongst the Trinity, He created us as His special beings. Of all of God’s vast creation, mankind experiences the deepest form of God’s love because He gave His only son for us. We are a small part of God’s redemptive plan, but believers can take heart in the great undeserved reward we receive, which is an eternal, personal relationship with God, the one who loves us perfectly and understands us like no one else does.
For those that do not know this love, know that God gives this love freely. He knows that we are not worthy of His love, and yet He still sent Christ to die for us so that we would be saved. All God requires is faith. Embrace 2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
God offers the free gift of salvation. He knows and loves you better than anyone ever will. Embrace Him and trust in Him, so that you would join Him one day in His Heavenly Kingdom.
