6. The “problem of evil”
6. THE “PROBLEM OF EVIL”
Why does God allow evil? This is the strongest argument for atheism.
St. Thomas formulates the argument. He says, If one of two contraries (opposites) be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the word “God” means that He is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable. But there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist (I,2,3).
If God is infinitely good, He does not will any evil. And if He is infinitely powerful, He gets all that He wills and only what He wills. So why is there evil? Does God lack goodness or power?
Here is St. Thomas’ answer:
As Augustine says, “Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil.” This is part of the infinite goodness of God, that He should allow evil to exist and out of it produce good (1,2,3).
The clearest example of this is the crucifixion of Christ, the most evil deed ever done, the murder of God. And out of this greatest evil came the greatest good, our salvation. If God can pull off that trick there, He can do that anywhere. Every tragedy can be a “Good Friday”.
So when you see something evil, whether a physical evil (like death) or a moral evil (like the oppression of the innocent), know that God in His infinite wisdom knows infinitely more than you do about it and does not prevent it even though He could, because He is bringing some greater good out of it, usually a good that we cannot yet see, except by the eyes of faith and trust.
St. Thomas’ answer to the problem of evil is not just good philosophy; it is good spiritual direction, it is powerfully practical. Because it enables us to say to God “Even though I do not understand why You allowed this, I trust you”, not just when we see little evils like hemorrhoids but even when we see horrible evils like Holocausts. Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). We cannot prove it, and we cannot fully understand it, but we are always free to make the choice to trust Him. The atheist tries to take that freedom from us. St. Thomas defends us against that assault.
Neither St. Thomas nor any other human being can give the atheist what he demands: a reason why God allows this or that particular evil (e.g., the death of a child, or the power of a Hitler). But he can give the atheist a reason why it is irrational and unfair for him to demand to know such reasons. For if there is a God, Whose wisdom is infinitely greater than ours, then we would not be able to understand the reasons why He allows many things to happen, any more than a dog or an infant can understand why adults do what they do. For the difference between our finite minds and God’s infinite mind is at least as great as the difference between a dog’s or an infant’s finite mind and our own. We are not God. Why is it so hard for us to remember that?
In a vision, God summarized all of divine revelation to St. Catherine in two two-word sentences: “I’m God. You’re not.” Why is it so easy for us to forget that second thing?
There is therefore infinite room to trust Him even—especially—when we are shocked, surprised, and scandalized by some evil whose good result we simply do not see. We do not have divine eyes. But there is One Who does. Those are the two most salient facts of our existence.
If we did understand the reasons why God allowed every evil He allows, if we understood “the big picture”, we would be as wise as God; and in that case there would be no God above ourselves, and this would not disprove atheism, this would prove atheism.