Biblical Perspective on Evil – Part 1

Part 1: Evil and the Justice of God

Class Date: January 19, 2022

Pastor Dan begins this series with a discussion of how philosophers throughout history have attempted to come to grips with the problem of evil. Since evil by definition includes a force that results in nothingness; then the conclusion we can come to is that the material world is evil by nature. Early philosophers proposed the idea of an eternal world without these evils. We can grasp the idea of perfect justice, truth, and a utopian paradise – which Christians generally call Heaven. The solution to escape evil is for the soul to migrate to the eternal world.

There were many groups in the ancient world which did battle with early Christianity such as Platonism, Gnosticism and Manichaeism. Some of these groups eventually appropriated Christian ideas. All these perspectives on evil seem to comprehend that evil is both a struggle with oneself and a power external to the self. Both moral (human malevolence) and natural (disasters) are caused by a force beyond ourselves. Evil can’t always be reduced to external manipulation. From a Christian point of view, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.