If God is good, why is there evil?
Habakkuk 1:13
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
New International Version (NIV)
The answer
God is good, sin did not originate in His character or His good creation, and evil will not have the last word. God made everything “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Human sin and death entered through disobedience after the serpent’s deception (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12). God does not tempt anyone to sin; desire conceives sin, and sin produces death (James 1:13-15). He permits evil for a time without approving it, can overrule it for good, has acted to save sinners through Christ’s death, and will finally judge evil and renew creation.
A good creation, now fallen
God’s goodness includes His opposition to wickedness: Psalms 5:4-5 says that He takes no pleasure in it and that evil cannot dwell with Him. Genesis 3:1-19 describes Adam and Eve believing the serpent’s lie and eating what God had forbidden. Shame, pain, toil and death followed. Romans 5:12 summarizes the human catastrophe: “sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin.”
The present world is therefore not simply the world as God first made it. Creation has been subjected to futility and groans under bondage to decay while awaiting deliverance (Romans 8:20-22). Scripture does not provide an explanation for every individual tragedy, but it never requires calling cruelty, disease or death good.
God’s patience is not approval
Habakkuk asked why a holy God tolerated treachery and remained silent while the wicked swallowed up those more righteous (Habakkuk 1:13). His question was not unbelief disguised as piety; it was a complaint brought to God in faith. God answered that His vision had an appointed time, would not prove false, and must be awaited: “the righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:3-4).
God’s delay has a merciful purpose. He is “not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). That patience is an opportunity to repent, not permission to continue in sin. Judgment is certain: the dead will be judged according to their works, death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire, and those not written in the book of life will be cast there (Revelation 20:11-15).
God’s answer is Christ and a new creation
God can accomplish good without making human evil innocent. Joseph told the brothers who had sold him, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). At the cross, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel gathered against Jesus, yet their actions fulfilled what God’s hand and counsel had foreordained (Acts 4:27-28). Their wickedness remained wickedness; it could not defeat God’s saving purpose.
The cross also demonstrates God’s love: while people were still sinners, Christ died for them, and through His death enemies are reconciled to God and saved from wrath (Romans 5:8-10). God’s final answer extends beyond forgiveness to renewal. He will dwell with His people, wipe away every tear, and end death, mourning, crying and pain; He declares, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:3-5). Present sufferings, severe as they are, cannot compare with the glory to be revealed (Romans 8:18).
Until that day, evil should neither be explained away nor answered with glib slogans. Habakkuk’s honest complaint and God’s call to patient faith belong together: bring the question to God, repent while His patience remains, trust in Christ crucified for sinners, and wait for the promised end (Habakkuk 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 5:8-10).
Answered from Scripture · reviewed November 11, 2026
Scripture never denies the terrible reality of evil, nor does it ever compromise the absolute goodness, purity, and sovereignty of God. Instead of offering abstract philosophical speculation, the Bible traces how evil entered a good creation through creaturely rebellion, how God patiently endures and overrules it for redemption, and how He will finally destroy it forever.
The Holy God
God is utterly pure and opposes all iniquity
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Habakkuk 1:13 (NIV)
It captures the agonizing tension of faith: God's eyes are too pure to approve evil, making His tolerance of wicked oppressors a mystery requiring trust.
The prophet cries out in Habakkuk 1:13 that God's eyes are too pure to look upon evil and that He cannot tolerate wrongdoing. This is the cornerstone of biblical theism: God is never the author, instigator, or lover of sin. Far from being indifferent or complicit, His intrinsic holiness stands in absolute revulsion against every form of corruption. In Psalms 5:4-5, David reinforces that God takes no pleasure in wickedness, evil cannot dwell in His presence, and the arrogant cannot stand before His sight. The New Testament confirms this without hedging: James 1:13-15 warns that no one should ever say, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt anyone; instead, evil arises from creaturely desire that conceives sin and births death. Writing to the early churches, John proclaims this uncompromising truth as the foundational gospel message: 1 John 1:5 declares that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Moses celebrated this character in Deuteronomy 32:4, calling God the Rock whose work is perfect, a God of faithfulness without iniquity, just and upright in all His ways. Likewise, in Job 34:10-12, Elihu rightly insists that far be it from God to do wickedness, or from the Almighty to commit wrong, because God will never pervert justice. The existence of evil in our world is therefore never an indictment of God's character; His purity remains untainted, uncompromised, and utterly opposed to all wickedness.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Habakkuk 1:13 | Affirms God's eyes are too pure to look upon evil, asking why He remains silent when the wicked swallow the righteous. |
| Psalms 5:4-5 | Declares that God takes no pleasure in wickedness, evil cannot dwell with Him, and the boastful cannot stand before Him. |
| James 1:13-15 | Explains that God cannot be tempted by evil and tempts no one, but desire conceives sin, which brings forth death. |
| 1 John 1:5 | Proclaims the apostolic message that God is absolute light and in Him is no darkness at all. |
| Deuteronomy 32:4 | Affirms God is the Rock whose work is perfect, just, upright, and without iniquity. |
| Job 34:10-12 | Elihu insists that wickedness is far from God and the Almighty cannot pervert justice. |
The Origin of Evil
Human rebellion fractured a fundamentally good world
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,…
Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV)
It documents the historic moment when mankind believed the serpent's lie, disobeyed God's command, and unleashed sin into creation.
The tragic reality of suffering and wickedness began not in the nature of God, but in the historic fall of humanity recorded in Genesis 3:1-6. When God finished His creative work in Genesis 1:31, He inspected everything He had made and pronounced it very good; the original cosmos was devoid of death, cruelty, and moral ruin. Yet humankind, endowed with genuine moral agency, listened to the deceptive voice of the serpent, defied God's explicit boundary, and grasped at forbidden autonomy. The immediate fallout shattered creation: in Genesis 3:17-19, God cursed the very ground because of Adam's rebellion, introducing physical decay, toil, pain, and bodily death. The Apostle Paul traces this cosmic catastrophe in Romans 5:12, explaining that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, spreading death to all people because all sinned. In Romans 8:20-22, he explains that creation itself was subjected to futility not by its own choice, and now groans under the bondage of corruption, eagerly longing for redemption. The Preacher summarizes this sober history in Ecclesiastes 7:29, observing that God made mankind upright, but humans sought out their own corrupt schemes. Behind human rebellion lurks spiritual deceit; Jesus in John 8:44 names the devil as a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies, while 1 John 3:8 reminds us that the devil has been sinning from the beginning—and that the Son of God appeared precisely to destroy the works of the devil.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Genesis 1:31 | Records that God saw everything He had made and declared it very good before human rebellion occurred. |
| Genesis 3:1-6 | Describes the serpent's temptation and the willful disobedience of Eve and Adam in eating the forbidden fruit. |
| Genesis 3:17-19 | States God's curse upon the ground because of Adam's sin, bringing pain, sweat, thorns, and physical death. |
| Romans 5:12 | Teaches that sin entered the world through one man, death came through sin, and death spread to all men. |
| Romans 8:20-22 | Explains that creation was subjected to futility and groans under corruption, awaiting redemption. |
| Ecclesiastes 7:29 | Declares that God made mankind upright, but humans sought out many sinful schemes. |
| John 8:44 | Identifies the devil as a murderer from the beginning and father of lies. |
| 1 John 3:8 | Explains that the devil sinned from the beginning and Christ appeared to destroy his works. |
The Faithful Lament
Believers plead with God amid apparent injustice
Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
Habakkuk 1:3-4 (NIV)
It shows that godly grief over rampant destruction and paralyzed justice is welcomed into Scripture as honest prayer.
When God's people confront injustice and anguish, Scripture does not command stoic silence; it invites honest, faithful lament. In Habakkuk 1:3-4, the prophet pours out his bewildered grief, asking why God makes him gaze upon iniquity, violence, and strife while the law sits paralyzed and justice never goes forth. Scripture sanctifies this holy ache. Jeremiah wrestled with the same reality in Jeremiah 12:1-2, acknowledging that the Lord is always righteous, yet pleading to speak with Him about justice: why does the way of the wicked prosper, and why do all who are treacherous thrive? God welcomes the cries of the crushed, assuring them in Psalms 34:15-16 that His eyes are upon the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry, even while His face is firmly set against those who do evil. True faith responds to widespread evil not only by lamenting before God, but by acting in righteous defense of the weak; Proverbs 31:8-9 charges believers to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to judge righteously, and to defend the rights of the poor and needy. In personal agony, David cries in Psalms 13:1-2, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?" while Asaph confesses in Psalms 73:2-14 that his feet had almost stumbled when he envied the arrogant and beheld the prosperity of the wicked. In the depths of affliction, Psalms 88:1-3 preserves an unvarnished cry for deliverance, demonstrating that faith clings to God precisely when evil seems overwhelming.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Habakkuk 1:3-4 | Cries out to God concerning rampant violence, strife, paralyzed law, and the perversion of justice. |
| Jeremiah 12:1-2 | Pleads with the righteous Lord to explain why the way of the wicked prospers and treacherous people thrive. |
| Psalms 34:15-16 | Assures that the Lord's eyes and ears attend the righteous, while His face opposes those who do evil. |
| Proverbs 31:8-9 | Commands the faithful to speak up for the mute, judge righteously, and defend the destitute against oppressors. |
| Psalms 13:1-2 | David cries out asking how long the Lord will seem to forget him amid sorrow. |
| Psalms 73:2-14 | Asaph confesses his struggle when beholding the prosperity and arrogance of the wicked. |
| Psalms 88:1-3 | A raw, faithful plea from deep suffering and the brink of the grave. |
Divine Patience and Providence
God permits evil to display patience and sovereign purpose
Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—
Habakkuk 2:2-4 (NIV)
It provides God's definitive posture for the intermediate time: judgment is appointed, pride is condemned, and the just must live by faith.
God's response to the agonizing problem of evil is framed by His sovereign timetable: in Habakkuk 2:2-4, the Lord commands the prophet to write the vision clearly, for it awaits an appointed time; though it tarries, it will surely come, and in the interim, the righteous shall live by his faith. God does not instantly blot out every evildoer because His restraint serves redemptive mercy. As 2 Peter 3:9 declares, the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, but is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Divine sovereignty possesses the singular power to absorb, overrule, and repurpose human wickedness for good without condoning the sin itself. Joseph embodied this truth in Genesis 50:20, declaring to his treacherous brothers, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." Evil never escapes divine accounting: 2 Samuel 4:11 and 1 Kings 2:32 affirm that the Lord returns the guilt of innocent blood upon the heads of murderers and requires blood from the hands of the wicked. Paul explains in Romans 9:22-23 that God endures with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy. When confronted with God's majestic wisdom, Job famously conceded in Job 42:1-6 that no purpose of God's can be thwarted, repenting in dust and ashes. As Proverbs 16:4 summarizes, the Lord has made everything for its purpose, ensuring that all wickedness will ultimately yield to His righteous justice.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Habakkuk 2:2-4 | Instructs the prophet to write the vision of certain future judgment, declaring that the righteous shall live by his faith. |
| 2 Peter 3:9 | Reveals that God's delay in judgment is His patient mercy, desiring that all should come to repentance. |
| Genesis 50:20 | States Joseph's testimony that what men meant for evil, God intended for good to save many lives. |
| 2 Samuel 4:11 | Demonstrates that God requires the blood of righteous victims from the hands of the wicked. |
| 1 Kings 2:32 | Affirms that the Lord returns the guilt of innocent shed blood upon the head of the murderer. |
| Romans 9:22-23 | Explains God's patience in enduring vessels of wrath to reveal His glory to vessels of mercy. |
| Job 42:1-6 | Job confesses God's unsearchable sovereignty and repents of questioning divine wisdom. |
| Proverbs 16:4 | Teaches the Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for judgment. |
Redemption Through Suffering
The cross overrules the worst evil for salvation
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)
It prophesies how God took the horrific violence of human cruelty and made it the very means of cosmic healing and atonement.
Isaiah 53:5-6 unveils the pinnacle of divine wisdom: God takes the cruelest horror devised by fallen men and appoints it as the very vessel of redemption. He was pierced for our transgressions, and with His wounds we are healed. In this supreme typological moment, the Old Testament promise meets its literal fulfillment at Golgotha, where Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24-25). Scripture nowhere excuses human guilt, yet it reveals God reigning supreme even over the worst of human atrocities.
Peter boldly confronted Jerusalem with this twofold reality in Acts 2:23: Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, even while being crucified and slain by the hands of lawless men. Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel gathered in murderous conspiracy, yet they succeeded only in doing whatever God's hand and plan had predestined to occur (Acts 4:27-28). God did not author their wickedness, but He harnessed it to accomplish cosmic salvation.
This victory was pledged from the dawn of history. In Genesis 3:15, the protoevangelium announced that the Seed of the woman would suffer a bruised heel while decisively crushing the serpent's head. Christ took on flesh and blood so that through death He might destroy the devil who held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15), disarming the demonic rulers and authorities and putting them to open shame through the cross (Colossians 2:15). Because the greatest conceivable evil—the murder of the spotless Son of God—was turned into the greatest conceivable good, believers are assured that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28), holding them in love from which no trial, sword, or power can ever sever them (Romans 8:38-39).
| Passage | What it says | Fulfilled |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 53:5-6 | Prophesies that the Servant would be pierced for our transgressions, bearing the iniquity of all by the Lord's design. | 1 Peter 2:24-25 |
| Acts 2:23 | Declares that Christ was crucified by lawless men according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. | Acts 4:27-28 |
| Romans 8:28 | Promises that God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. | Romans 8:38-39 |
| Acts 4:27-28 | Affirms wicked rulers did what God's hand and plan predestined to take place at the cross. | |
| Genesis 3:15 | The protoevangelium promising the Seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. | Romans 16:20, Hebrews 2:14 |
| Hebrews 2:14-15 | Explains Christ took human flesh to destroy through death the devil's power of death. | |
| Colossians 2:15 | Reveals Christ disarmed rulers and authorities, triumphing over them through the cross. |
The Final Eradication
God will judge all evil and end suffering forever
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he…
Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV)
It reveals the guaranteed cosmic outcome: God tabernacling with man, death destroyed, and all sorrow permanently wiped away.
Revelation 21:1-5 displays the definitive resolution to the problem of evil: a new heaven and a new earth where God Himself dwells with His people, wiping away every tear from their eyes, with death and pain swallowed up forever. Evil is not an eternal counter-principle to God; it is an intruder that will face total, irreversible extermination. The Lord is slow to anger and a stronghold in the day of trouble, but He will make a complete end of His adversaries so that affliction shall not rise up a second time (Nahum 1:7-9).
The final judgment will right every wrong with absolute, unyielding equity. As Paul wrote to the persecuted Thessalonians, it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict His people, banishing the unrepentant from the presence of the Lord in eternal destruction when Christ returns in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). History does not wander aimlessly; Christ must reign until He has put every enemy under His feet, the last of which is death itself (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
In that final reckoning, the ancient serpent who deceived the nations is cast headlong into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, along with everyone whose name is not recorded in the book of life (Revelation 20:14-15). At last, the cosmos is purged of all rebellion. There will no longer be any curse in the holy city (Revelation 22:3), for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, establishing an everlasting kingdom of unbroken righteousness, joy, and peace.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Revelation 20:10 | Describes the devil, the deceiver, being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever. |
| Revelation 20:14-15 | Records death and Hades being cast into the lake of fire alongside anyone not found in the book of life. |
| Revelation 21:1-5 | Envisions the new heavens and earth where God wipes every tear, and death, mourning, and pain are no more. |
| Revelation 22:3 | Declares that there will no longer be any curse in the holy city of God and the Lamb. |
| 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 | Affirms God will repay afflictors with eternal destruction and give rest to His afflicted. |
| 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 | Declares Christ must reign until He destroys every rule, authority, power, and death itself. |
| Nahum 1:7-9 | The Lord is good in distress, but will make a complete end of His adversaries. |
Where in the Bible
| Book | Passages |
|---|---|
| Genesis | 5 · Genesis 1:31, Genesis 3:1-6, Genesis 3:17-19, Genesis 50:20, Genesis 3:15 |
| Deuteronomy | 1 · Deuteronomy 32:4 |
| 2 Samuel | 1 · 2 Samuel 4:11 |
| 1 Kings | 1 · 1 Kings 2:32 |
| Job | 2 · Job 34:10-12, Job 42:1-6 |
| Psalms | 5 · Psalms 5:4-5, Psalms 34:15-16, Psalms 13:1-2, Psalms 73:2-14, Psalms 88:1-3 |
| Proverbs | 2 · Proverbs 31:8-9, Proverbs 16:4 |
| Ecclesiastes | 1 · Ecclesiastes 7:29 |
| Isaiah | 1 · Isaiah 53:5-6 |
| Jeremiah | 1 · Jeremiah 12:1-2 |
| Nahum | 1 · Nahum 1:7-9 |
| Habakkuk | 3 · Habakkuk 1:13, Habakkuk 1:3-4, Habakkuk 2:2-4 |
| John | 1 · John 8:44 |
| Acts | 2 · Acts 2:23, Acts 4:27-28 |
| Romans | 4 · Romans 5:12, Romans 8:20-22, Romans 9:22-23, Romans 8:28 |
| 1 Corinthians | 1 · 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 |
| Colossians | 1 · Colossians 2:15 |
| 2 Thessalonians | 1 · 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 |
| Hebrews | 1 · Hebrews 2:14-15 |
| James | 1 · James 1:13-15 |
| 2 Peter | 1 · 2 Peter 3:9 |
| 1 John | 2 · 1 John 1:5, 1 John 3:8 |
| Revelation | 4 · Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:14-15, Revelation 21:1-5, Revelation 22:3 |
The story in order
- Creation: All very good (c. 4000 BC) · Genesis 1:31 · God's perfect creation before sin entered.
- The Fall: Sin enters the world (c. 4000 BC) · Genesis 3:1-6 · Human rebellion brings corruption and death.
- The Protoevangelium: Hope of redemption (c. 4000 BC) · Genesis 3:15 · God promises a redeemer to crush evil.
- Patriarchal Age: Early laments (c. 2000 BC) · Job 34:10-12 · Elihu affirms God's justice against evil.
- Exodus and Wilderness: God's Law (c. 1400 BC) · Deuteronomy 32:4 · God's character is perfect and just.
- Monarchy: Lament and wisdom (c. 1000-500 BC) · Psalms 13:1-2 · Believers cry out to God amid suffering.
- Prophetic Ministry: Divine patience (c. 600 BC) · Habakkuk 1:3-4 · Prophets lament injustice and God's seeming inaction.
- Prophetic Ministry: Sovereign purpose (c. 600 BC) · Habakkuk 2:2-4 · God's plan includes judgment and faith.
- Exile: God's overarching plan (c. 560 BC) · Genesis 50:20 · Joseph sees God's good purpose in evil acts.
- Christ's Incarnation: Redemption secured (c. 700 BC) · Isaiah 53:5-6 · The cross atones for sin and destroys evil's power.
- Apostolic Age: The Gospel proclaimed (AD 30) · Acts 2:23 · Christ's death was God's foreordained plan.
- Apostolic Age: God's patience revealed (c. AD 65) · 2 Peter 3:9 · God's delay is mercy, calling to repentance.
- The End: Final eradication of evil (c. AD 95) · Revelation 20:10 · Satan and all evil are eternally judged.
- The New Creation: No more evil (c. AD 95) · Revelation 21:1-5 · God makes all things new, ending suffering.
Key words
- Evil
- Moral wrong, wickedness, sin, and its consequences like suffering and death. · Genesis 3:1-6
- Sin (ḥaṭṭā'ṯ, חַטָּאת)
- Rebellion against God's will, disobedience, falling short of His standard. · Romans 5:12
- Righteousness (ṣedeq, צֶדֶק)
- Conformity to God's moral character and law; justice. · Deuteronomy 32:4
- Sovereignty
- God's supreme authority and control over all creation and events. · Job 42:1-6
- Redemption
- The act of buying back or rescuing from sin and its consequences. · Genesis 3:15
- Judgment
- God's righteous verdict and punishment upon sin and evil. · Revelation 20:10
- Repentance
- A turning away from sin and toward God. · 2 Peter 3:9
Evil is neither an eternal principle nor an accidental flaw outside God's sovereign reach; it is an intruder already conquered at the cross. Until the day every tear is wiped away, believers walk by faith, resting in the absolute goodness and justice of the God who will make all things new.
43 passages, each cited once.
How the major Christian traditions read this
All historic Christian traditions confess that God is entirely good, holy, and the author of no evil, and that moral and natural evil entered His good creation through creaturely rebellion (Genesis 1:31; James 1:13; Romans 5:12).
Catholic
We teach that God created a world that is good but in a state of journeying toward perfection. Evil is not an independent substance or positive reality, but a privation—a lack of the good that ought to be present. God permits moral evil because He endowed angels and humans with genuine free will to love Him freely, not because He wills evil itself. God remains entirely holy and never causes sin (James 1:13). Yet in His infinite wisdom and almighty power, He directs even the fallen acts of creatures to bring forth a greater good, most supremely revealed in the redemption accomplished through the suffering of Christ (Romans 8:28).
Scripture: James 1:13, Romans 8:28
Orthodox
We confess that God is the lover of mankind and the author only of good, making all things very good in the beginning (Genesis 1:31). Evil has no true being of its own; it is an unnatural parasitic distortion, a turning away of creaturely will from God's uncreated light. God created angels and humanity with genuine freedom (autexousion), and through the misuse of this free choice, the demonic powers and our first parents fell into corruption and death (Romans 5:12). God did not create death or disease, but in His forbearance He endures our fallen state to overcome mortality and evil definitively through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Scripture: Genesis 1:31, Romans 5:12, Hebrews 2:14-15
Lutheran
We teach that God is purely holy, righteous, and incapable of willing sin, as Scripture proclaims that evil cannot dwell with Him (Psalm 5:4). The cause of sin is solely the perverted will of the devil and ungodly humanity, which turned away from God at the Fall (Romans 5:12). We draw a sharp line between God's almighty preservation of creaturely life and the wicked direction the fallen will takes. We do not attempt to pry into God’s hidden counsel (Deus absconditus) to explain every tragedy. Instead, we cling to the revealed God (Deus revelatus) who entered into our suffering, bore the curse of evil upon the cross, and conquered it forever (Galatians 3:13).
Scripture: Psalms 5:4, Romans 5:12, Galatians 3:13
Reformed & Presbyterian
We confess that God from all eternity sovereignly decreed whatsoever comes to pass, yet in such a way that He is neither the author nor approver of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures (Ephesians 1:11). Evil entered the world by the willful fall of Adam, who was created righteous but capable of transgressing (Genesis 3:6). God actively ordains and governs all events—including the permission of evil—for His own eternal glory, the ultimate good of His elect, and the display of His justice and mercy (Genesis 50:20; Romans 9:22-23). What men intend for wicked ends, God purposefully rules and overrules for holy, righteous purposes.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:11, Genesis 3:6, Genesis 50:20, Romans 9:22-23
Anglican & Episcopal
We maintain that God is of infinite goodness, wisdom, and power, the maker and preserver of all things visible and invisible. Evil arose through the original transgression of humanity, who misused their moral freedom and fell into inherited corruption (Romans 5:12). God remains entirely separate from wickedness and never tempts any man (James 1:13). Scripture does not solve every intellectual problem of evil, but assures us of God's sovereign providence over history and the church. God permits evil within this fallen age while working through Word and Sacraments to sustain His people, promising that Christ's kingdom will ultimately triumph over all suffering, injustice, and death (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
Scripture: Romans 5:12, James 1:13, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26
Baptist
We believe that God created man upright, placing him under a law of life with freedom of will, but man voluntarily rebelled against God's direct command (Genesis 3:1-6; Ecclesiastes 7:29). This original sin brought spiritual and physical death upon all mankind (Romans 5:12). God's providence extends over all creatures and events, permitting the wicked to follow their own corrupt lusts without God being stained by their iniquity (Acts 2:23; James 1:13-14). Evil exists because of human rebellion against a holy Creator, yet God uses even the darkest human sins to display His supreme grace and justice at the cross of Christ, calling all people to repent.
Scripture: Genesis 3:1-6, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Romans 5:12, Acts 2:23, James 1:13-14
Methodist & Wesleyan
We teach that God is absolute, holy love who desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Evil exists because God chose to create humanity with authentic, free moral agency, capable of genuine obedience or willful rebellion. Real love cannot be forced; Adam freely chose to disobey, plunging humanity into a fallen and suffering state (Romans 5:12). God does not predestine or decree wickedness in any sense. Instead, He permits creaturely rebellion while constantly extending prevenient grace to convict and heal sinners (Titus 2:11). In His suffering love on the cross, God overcomes the power of evil and invites everyone to receive His transforming mercy.
Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:4, Romans 5:12, Titus 2:11
Pentecostal & Charismatic
We emphasize that evil entered the world through Satan’s rebellion and man's voluntary transgression against God's explicit word (Genesis 3:1-7; 1 John 3:8). The present age is locked in spiritual warfare against the devil, demons, and the powers of darkness who actively seek to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10; Ephesians 6:12). God does not cause sickness, tragedy, or sin; these are the destructive works of the enemy and the curse of the Fall. Through the shed blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are equipped to drive back the kingdom of darkness, heal the broken, and look forward to the final judgment of Satan.
Scripture: Genesis 3:1-7, 1 John 3:8, John 10:10, Ephesians 6:12
Non-denominational & Evangelical
We look to the plain testimony of Scripture: God is perfectly good, holy, and loving (1 John 1:5; Psalm 34:8). Evil and suffering exist because humanity rebelled in Genesis 3, corrupting the world and introducing death into creation (Romans 8:20-22). God gave mankind genuine moral responsibility, and we chose sin. While God does not author evil, He remains completely sovereign and works all things together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Rather than leaving us in our brokenness, God took the worst evil in history—the crucifixion of His Son—and turned it into our ultimate redemption, promising to wipe away every tear.
Scripture: 1 John 1:5, Psalms 34:8, Romans 8:20-22, Romans 8:28, Genesis 3
Where they differ
Divine decree regarding evil's occurrence
- Catholic
- Permits evil out of respect for creaturely freedom without willing it.
- Orthodox
- Permits evil through creaturely self-determination; God never decrees sin.
- Lutheran
- Foreknows and permits evil, but firmly rejects decreeing the cause of sin.
- Reformed & Presbyterian
- Sovereignly decreed all events, including permitting evil, for His glory.
- Anglican & Episcopal
- Providentially permits creaturely rebellion without authoring human sin.
- Baptist
- Permits human sin according to sovereign providence without being its author.
- Methodist & Wesleyan
- Permits sin entirely as consequence of genuine free moral choice.
- Pentecostal & Charismatic
- Permits fallen creaturely choice; evil directly opposes His holy will.
- Non-denominational & Evangelical
- Sovereignly permits creaturely rebellion while working all things for good.
Scripture: Genesis 50:20, James 1:13, Ephesians 1:11
The metaphysical nature of evil
- Catholic
- A privation of the good that ought to naturally exist.
- Orthodox
- A parasitic lack of being and rebellion against divine life.
- Lutheran
- An actual corruption and perverse turning of the creaturely will.
- Reformed & Presbyterian
- A real moral rebellion and corruption violating God's holy law.
- Anglican & Episcopal
- A corruption of good nature resulting from human original sin.
- Baptist
- Moral rebellion against God's law resulting in total spiritual ruin.
- Methodist & Wesleyan
- The tragic moral failure and perversion of creaturely free agency.
- Pentecostal & Charismatic
- Active spiritual enmity driven by demonic powers and fallen human sin.
- Non-denominational & Evangelical
- A broken, fallen condition stemming from mankind's disobedience to God.
Scripture: Genesis 1:31, Psalms 5:4, Romans 5:12
Your pastor can tell you where your church stands.
Scripture cited
- Habakkuk 1:13
- Psalms 5:4-5
- Genesis 1:31
- Genesis 3:1-19
- Habakkuk 2:1-4
- Romans 5:12
- Romans 8:18-23
- Acts 4:27-28
- Revelation 21:1-5
- James 1:13-15
- Genesis 50:20
- Romans 5:6-11