GodandEvil

ProfessorSamRuhmkorff
AlinaWang
23November2014
LoveandEvil

Loveistheonlysaneandsatisfactoryanswertotheproblemofhumanexistence.
ErichFromm

Godprioritizesloveaboveeverythingelseandhasgoodreasontodoso.Althoughloverequires
freewill,andfreewillhasnastyconsequencesofevil,Ithinkallevilsamounttogreatergoodness.Iwill
showhowmanycasesofevilinherentlyproduceloveandeventhemosthorrendousevils,whichhauntus
withtheirinjustice,arecausallyconnectedtolove.Thisdynamicbetweenloveandevildoesntonly
balanceout,butitalsogeneratestheprocessofgrowth,fundamentaltooursurvival.Becauseevilis
necessaryforourlove,growth,andsurvival,ourworldispreferabletoaworldwithoutevil.
Loveisthehighestgood,asIwilllaterexplain,notonlyinhumanexperience,butinGods
experience,too.Godexperiencessimilaremotionsashumans,asmaintainedbyEkstrom.Apassiblist
conceptionofGod,itmustbeadmitted,fitsmostnaturallythescripturalaccountofGodsactivitiesand
involvementwithhumanbeings(Ekstrom96).Thescriptureisthesourceofreligionandshowshow
Godloveshumans.TheimpassiblistconceptofGod,thatGodhasnoemotionsandcantbemoved,is
incongruouswiththedoctrinalrootsofAbrahamicreligions.Also,anintimaterelationshipwithGodis
essentialtothesereligions,andsucharelationshiprequiresidentifyingwithoneanother.Humansand
Godmustsharesomecommonalitytofulfillthiscondition.Thereforetheexperienceofloveand
emotions,thecoreofhumanexistence,mustbesimilartothatofGod.AsC.SLewissays,ifGodwere
impassible,Godandhumanscouldnthavearelationshipbecausetheydbetooalientoeachother(Lewis
35).
Toletloveexist,Godcreatesfreewillandpermitsallitsconsequences,eventheworstevils.
Loveisareciprocalfreeexpressionbetweenbeings,sohumansmusthavefreewilltosharelovewith
1

God.Thenfreewillinevitablyleadstohumansdevelopinguniqueperspectives,whichclashagainsteach
other.Fromthesecomplexinteractions,misunderstandingsandevilemerge.Butbehindallhuman
phenomena,notmatterhowevil,isGodslovelovehadsingularlymotivatedGodtocreatefreewill,in
thefirstplace.IthinkGodswillforlovemanifestsinhowevilplaysoutinourworld,benevolently.
Manyevilscanbepreventedbylove.Theseevilsarejustifiedbecausetheycanberesolvedand
challengehumanitytopropagatemorelove.Theseevils,includingangerandhatred,comefromalackor
longingforlove.Forexample,aboyfeelsfuriousatafriendforblaminghimbecausehewantstobe
lovedandtrustedbyhisfriend.Hefeelsangryandlashesoutinwaysthatinflictevilonothers,because
hisfriendseemstobedenyinghimlove.However,adequatelovecouldhavepreventedthisincident.This
caseofevilteacheshumanitytobemoreloving.Hatredcanteachthesamelesson,too,sincehatredoften
comesfromalongingforlove.Forexample,agirlhatesherselfbecauseshefeelssociallyrejected.She
believessomethingiswrongwithher,whichrepulsesherpeers.Becauseshefeelsresponsibleforherlack
oflove,shehatesherself,suffers,andspreadshersufferingtothoseclosetoher.Althoughevilmight
resultinmoreevils,lovecanbreakthiscycleandtransformitintothatofgoodness.Loveispowerfuland
reciprocal.Whenhumansfeeltrulyloved,theycanthelpbutbecomemorelovingandempathetic,and
thischangedecreasesthechancesofevil.Thisbehavioralpatternencourageshumanitytoprogress
towardsamodeofmorelove.Evilcanbeastimulantforhumanstoexpandtheircapacityforlove,the
highestgood.
Lovenotonlypreventsevilbutalsohelpshumanshealfromevilstheyveexperienced.A
commonexampleishowbulliedchildrencanovercomeanxiety,orotherconsequencesofevil,by
experiencinggoodfriendshipsandfeelingloved.Therecoveryoftraumavictimsisamoreextreme
examplethatalsodemonstratesthispoweroflove.Whentheyrelivehorridmemoriesinthepresenceofa
loving,empathizinghuman,theycanbefreedfromdisablingfearandlearntotrusttheworldagain.Love

directlyhealstheheartthathasbeenwoundedbysuffering.Theseevilsarejustifiable,becausetheyopen
opportunitiesforloveandarerelievablebylove.
Beyondresolvingevils,lovecanhumanswhovesufferedtolevelsofspiritualstrengthand
wisdomthatcouldntexistwithoutthesufferings.Forexamplewhensomeonewithapsychological
disorderreceiveslove,perhapsinformsoffriendshipandtherapy,sheisfreedofthedisorderandseesa
renewedworld.Shefeelsnewgratitudetoherself,humanity,andGod.Thisemotion,aformoflove,
arisesandpropagatesgoodnessonlyafterherexperienceofadarkreality,anevil.Shefeelsanew
motivationtoreciprocatelove,whichhasredeemedher,andhelpthosewhostrugglewithsimilarevils.
Shebecomesmoresensitive,identifieswithmoreindividuals,andcanbringmoreloveintotheworld.
Whilelovecounteractsevil,someevilsareevennecessaryforgreaterexpressionsofloveto
develop.Sufferingmotivateshumanstoreachouttoothersandformbenevolentrelationships,sourcesof
love.Continuingthepsychologicaldisorderexample,thegirlmightmeetafriend.Whenhelearnsabout
herdisorder,thefriendwantstohelpher,expresseshisloveinactions,andbroadensthepossibilitiesof
love.Thislovewouldbelostwithouttheevil.Furthermore,becauseloveisreciprocal,bothfriendswill
carrythisloveeverywhereintheirlives,touchingmorepeopleandsharingmorelove.
Ithinkifhumansweremostlycontent,inaworldofgreatlyreducedevil,theywouldreallybe
islands,unwillingtoconnectwitheachotherandshareemotionsandideas.Thissituationobstructslove
andgrowth.Ourworld,althoughitcontainsmoreevil,ispreferable.
Rowewouldchallengemyarguments.Rowepointsoutthatwhilesomeevilsresultingreater
good,others,includingnatural,nonhumancausedevils,arecausallyisolatedandunjustifiable.For
example,afawnistrappedinaforestfireandafterwardssuffersadraggedout,agonizingdeath(Rowe
327).Thepainthisanimalundergoesseemsimpossibletocontributetoanygreatergoodorlesserevil.
HoweverIarguethatallevils,evenmoreextremeexamples,leadtolove.Athearingthefawn
incident,typicalhumansrespondwithlove.Theywishthatthefawnhadntsufferedorthattheycould

havebroughtittoaveterinaryandsaveditslife.Thesefeelingstugattheirhearts,increasetheirlove,and
contributetotheirpsyches.Evenifthissentimentdoesntleadtoimmediateaction,itexercisesthe
muscleofempathyandmakeshumansmorestronglyattunedtothesufferingsofothers.Theyfeelmore
determinedtohelptheworld.Eachincidentofevil,includingthedyingfawn,caninfluencehumansto
livemorecompassionatelyandactively.Thusallevilsarecausallyconnectedtoloveandcontributetothe
bettermentoftheworld.
Evenifevilsexistthatnohumanknowsabout,Godisawareofthem,feelsmorelove,and
contributestothegoodnessofourworld.Becausel
oveisintrinsicallyreciprocal,Godslovemattersto
humanity.Wheneveraneviloccurs,
Godfeelsdistressed,andthisreactiondeepensthedivinedimension
oflove.
Bylovesreciprocalnature,itupholdsthatintensifieddivinelovehaseffectsonourworld,
revealedinmysteriousways.Itsuptotheiststoidentifytheparticularmanifestations.
OnemightarguethatGodisindeedawareofallevils,butlovingsentiment,aconsequenceof
evil,isntenoughtojustifythesuffering.Someextremeevilscanneitherbepreventednorhealedbylove,
suchasIvanKaramazov'sexamplesofchildabuse(Dostoevsky242).Similarlyextremecasesofevil
includeseverementaldisorders.Somesufferersarentonlyunabletoaskforhelp,buttheyrealsounable
tofeellove,ifitsgiven.Thesympathyfeltbyonlookersperhapshelpsinsomenebuloussense,butthe
suffererisinexcusablywronged.MarilynAdamsmakessuchanargument,thatevilsmightbejustified
onlyiftheyleadtogreatergoodinthelivesoftheindividualswhosuffer(Adams337).Someevils
obviouslylackthisbenefitoftheindividual,soonemightquestionwhyGoddidntpreventthem.
Ibelieve
theseextremeevilsmustexistbecauseifGodpreventedone,liketheslowlydyingfawn,
Godmustpreventallthatresembledit.Justonecaseofextremeevilwouldstillpromptthemoral
interrogationofGod.Oneisasequallyproblematic,concerningtheproblemofevil,asinnumerable
incidents.

SoifGodinterferedinoneextremeevil,Godwouldhavetopreventallsimilarcasesandtheir
correspondingopportunitiesforlove.Butthenlesserevilswouldstillexist,andGodsexistencewould

stillseemproblematic.Godwouldhavetoremoveallevil,andthismassremovalwouldmessupourfree
will.Thisexistentialdissolutionparallelsthatofanecosystemwhenafactorshifts.Ifonespeciesoffrog
werekilledoff,itdaffectalllifeforms,andtheecosystemmightcollapse.Bynotpreventingevils,God
preserveslove,freewill,andhumanity.
Evilprovidesproblems,promptshumanstofeellove,andchallengesthemtogrow.
Growth,
whichcoexistswithunresolvedevil,isnecessaryforhumanflourishingandmakesourworldpreferable
toaworldwithoutevil.Idefinegrowthasapersonalphenomenon,spanningalifetimeofanindividual,
asevolutionisamacrocosmicphenomenon,spanningmillionsofyearsofthenaturalworld.Growthis
necessaryforhumansurvival,ashowevolutionisnecessaryforthesurvivalofalllife.Constant
contentednessisdangerous.Ifhumanswerealwayscontent,thismonotoneconditionwouldmakethem
vulnerabletodeath,aslongasfreewillexisted.Bydefinition,freewillhasrandomness,becauseGod
doesntcontrolfreewill.Thisrandomnesswouldknockoutanyoneunabletogrow
anabilitythatrequirestheexistenceofevil.Iffreewillexistedandtherewerenoevil,humanswould
quicklydieout.
OnemightstillinsistthatGodcouldhavecreatedaworldwithoutevilthatispreferabletoours.
Humanscouldbefreewilledandawareofallpossibleoptions,butGodcouldmakethemdesireonlyto
carryouttheoptionswithoutevilconsequences(Ruhmkorff,11/12/14).Sohumanscouldexperiencefree
willwithoutanysuffering.
Iarguethatthispossibleworldwithoutevilisimpossible.Iffreewillexists,humansmustbe
subjectivecreaturesandperceivephenomenadifferently.Foranyactionthatappearsgood,someonewill
perceiveitasbad.Allactionswillhavesomeevilconsequences.Theonlywaytoremoveallevilisto
removehumansubjectivityandmakeeveryoneidentical.Notonlywouldthissituationeliminatediversity
andinterestingnessoflife,butwithidenticalminds,allhumanswouldmakethesamechoices,andthered

benounpredictabilityoflife.Withnomorerandomness,humanswouldessentiallylosefreewill.Its
impossibleforfreewilltoexistwithoutevil.
Ourworldisfullofevil,butmanyevilsarefacades,transitorymoments,thatmaskthe
miraculousactivityoflovebeneath.Themoreevil,likemass,thatburdensasituation,themorelove,like
gravity,comesforthandinteractswithit.Thisdancebetweencounterforcesisgeneratedbyourfreewill,
anditsmiraculousbehaviorcanonlybeexplainedbyGodsultimatewilloflove,lettingusloveand
grow.Itsanengaging,beautifulworldwelivein,andpreferabletoaworldwithoutevil.

WorksCited

Adams,MarilynMcCord.HorrendousEvilsandtheGoodnessofGod.
ChristianFaithandthe
ProblemofEvil
.GrandRapids,MI:W.B.EerdmansPub.,2004.N.pag.Print.

Dostoyevsky,Fyodor.
TheBrothersKaramazov
.London:Heron,1967.Print.

Ekstrom,LauraWaddell."SufferingasaReligiousExperience."
ChristianFaithandtheProblem
ofEvil
.GrandRapids,MI:W.B.EerdmansPub.,2004.N.pag.Print.

Lewis,C.S.
TheProblemofPain
.NewYork:Macmillan,1944.Print.

Rowe,William.TheEvidentialArgumentfromEvil.
ChristianFaithandtheProblemofEvil
.
GrandRapids,MI:W.B.EerdmansPub.,2004.N.pag.Print.

Ruhmkorff,Sam.GodandEvilDiscussion.SmithCollege.12Nov2014.