"If God
is omnipotent how can humans be held responsible for any immoral actions?"
Einstein was
openly upset upon discovering the universe had a point of origin, for the
implication of there being a Creator, or "Prime Mover" was now
unavoidable (Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, p. 27-28).
Einstein
attempted to argue for the universe being eternal (cosmological constant), to
later confess to this idea being, "...the greatest mistake of his
life" (Douglas, A. Vibert, "Forty Minutes with
Einstein," in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 50.
(1956), p. 100).
What Einstein
accepted as evidentially true.
(1) Necessity
of the universe having a beginning point (aka big bang) (ibid).
(2) Necessity
of "...the presence of a superior reasoning power..." (Barnett, Lincoln, The Universe and Dr. Einstein, New York:
William Sloane Associates, 1948), p. 106).
What Einstein
denied.
The
"doctrine of a personal God" (Einstein,
Albert, Out of My Later Years, New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 27-28).
Two obstacles
(reasons for not accepting belief in personal God), according to Einstein.
(Obstacle 1)
Einstein was bitter towards the clergy and especially the priests (Einstein, p.
26-30).
And (point we
will respond to),
(Obstacle 2)
God's Omnipotence and Human responsibility for their choices paradox.
Einstein
Problem of Evil (summary).
(1)
Omnipotent God ("...every occurence..." even human thought, feeling,
action, aspirations = Omnipotent God's work (Einstein, p. 27).
(2) Omnipotent God holds humans responsible for their
thoughts and deeds (giving punishment and rewards) (ibid).
(3) Omnipotent
God judging humans would "to a certain extent be passing judgment on
Himself" (ibid).
(4) Goodness
and righteousness (as commonly attributed to God) is not possible if God is omnipotent
(ibid).
Freewill
Defense (Problem of Evil)
Philosopher
Plantinga said, “A good God will eliminate evil as far as he can without either
losing a greater good or bringing about a greater evil.”
Given this
premise, the triad can be reformulated in a perfectly consistent manner:
1. An
omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God created the world.
2. God created a
good world in which evil was possible and became actual and had a good reason
for doing so.
3. Therefore,
the world contains evil.
This strategy
has come to be known as a defense, as opposed to a theodicy. A defense defeats
an attack on theism by laying out a possible solution that renders theism
rational. But a defense fails to give any specifics on what God’s sufficient
reasons might be for allowing evil.
Evil has a
secondary status in the universe; it is not a direct creation of God but comes
about through human mismanagement of people and their environment.
Nevertheless, some moral goods are impossible apart from responding to
particular evils. Therefore, the Fall (while based on human rebellion against a
holy God) opens up possibilities for virtue not possible otherwise. That is,
evil serves an instrumental purpose in the providence of God. This particular
line of defense is called “the greater-good defense.” William Wainwright
explains: “This defense attempts to show (roughly) that (1) evil . . . is
logically necessary to some good, that (2) this good outweighs the evil, and
that (3) there are no alternative goods not involving those evils that would
have been better.” All evils serve some justifiable purpose in God’s economy.
Considering
how souls might be perfected through struggle and suffering opens the door to
the classic understanding of “the greater-good defense.” God uses certain evils
to actualize a good greater than would be possible otherwise. While the first
and prototypical humans were without sin, they lacked difficult experiences
that could help produce virtue. For example, virtues such as courage, heroism
and self-sacrifice require some element of risk or danger.
The apex of
sacrificial love was displayed through the physical, mental and spiritual
suffering of Jesus Christ on behalf of his enemies. No greater act of love has
ever been so demonstrated, nor ever will be so… No other religion is based on
the death, burial and resurrection of its divine founder. It is in this
supernatural reality that the problem of evil is best understood. If the
misunderstanding of his own people could not thwart him, if the powers of
darkness could not outsmart him or seduce him, if death itself could not hold
him, then we have every reason to trust him as “the Beginning and the End”
(Revelation 21:6). In Christ one sees how evil and suffering are
subservient to eternal love. Where Christ conquered sin the faithful see love
conquers all. For the great love of God to be appreciated and freely accepted
by those made in His image this world filled with suffering and death is
necessary.
Christ made
clear there is no greater love than the love of one who lays down their life
for their friends (John 15:13). To make the unchanging love of God known in
this realm sacrifice would be necessary. God’s great love is understood by
those naturally beneath Him in a world containing the beauty of sacrificial
love. The devil made a free choice to rebel against God, but being thrown to
Earth was no accident, in fact this was in accordance with God’s will. Before
being arrested Jesus told the disciples the enemy was coming for Him, and the
reason was clearly stated, “…so that the world may learn that I love the Father
and do exactly what my Father has commanded me…” (John 14:31). Everything the
enemy did, every evil tolerated, these were necessary sacrifices leading up to
the cross, where Christ eternal love for the Father, and God’s love for
humanity is made known. In the parable about the shepherd and His sheep, Jesus
spoke on how just like His sheep know Him, this is akin to Jesus knowing the
Father, and for this reason He was going to lay down His life (John 10:14-15).
Earlier in this same passage Jesus mentioned the thief who comes to kill and
destroy, and in contrast Jesus came so people could have life to the fullest
(v. 10:10). The works of the enemy were and are allowed so in contrast the
great love of God can be known. The intellectually honest person will confess
the deeper understanding of love in this realm would not be possible if not for
the knowledge of sacrificial love. If a human wanted to play judge against God
such a person would audaciously demand justice from the One who could have
stopped all the injustice. Yet, the faithful Christian understands in Christ
God took direct responsibility for how sin affected His creation (1 Cor.
15: 22; Eph. 5:1-3, Rom. 5:8, 14:9). All people now have a choice between the
One who died for the sins of the world or eternal separation from the One who
proved His love. If a far stronger fighter strategically takes a hit for the
greater good this does not mean the stronger was truly weaker. Jesus conquered
sin and death by taking on sin and death. Christ proved God is all powerful in
being the life which conquers death. Christ proved God is all knowing after He
felt the effects of sin and having tasted death. God did what is impossible for
humanity and proved to be the greater love all people desperately need. As
people have heard testimonies from former Islamic terrorists or even the
Apostle Paul who terrorized Christians, one recognizes when Christ faces such a
person the love of God is no longer denied.
Theodicy
(1) If God is
fully just and fully good there must be a just and good reason for Him
tolerating suffering and evil.
(2) If God was
willing to suffer in human form in the worst of ways, He must have had a good
and just reason for doing so.
(3) The greatest
way Gods’ love could be displayed and recognized is through the suffering
Christ endured.
(4) His great
love is understood because of the suffering and evil recognized by humanity.
(5) If His great
love has been accepted by billions and His love is still impacting people today;
His goodness, His justice, and His love must be greater than any evil in this
world.
(6) If what is
good is better recognized when compared to what is evil than the evil tolerated
is for the greater good, otherwise God’s great love would be incomprehensible.
(7) People can
comprehend Gods’ great love because of the suffering and evil He
endured/endures, so God is fully just and fully good.
Unlike other
worldviews, Christianity claims that vice and natural evil are not intrinsic to
or necessitated by human nature or the universe. Evil was not built into
creation by God. Our first parents rebelled against the known law of God and
thus fell into sin (Genesis 3). This was not on account of God misleading them
(the serpent did that) or of God coercing them (they deliberated and acted
against God’s instructions). As Francis Schaeffer put it, human beings are now
discontinuous with their original condition, not because God created them
vicious or because God coerced them against their will, but because humans
changed themselves by rebelling against God. “In this case we can understand
that man is now cruel, but that God is not a bad God. This is precisely the
Judeo-Christian position.” Moreover, evil is not metaphysically
necessitated; in fact, evil is dependent on a prior and original goodness. Evil
is dependent on goodness in a parasitic way. Evil is not a thing or a
substance in and of itself, but the warping and twisting of an antecedent good,
which results in a lack of proper goodness. For example, Hitler’s
temporary successes stemmed from his oratorical and strategic abilities. These
abilities were not evil in themselves since a person may inspire goodness
through oratory and lead others into righteous endeavors through proper
strategies. But Hitler misused his gifts and lacked virtue, particularly love.
Hence, he was dominated by evil.
For the love
of God to be known in this realm necessary sacrifices were made. Resulting from
Christ sacrifice the honest mind gains a deeper understanding and appreciation
for the perfect justice and grace of God. Bear in mind the recognized limits of
human imagination. Consider if not for divine revelation one could not imagine
a reality before space and time where numerous manifestations of love were
shared within the Trinity. Many manifestations of beauty and love were only
feelings or thoughts in the mind of God before becoming real for any created
being. There is a unique sensation of love and peace the weeping father feels
when listening to his daughters’ beating heart in the chest of the one who
lives because the daughter died. Another unique sensation of love and peace is felt
by two siblings who forgive each other and are united after losing their
mother. There is also the unique love mixed with pride a soldier feels for
their brother in arms who dies in the battlefield after fighting bravely and
saving lives. Before creation there could have been individual words to
describe each of these deeply loving sensations in the mind of God. If the
Bible is false the greatest example of love is a lie, and any sense of hope
during suffering is an illusion, because if only death is certain life is
meaningless (1 Cor. 15:18-19). In this temporary world the greatest truths in
life are fully recognized and appreciated because of a knowledge of suffering.
The crucifix is beautiful today and is seen as a symbol of hope. The horror of
Christ on the cross suffering and dying for the sins of the undeserving is at
the same time a beautiful truth an adopted child of God is most grateful for.
If the idea of sacrificial love were only real in the imagination, such a
thought would not truly be as great as the reality of the person who lays down
their life for others (John 15:13).
Sources
Barnett,
Lincoln. The Universe and Dr. Einstein. New York: William Sloane Associates,
1948.
Douglas, A.
Vibert. "Forty Minutes with Einstein," in the Journal of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada, 50. (1956).
Einstein,
Albert. Out of My Later Years. New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 27-28.
Feinberg,
John S. The Many Faces of Evil.
Wheaton: IL, Crossway, 2004.
Geisler, L. Norman, and Turek,
Frank. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an
Atheist. Wheaton, IL. Crossway Books, 2004.
Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case
for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove: IL. InterVarsity Press, 2011.
Jastrow, Robert. God and the
Astronomers New and Expanded Edition. New York / London. W.W. Norton &
Company, INC., 1992.
Plantinga, Alvin. God, Freedom, and Evil. Grand Rapids,
MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974.
Ross, Hugh. The Fingerprint
of God. Orange CA: Promise Publishing Co., 1989.
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