An Age Old Question

I read something that someone posted on Facebook recently that read as follows: “If God exists yet He cannot protect children from being sexually molested in His own place of worship, then what good is He?”
There are several reasons why someone would ask that question. They may actually want to know, which is reasonable. They may just want to justify their own unbelief, or they might just be the kind of person that enjoys arguing. If you fall into either of the second two categories, there really isn’t much reason for you to waste your time reading any further. If you really want to know, carry on.
It sounds like a reasonable question on the surface. That same question, formed in different ways has been asked countless times down through the ages. Another way of expressing the same sentiment would be, “Why doesn’t God do something about the evil that exists in the world?” No one in their right mind would argue that molesting children is not evil. It is reprehensible, and when we hear of things like this being done, it stirs up a sense of rage in us. And it should. However, the fact that this type of question is asked also poses some other questions that need to be answered. If you are looking for a quick, five word, sound bite answer, well I am afraid I don’t have that. If you really want to know, I will share some thoughts, but it will take time. The thing about real life is that there are no quick, five second, sound bite answers to any deep questions. To understand truth, we have to think through some hard things, and it requires effort.
The first thing I thought when I read that quote was, “What makes you ask that?” Obviously, there exists inside of you some sense of justice. That is a good thing. There is something inside of you that screams out. “This is NOT right!” That sense of justice is what protects societies from becoming utter chaos. Your desire would be to live in a world where justice is served when it needs to be. But think for a moment, why does that sense of justice that wells inside of you even exist? Is there a Creator, or is everything blind, senseless chance originating out of the arrangement of molecules? If the second assumption is true, then it makes no sense for anyone to have conceptualizations about what is right and wrong, because, ultimately, if that is true, it doesn’t matter.
We can spout off the words, “Nothing really matters”, but deep down in our guts, we don’t believe it. If we really believed that nothing matters, then that sense of a longing for justice would not exist. If I honestly believed that life had no real meaning, then why should I care if children are molested if it is not affecting me in any way? It doesn’t matter. We can say, “It doesn’t matter” all we want to, but our actions and behavior prove that to be a lie that we tell ourselves. It is a defense mechanism we all employ at times just to make everyday life bearable. If we did not utilize it, we would go insane trying to correct everything that is wrong, and that is impossible.
The second thing that strikes me about that quote is the assumption that God “cannot” do anything about it. Just because I don’t do something does not mean that I am not capable of it. A better way of saying it would be, “Why doesn’t He do something about it?” That is a reasonable question. Again that poses another question, or a series of questions. First, it shows me that if you ask that question, you are at least entertaining the possibility that God exists. You may not understand His ways, but you are at least entertaining the possibility that He does exists. If not, there is no reason to ask the question. If you really did not believe that God exists, then it is a pointless question.
Think with me for a few moments. If you can admit to yourself that there is a very real tendency within you to want justice served when it needs to be, how would instant justice apply to you? Have you ever done something that you felt was wrong? I know I certainly have. Have you ever lost your temper and said or did something to someone else that you later regretted? I know I certainly have. What if God had served instant justice to you in that moment? If He had, you would not be here reading these words, you would be destroyed. Now, you may reason with yourself and say something like, “Well, I did yell at my kids last week because I was tired and cranky, and they were getting on my nerves, but that is nothing like the sin of molesting children”. I would not argue that at all. Yelling at your kids in an angry way is not as bad as sexually molesting children, but both actions affect children in a negative way, it is just a matter of degrees.
Ultimately, if you believe in right and wrong, you have to come to the conclusion that both are wrong. Who determines the degree scale? If the degree scale is a matter of personal subjectivity, then it cannot be applied in a universal way. There are some societies in this world that believe that it is perfectly fine for a man to sell his daughter off as a prostitute, or to marry her off at a very early age for the sake of profit. In our society, we would label a grown man who marries a 13 year-old girl  a pedophile. I would not argue at all that this is not so. In my mind, a grown man who marries a 13 year-old girl, is a pedophile. That is the way I think. In some societies, it is perfectly acceptable. Why? Because our societies have differing scales of justice.
There is another thought to consider. Just because you do not witness God doing something about a wrong that has been done does not mean that He is not taking notice of it, and ultimately doing something about it. It just means that you are not being given the satisfaction of witnessing justice being served. There is a big difference. You have to admit that you want the satisfaction of seeing justice served. That says something about you, not God.
The fact is, our personal and societal perceptions of right and wrong are very subjective. Are some evils worse than others? Certainly they are. But who decides that? Who decides what level is acceptable, and what is not? Who decides when instant justice should be served, and when it is okay to go easy on the wrong doer because his/her wrong is at an acceptable level?
We are very inconsistent in the way we apply all of this. If we look at life in purely black and white terms, then there are no degrees. There is no gray area. If an action is wrong, it is wrong. Period. It must be punished. Justice must be served. The degrees do not matter.
But we all know real life is not like that. Everything is not simply black and white. Things are complicated. There is plenty of gray area. So if you are capable of entertaining the possibility that God exists, it might be good to try to understand why things are the way they are, and how God plays into all of this. If God was a god of instant justice, we would all be dead. So, that is obviously not the way it works.
That takes me back to the question, “Why does this sense of justice, this sense of right and wrong even exist within us?” Is it a product of evolutionary development? Did man start out as some brutish primate, living from the pure instinct to survive and multiply, and develop this sense of justice over the course of time as a means of survival? Is it an evolutional necessity for the survival of our species? Is it necessary for survival? I don’t think so, because it does not exist in other species that still survive. What of the lion that stalks and kills a gazelle to eat and take to the pack? That lion has deprived the gazelle’s cubs of their caretaker. That is not just. But the species of lions remains. I assume the lion feels no remorse over the death of the gazelle. That is the way the food chain functions.
Justice is not necessary for survival. Justice is necessary, to some degree, to maintain societal order. But is societal order necessary for pure survival? No, it is not. Does it make life better? Certainly it does. No one would argue that an ordered society is less desirable than a chaotic society where everyone just does whatever they want to, whenever they want to. That is why courts exist. That is why prisons exists. We have to have some kind of law governing our society to maintain order. We desire that. It makes life safer and more predictable.
So, my conclusion is that this inherent sense of right and wrong is not the product of evolutionary development. It is something that is hardwired into the very fabric of our being. Why? Because mankind is different from the animal kingdom. We may bare some resemblance to primates in the way our bodies are shaped, which gives rise to evolutionary speculation, but that speculation leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why haven’t all primates evolved into humans? If that is the necessary progression of evolution, why have some of our ancestors been left behind?
If there is nothing inherently different between mankind and animals, if we are simply more highly evolved animals, why do we not witness animals doing the things that make mankind so vastly different from the animal kingdom? Why don’t animals build and invent things? Why don’t animals change the topography of the earth to suit their perceived needs? Why don’t animals develop judicial systems to punish those whose behavior threatens societal order? Because they are different, that is why.
The Bible starts off in the beginning chapters with the declaration that man is made in the image of God. The beginning chapters of Genesis do describe briefly God’s creation of the animal kingdom, but nowhere is it declared that animals are made in the image of God. What does this mean? It means that there is something inside of man that is like God. There is something inside of man that reflects the character of God. Mankind shares a unique relationship with the Creator that is different from all the other creatures on the face of the earth.
It is my contention that this “image of God” is the source of our sense of right and wrong. It is this image of God that compels us to desire justice because God is a God of justice, just not necessarily instant justice.
The second thing that comes into play in answering the question, “Why doesn’t God do something about the evil that exists in the world?” “Why doesn’t God prevent children from being molested by priests?”, is also answered in the beginning chapters of Genesis. God put mankind in charge of the earth. He gave us a huge responsibility. He did not give this responsibility to the animal kingdom. He could not give this responsibility to the animal kingdom because the animal kingdom does not possess the quality that separates mankind from animals, that being “the image of God”. God did not create animals to be like Himself. He did make mankind to be like Himself. Because He made mankind to be like Himself, He shoulders us with the responsibility of behaving like Him. He governs us in this process.
The first thing God requires in His governance of us, as caretakers of His creation is obedience. God is our king. Obedience is meaningless if the possibility of disobedience does not exist. God did not create us as robots, simply programmed to do exactly what He commands, when He commands. He created us with the ability to think and choose. Why? Because He created us in His image, and He has the ability to think and choose. He created us with the ability to create, because He has the ability to create. That is another integral aspect of the image of God in man. God is love. His desire is that His love for us, as His creation, be reciprocated. God desires for us to love Him, but real love cannot exist unless the possibility of not loving also exists. There is no such thing as coerced love. Love is a voluntary act of the will. When we love God we desire to obey Him, because we trust that He has our best interests at heart, and He knows what is best. He created everything good. It becomes bad when we corrupt it by turning away from Him.
So, in order for obedience to be real, the possibility of disobedience had to be introduced. The possibility of disobedience is introduced as a test by God’s allowing a lie. You may ask, “Why was it necessary to introduce a lie?” Because, without the possibility of a lie, truth does not mean anything. If there is no such thing as a lie, then the concept of truth becomes meaningless. Love, and obedience is a choice. It is the choice that makes it valuable. My wife’s fidelity to me, and my fidelity to her is a beautiful and valuable aspect of our relationship because it is a choice. If I just locked her up so that she never had the chance to become involved with any other men, then I would have her fidelity, but it wouldn’t mean anything, because it would not be a matter of choice. There is no such thing as love by coercion.
The idea that Satan is God’s enemy running around wrecking God’s plans is not a theologically sound idea. The idea that Satan is a powerful being who can force us to do evil things against our wills is nonsense. Satan is simply a liar. His power is the lie. The evil and destruction that we see in the world is the result of men believing the lie, and acting on it. Mankind, in charge of God’s creation manages the world under the power of the lie. The world, as God’s creation is a beautiful thing. Nature is beautiful and wonderful. The evil, brutality, and ugliness that exists in the world, (the priests who sexually molests children) is not the result of God doing, or not doing anything, it is the result of mankind, living under the power of the lie, trying to be independent and live out life by his own wits apart from God. It is like trying to make an automobile run on an empty gas tank.
Whether you believe in the Genesis account of creation or not, think something through with me for a moment. Suppose you had the perfect dad. Suppose your father always told you the truth. Suppose your father always worked hard to provide for all of your needs, and he took care of you. You would never have any reason to question his motives or actions. Everything at home was fine. You felt loved and protected. Then one day, you go off to school and you meet a new kid during recess. He starts talking to you about your father. He tells you that your father is a wicked, lying man who is really plotting to destroy you and deprive you of all the fun things in life. You didn’t really know this kid, and had never spent any time with him before the day he started telling you bad things about your father. On the other hand, you had spent your entire life up to that time with your father, never doubting him, never having any reason to.
Why would you, in your right mind, choose to believe the new kid over your father? It sounds ludicrous, but that is exactly how our first parents, Adam and Eve, chose to behave. It is an intriguing story. I do not believe it is just a fancy fairy tale or myth. I think it is a factual account of what really happened, because it explains everything. When you understand it, everything makes sense. When we choose to believe the lie, all of life becomes a lie.
The lie is the lie of independence. The lie is the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We don’t have to eat it. We choose to eat it. We can live perfectly well without it. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which they had been told by God not to do, the process of death was introduced into the human race, just as God told them it would be if they chose to disobey Him. Think about this for a moment. God is the source of man’s life. The scripture says that God breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a living being. When we chose the lie, and act in disobedience, death, which is the absence of life begins, because we move away from God, the source of life.
Mankind, in this present state, is not the way God created us to be in the beginning, because the element of death has been introduced. Our nature was changed. Since Adam and Eve were the first two human beings, they passed that corruption of nature onto all of their offspring. This is what is referred to in theological jargon as “original sin”. It means that now, we are born with a bend in our nature that leads us away from God, the source of life. We don’t have to learn how to sin, we do it by default. That is why the world (man’s system of things) is such a mess. We live on a planet of nearly 8 billion people now who are born with a corrupted nature, a nature that is bent on sin and evil.
Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in the world? He has. That is what the Gospel message (the good news) of the New Testament is all about. God has provided a way out of all of this mess for us. It is not an instant ticket out. It is not instant justice. It is a chance for us to gain back our original nature, a nature that was created in holiness. He has done this by coming, in human form, in the person of Jesus Christ, to bear the punishment of our sins for us. It is forgiveness, and a chance to start over.
Mankind is still in charge of the Earth. That has not changed. The governance and care of Earth still rests on man’s shoulders just as it always has. The thing that makes it different now is that man’s nature can change. Still, just as it was in the beginning, so it still is. It is a matter of choice. You can choose to believe it or not. I guarantee you though, if you choose not to believe it, you have no answer for your questions. The question, “If God exists yet He cannot protect children from being sexually molested in His own place of worship, then what good is He?” can’t be answered, so there is really no point in asking it.
As I said before, just because you are not being given the gratification of seeing it happen instantly does not mean that justice will not be served. It really shows something in your character that needs to change. When you make that kind of statement, you are slandering the name of a good, loving, and holy God who created you. That is blasphemy.
“Why doesn’t God do something about the evil that exists in the world?” The fact of the matter is that He has. He has stepped out of His realm of eternity and into our realm of space and time in the person of Jesus Christ, and re-opened the door to forgiveness, restoration, and eternal life, a door that we close.
“Why doesn’t God do something about the evil that exists in the world?” A better question to ask is “Why don’t you do something about the evil that exists in the world with all the life and resources God has given you undeservedly, instead of blaspheming the one who gave you your very life?”