Miguel Patiño Hernández
Why does God permit suffering? This is one of the questions that most Christians have asked at some point in their lives. The issue of suffering is directly related to the presence of sin in the universe and the way God has dealt with it. How is it possible for a just God to allow such atrocious evils in our world? This dilemma is known in theology as theodicy.1
Scripture affirms that God is good (Ps 145:17; Matt 5:45), all-powerful (Rev 1:8; Ps 91:1), omniscient (Heb 4:13; Rom 11:33–34), and sovereign (Ps 135:6; Dan 4:35). Given that God does not desire evil for anyone and has granted creatures free will, why has he permitted evil and not eradicated it once and for all with his power? If he eliminated evil from the universe, would he still be just? Some have asserted that God has predetermined all events in the universe.2 Others, however, believe that God should have created beings with a lesser capacity to sin, generating an environment with fewer temptations or opportunities to do evil.3
To propose a solution to this dilemma and consider that this issue involves understanding how God governs the universe (divine sovereignty), this essay will first consider some passages that show God acting directly in history, followed by some examples of indirect divine guidance. Finally, it will address elements related to free will within the context of the cosmic conflict.4
Direct divine activity can be divided into positive and negative. Positive direct activity is observed in divine acts where God explicitly intervenes and causes things to happen. The sacred record states that God guides human history because he “removes kings and raises up kings” (Dan 2:21),5 emphasizing that nothing happens without his will. This is manifested in examples where God causes events independently of the actions of creatures (free will). Apocalyptic prophecies present a series of successive kingdoms or events that demonstrate God’s control over the kingdoms of this world.6
Additionally, the creative acts of the Deity are presented as being carried out before any creature existed in the universe; it is said of Christ that “he is before all things” (Col 1:17) and that “by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16).7 These acts and historical events are executed by God independently of human desire or action or any celestial being.8
On the other hand, negative direct divine activity is where God prevents creatures from doing something that would go against the order of the universe or God’s overarching plan. It is termed negative in the sense that it refers to what God denies or does not allow to happen under any circumstances. Examples of this type of prevention in Scripture can be seen in two ways. The first is where a human being would act against a specific promise or previously revealed prophecy, such as Herod’s attempt to take the life of the Messiah after the visit of the wise men from the East (Matt 2:1–20) or the warning given to Pharaoh to inform him that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and not his sister (Gen 12:11–20; cf. Gen 20:1–18). The second can be seen in instances where celestial beings propose an action against a human being (as in the case of Job)9 or a nation, as presented in Daniel 10.10
Indirect divine activity can be classified in two ways, considering what the biblical canon records: ideal/permissive and prohibitive/limiting. This is where the free will of creatures can be exercised, and the Deity allows room for the decisions of created beings.
Ideal/permissive indirect divine activity is specified by God as the ideal path he desires his creatures to follow. This divine will is expressed in various places in Scripture; an example is the Ten Commandments given at Sinai, known as the representation of the divine character.11 Adam and Eve also received the freedom to choose obedience to God or rejection of divine governance and consequent separation from God,12 knowing that they would die on the day they disobeyed (Gen 2:17; cf. 3:2–3).
God’s ideal plan for each human being within the context of a sinful world is particularly expressed within the framework of love manifested in Christ’s sacrifice and the acceptance or rejection by human beings: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).13 This ideal plan of God for his creatures can be rejected by humans, making clear the consequences of such rejection. Accepting or believing in God (John 3:16) demonstrates the cognitive decision element. It is called ideal/permissive because humanity has the “permission” to choose life or death (Deut 30:15–19).
Prohibitive/limiting indirect divine activity refers to those aspects in which the creature exercises free will to walk in open rebellion against God’s ideal plan.14 Since God does not force anyone, he grants full freedom to live differently from the plans of the Most High, making the short-, medium-, and long-term consequences of their actions clear (Ps 37:38; Prov 4:11; 10:29; Hos 7:13; Rom 9:22; 2 Thess 1:9).
This summarized consideration of divine governance allows us to return to the question: How is it possible that a God of love, who is in control of what happens in the universe, allows such relentless evils? For this, it is necessary to address some aspects related to free will within the framework of the cosmic conflict.
The Scriptures present the Creator as a God of love (1 John 4:8); consequently, love requires reciprocity to be adequately expressed. A being who loves may love an inanimate object, but God decided to create beings with the capacity to love or not to love their Creator. This is called free will. Love requires the possibility of rejecting or accepting God (questioning his character and governance).15
The expression of love from creatures to the Creator was one of the aspects emphasized during the ministry of Jesus. When questioned by a lawyer about identifying the “great commandment,” the Lord replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” adding that this love should also be extended to one’s neighbor, since “on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:35–40; cf. Deut 6:5). These expressions of love are only possible within the context of free will.
However, this capacity to choose whether to follow God or not goes back beyond the events on this earth. The rejection of divine governance began in heaven, in what is described as the fall of the great covering cherub (Ezek 28:12–19; Isa 14:12–14).16 The consequences of rejecting God result in separation from divine goodness and love, bringing about evils, misfortunes, and ultimately, death. God’s efforts to prevent suffering due to sin and separation are evident in different instances in Scripture. In the Psalms, the Lord expresses: “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels” (Ps 81:11–12).17
The parable of the wheat and the tares illustrates the presence of evil in this world. Jesus indicated that “the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt 13:24). However, this good seed is not the only thing that appears in the father’s field (v. 26). The “servants of the owner” asked him, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” (v. 27). The context of the parable allows us to identify the Creator as the father who placed the “good seed” in creation. The growth of the tares is not a divine work; the father clarifies, “An enemy has done this” (v. 28). This enemy is consistently identified as Satan in the biblical record. The presence of the tares, however, must remain and be eradicated until the time of harvest (vv. 29–30).
It has been aptly suggested that uprooting the tares from the field before time and not until the harvest would produce greater damage.19 This could result in a violation of the free will granted to created beings, a greater evil, a less flourishing love, or go against the rules of the conflict between good and evil.20 When Adam and Eve rejected divine instructions and chose to obey Satan, they became slaves of the enemy (Rom 6:16). In this way, “the great dragon, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan” (Rev 12:9) took control as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31) within the parameters established in the framework of the cosmic conflict (Job 1 and 2).
The sowing of the “tares” by the enemy spread throughout the earth “because all have sinned” (Rom 3:23). John expresses it this way: “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). The presence of tares in the world does not mean that God delights in them; sin in the universe leads to destruction (Rom 6:23), and the Lord emphatically states that he does not take pleasure in “the death of the wicked” (Ezek 33:11) and that his plans for his children are of good “and not of evil” (Jer 29:11). The atrocious evils in the world are a consequence of the presence of the “tares” introduced into the world by the enemy,21 not by God.
In his role as ruler of darkness, the enemy seeks to “sift” the children of God, also at the individual and personal level; a biblical example of this is when Jesus told Peter: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). Jesus’ next phrase implies that permission had been granted to Satan to carry out this trial but that the Lord himself had interceded for the disciple and prayed “that” his “faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32).22 It is noteworthy that the biblical promise regarding temptations is that there will not be a trial that cannot be resisted and that with that trial there will also be “the way of escape” (1 Cor 10:13).
On the one hand, Scripture presents Satan as a “roaring lion” (1 Pet 5:8) who continually (though not always) harasses the children of God, but it also affirms that his time is short and is about to end. In Jesus’ encounter with the demons, they exclaimed: “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matt 8:29). Revelation states that “the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev 12:12). The parable of the wheat and the tares teaches that the universal outlook should not be as it currently is. The guarantee of eliminating evil’s presence is Christ’s death on the cross of Calvary (Rev 5:9–13; cf. John 12:31; Col 2:13–15).
However, when a person suffers, it is not always due to their own disobedience (see Job 1 and 2); suffering exists in the universe because of sin, and sin exists due to the misuse of free will and the rejection of divine governance. As long as sin exists in the universe, suffering will continue. But the Scriptures affirm a great truth and a beautiful promise: evil will be completely eradicated, “and the last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor 15:26). So that “God will wipe away every tear … there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain” (Rev 21:4). Until that moment arrives, Scripture invites us to hold on to the promise that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).
Although the sin of Satan, the originator of evil, is a mystery,23 the Holy Scriptures affirm that God is in control of the events in the universe through direct divine activities. At the same time, in harmony with his character of love, he grants free will to live in accordance with his will. According to the sacred record, God’s actions are not arbitrary but seek to persuade (logical procedure) the universe by grounding his actions in love and demonstrating his justice (Ps 85:10). Even in the field of freedom, God maintains the order of the universe through indirect divine activities expressed in ideal/permissive and prohibitive/limiting ways. It must be recognized that it is beyond human capacity to eradicate suffering in this world completely. Evil is a reality: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,” said Jesus, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
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1 The word originates from the Greek words theos (God) and dikē (justice), and when combined, it forms a compound word.
2 Calvinism proposes this view. In the Calvinist model, God determines every action performed by creatures according to the eternal decree. See Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 88, 108–109, 113, 173.
3 Stephen T. Davies, “Free Will and Evil,” in Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy (Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark, 2001), 82, 85; David R. Griffin, “Creation out of Nothing, Creation of Chaos, and the Problem of Evil,” in Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy (Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark, 2001), 118. For a recent study on proposals regarding divine theodicy, see John C. Peckham, Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018), 1–53.
4 Different models of divine providence have been proposed. The terminology used here, and adaptations of these concepts can be seen in Fernando Canale, “Doctrine of God,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald, 2000), 118–120; Armando Juárez, El drama de la redención: Estudio del tema de la salvación para grupos pequeños (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2001), 10–13.
5 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from New King James Version.
6 See, for example, Daniel 2, 7, 10–12.
7 There is no biblical record of any creature being present at the time of the creation of the universe (Neh 9:6; cf. Isa 66:2; Rev 4:11). Scripture does not allow for a dualism in which good and evil coexist eternally. God is presented as the Creator of everything on this earth and in the universe (Rom 1:20; Ps 104:2–4; Isa 44:24).
8 Daniel 10 presents the case of the prince of Persia, who opposed for 21 days to prevent Greece from taking its place in history (see Dan 10:13, 20). Regarding the identity of the so-called “prince of Persia,” see Carlos Mora, Dios protege a su pueblo: Comentario exegético de Daniel 10 al 12 (Mexico: Adventus, Editorial Universitaria Iberoamericana, 2012), 49–53.
9 For an extended discussion on Satan’s accusations in the book of Job and their implications in the context of divine governance, see Miguel Patiño, “The Divine Judgment and the Role of Angels Based on the Ontology of God: An Evaluation of Two Conflicting Models” (PhD diss., Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, 2019), 201–207.
10 Daniel 10:13, 20. Peckham, Theodicy of Love, 68–69.
11 Raoul Dederen, “Christ: His Person and Work,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald, 2000), 174.
12 Jiri Moskala, “Origin of Sin and Salvation According to Genesis 3,” in Salvation: Contours of Adventist Theology, ed. Martin F. Hanna, Darius W. Jankiewicz, and John W. Reeve (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2018), 120–126.
13 Italics supplied.
14 The divine limitation or prohibition might seem to contradict the free will granted to creatures. The sections “Free Will and Cosmic Conflict” and “An Enemy Has Done This” address this tension..
15 It should be clarified that evil did not need to be consummated (rejection of divine love and character) for love to be fully expressed. Peckham, Theodicy of Love, 51.
16 Norman R. Gulley, Systematic Theology: Prolegomena, vol. 1 (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2003), 387–453.
17 God desires that no one should perish, “but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9; cf. 1 Tim 2:4).
18 Part of this section is based on Peckham, Theodicy of Love, 56–57. I appreciate Peckham for bringing these details to my attention.
19 John C. Peckham develops the concept of the “rules of engagement” between good and evil, as well as the ramifications in the context of the presence of evil in the universe. Peckham, Theodicy of Love, 103–118.
20 Ibid., 118.
21 To downplay global disasters (natural or human-caused) or individual tragedies may seem like an attempt to justify what God abhors. One cannot minimize even the smallest of evils, as any form of it is diabolical by nature. The purpose is not justification or explanation, but rather to demonstrate how God continues to control events in the universe based on His character of love, despite the presence of evil.
22 The scholar Han Gregg points out that the word exaiteo conveys the idea of demanding as someone who has the right to a particular action. Brian Han Gregg, What the Bible Says About Suffering? (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2016), 64.
23 Scripture calls iniquity a mystery (2 Thess 2:7). Ellen G. White states: “It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the origin and the final disposition of sin to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with evil.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1911), 492.