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It is written:
Romans 12:21-Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Did you know that there are many things which evil defeats?
Let’s study.
Atheism
Evil defeats atheism. An atheist is one claims, “I know that God does not exist.” Of course, such a statement is obviously irrational. The atheist would have to become God in order to know that God does not exist! He would have to be omniscient (all-knowing) because the one thing that he might not know could be the evidence that God exists. The atheist would have to be omnipresent (in all place at once) in order to prove that God does not exist, since the one place he isn’t could be found the evidence that shows there is a God. The atheist would have to be omnipotent (all-powerful) in order to exercise his omniscience and omnipresence. The atheist must become God in order to know that God does not exist, which is why atheism is always irrational.
Yet the fact that evil exists shows us clearly that there is a God. Why is this the case? Consider the following exchange between Jeff Vines and a group of skeptics which the had over dinner:
“Only seconds passed before Dan, a police officer employed by the hotel as a part-time security director, broke the silence. As soon as he spoke, I got the feeling he had drawn the short straw and had been designated as the one who would ‘get the ball rolling.’ After taking a big gulp of his Australian beer, he slammed his glass down on the table, winked at his peers, then turned toward me and dropped the bomb! “So, Jeff, how can you believe in God with all the evil in this world!? Have you ever heard of the Holocaust? Stalin? Lenin? War? Starving children? Tsunamis? Earthquakes? Wake up, man! There is no God!”…I cleared my throat, gathered my thoughts, and looked toward Dan to ask him a question he was not expecting: “Dan, can you and I interact on this issue for a moment?” “What do you mean?” he responded. “Well, you have asked a great question, but I think the question itself needs to be analyzed. Would you help me with this issue?” Hesitantly, but confidently, Dan said, “Sure. What do you want?” “Well, first of all, once you admit that there is such a thing as ‘evil’ in the world, are you not also assuming that there is such a thing as ‘good’?4 After all, how can anyone know the definition of ‘evil’ unless he knows the definition of ‘good’?”…I continued, “Do you see the irony of the university professor who claims that morality is situational, that ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are left up to the individual, and then states categorically that Hitler was wrong to commit his horrendous acts upon humanity? An absolute accusation requires an absolute moral law to which everyone must conform.”…The origin of the moral law within every human heart is perhaps one of the greatest objective proofs of God’s existence. No matter where you travel in this world, absolute moral law exists within every culture. Equally astounding is the fact that even in communist, war-torn countries where God has been thrown out of the public arena, the masses continue to live in testimony to His existence in private. In fact, people in communist countries possess a moral law that is astonishingly similar to those nations in which religion is not restricted, where God is alive and well.…“After hearing that ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as absolute categories can only exist if an absolute moral law is present to sustain them, I asked Dan if he knew anyone who had the knowledge and authority to give this absolute moral law to which all humanity must conform. “Well, it’s sure not the religious hypocrites of this world or people like you!” Dan responded in anger. In wholehearted agreement, I confirmed that all men were tainted by their finiteness and could not possibly give an absolute moral law under which the rest of humanity should live. Such absolute law could only originate from an absolute moral lawgiver. Only the creator and sustainer of all things would have the authority, knowledge, and power to implant within all creatures the ability to distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ What is most interesting is the fact that no matter where you go in the world, the basic understanding of right and wrong exists, and only when evil men set out to tarnish and corrode such understanding do the atrocities of our world occur. Creating a ‘killing’ culture as Hitler successfully achieved required years of propaganda, brainwashing, and, in fact, an unlearning of the basics of right and wrong. Rome was not built in a day; neither was Germany. You and I look at the horrific acts associated with Hitler’s “final solution” with great disdain and judgment. Indeed we should. But we should remember that before Hitler could build his edifices, the old foundations of absolute moral law had to be destroyed. With the absence of absolute moral law, Hitler created a killing machine. Reminding Dan of this lesson from history, I moved toward a summary of my response. “Dan,” I exclaimed, “without an absolute moral law which defines the absolute categories of ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ the world would not be able to stand up and shout, ‘Stop! This is wrong! This is unjust! This is evil!’ Without this absolute moral law we would have no foundation on which to stand when screaming out against the atrocities and injustices of our world. You have admitted that such categories exist, but in the next breath deny the existence of the only One who can give this absolute moral law. Dan,” I said, with a kind and gentle voice, “without God there is no such thing as ‘evil,’ for only the One who has created all things holds the right to give the rules by which creation should be governed. Yet God is the one you are trying to disprove. This faulty logic is similar to using a butterfly to disprove the existence of a caterpillar. One cannot exist without the other.”” (Jeff Vines, Dinner With Skeptics, 128-279 (Kindle Edition): College Press Publishing Company)
It is undeniable that there are certain moral absolutes that are embraced by every culture throughout time. This argues strongly of the existence of God, the ultimate moral Lawgiver Who has implanted understanding of this law “written on the heart” (Romans 2:15).
“In a sense, this argument also follows the principle of causality But moral laws are different from the natural laws that we have dealt with before. Moral laws don’t describe what is; they prescribe what ought to be. They are not simply a description of the way men behave, and are not known by observing what men do. If they were, our idea of morality would surely be different. Instead, they tell us what men ought to do, whether they are doing it or not. Thus, any moral “ought” comes from beyond the natural universe. You can’t explain it by anything that happens in the universe and it can’t be reduced to the things men do in the universe. It transcends the natural order and requires a transcendent cause. Now some might say that this moral law is not really objective; it is nothing but a subjective judgment that comes from social conventions. However, this view fails to account for the fact that all men hold the same things to be wrong (like murder, rape, theft, and lying). Also, their criticism sounds very much like a subjective judgment, because they are saying that our value judgments ments are wrong. Now if there is no objective moral law, then there can be no right or wrong value judgments. If our views of morality are subjective, then so are theirs. But if they claim to be making an objective statement about moral law, then they are implying that there is a moral law in the very act of trying to deny it. They are caught both ways. Even their “nothing but” statement requires “more than” knowledge which shows that they secretly hold to some absolute standard which is beyond subjective judgments. ments. Finally, we find that even those who say that there is no moral order expect to be treated with fairness, courtesy, and dignity. If one of them raised this objection and we replied with, “Oh, shut up. Who cares what you think?” we might find that he does believe there are some moral “oughts.” Everyone expects others to follow some moral codes, even those who try to deny them. But moral law is an undeniable fact.” (Norman L. Geisler, Ronald M. Brooks, When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences, 22-23 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books)
The existence of evil shows us that God exists, and hence defeats atheism.
Dualism
Dualism is the philosophical belief that good and evil both coexist eternally, that there is an eternal good God and an eternal evil god who have always been fighting. This is the philosophical belief of many people and religions, embodied in such statements as “you can’t good without evil.” Scripture is clear that Satan is a created being:
Ezekiel 28:15-You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
We can also realize from logic and nature that evil cannot be eternal.
“If there was nothing more to life or existence than the material realm or the physical universe, we could not speak of good or evil. Then war, death, murder, and destruction would not be evil or even a problem but simply the playing out of forces and the rearrangement of molecules and atoms. If there was nothing more to the universe, then we could not judge the Nazi murderer of Jewish children to be evil, or the righteous who risked their lives to save the lives of Jewish children from Nazi murderers to be good. Nor could we esteem life to be of greater value than death. As with meaning, values, and significance, good and evil require a reality beyond that of the physical. Without this all values, all moral codes, are meaningless, arbitrary, and valueless. Evil, like good, is ultimately transcendent. Its existence does not disprove that the spiritual realm exists, but proves that it does. The Uncreated This leads to the next question: If evil exists, then how did it come into existence? More specifically, if God is good, then how could there be evil? And if God created evil, then how could God be good? But if God did not create evil, then how could evil exist? Or how could God be God? Therein lies the problem and the mystery. But the very problem of evil contains its answer. If evil was created, it would not be a problem, nor would it be evil. Evil is a problem for the very reason that it was not created. It should not exist, because it was not created, and yet it does. The existence of evil defies the created order. It is not of the creation and thus exists in opposition to the created order. Evil exists in defiance of existence. Personhood Further, evil is not simply a force, like that of an earthquake, a hurricane, or a fire. All these bring calamity and destruction. But none would constitute true evil. Both hurricanes and serial killers bring death. But hurricanes are not evil. Serial killers are. Why? The hurricane is an impersonal force. It acts without consciousness, will, choice, volition, or intent. But the serial killer commits his acts with conscious intent, will, and volition—and so is evil. And so evil is not an impersonal force—but a personal one, requiring consciousness, volition, will, and intent. Thus in our search for an answer to evil, we are led to personhood. The Anti-Being What is it that makes evil evil? Evil is an inversion—an inversion of truth, of reality, of existence. Evil is, by nature, inverted and, by nature, inverts. It twists, bends, and turns existence in upon itself. It exists as anti-existence. Its being is anti-being, and its nature, anti-nature. It is a negation and therefore seeks to negate, a nullification that exists to nullify. It has no true, ultimate, or absolute existence and therefore acts to bring that which exists into nonexistence. And so evil, by nature, seeks destruction. It opposes that which is. Possessing no absolute or true existence of its own, evil is, as well, by nature, parasitic. Being not of the created order, it can exist only by drawing its existence from that order. Evil must use the good. And so though good can exist without evil, evil cannot exist without good. Truth can exist without falsehood, but falsehood cannot exist without truth. Laws can exist without crimes, marriage without adultery, and life without murder. But crimes cannot exist without laws, adultery without marriage, nor murder exist without life. Destruction requires structure, immorality requires morality, and sin requires the holy. The good is primary. Evil is the parasitic inversion of the good. And so the existence of evil inadvertently testifies not against the existence of the good—but for it. It bears witness, unwillingly, to the existence of the good—the existence of God. Origins All this leads us to the mystery of origin. If evil is uncreated, how did it come to exist? God did not create evil, but He did create personhood, consciousness, and volition—free will. Free will is a necessity. If one does what is good because one has no choice in doing so, then it is not good. The good must be freely chosen and thus requires free will. And therein is the risk. To allow the choosing of good, one must allow the choosing of its opposite. And the opposite of good is evil. It is the allowance and risk of the good that allow for the risk of evil.” (Jonathan Cahn, The Dragon’s Prophecy: Israel, the Dark Resurrection, and the End of Days, 6-7 (Kindle Edition): Lake Mary, FL: FrontLine)
Evil can only exist in that which is first good, meaning it is always dependent on the good for its existence. Furthermore, without the standard of evil by which evil is identified and judged, evil could never exist. Therefore, evil cannot be eternal, and the existence of evil defeats dualism.
Pessimism
Finally, the existence of evil defeats pessimism, which claims that the battle against evil is useless. Within mankind is the knowledge that evil exists, and that humans are incapable of fully dealing with the scourge of cosmic evil. This same struggle was faced by people throughout the Bible (Gideon, Job, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, David, Asaph, Paul, Peter, John, etc.). Yet they found their peace in realizing that God Himself will one day defeat evil!
Romans 16:20-And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
“The main answer, however, to the problem of evil is the person of Jesus. If moral evil that you have committed is what plagues you, then Jesus takes the punishment that you deserve and pays for it Himself by His death. If you are a victim of someone else’s moral evil, then either Jesus pays for it with His death or He sits as judge and punishes the person responsible. Whether Jesus pays for or punishes moral evil depends on the response of the person. Either way moral evil finds its remedy in the perfect obedience of the life of Jesus and His death on behalf of those who believe in Him for the payment of sin. He will either judge or justify every person who ever lived. Jesus is also the solution for natural evil. In His resurrection we see Him not just restored to His physical body, but to a glorified state. His resurrected body cannot die, get sick, or be corrupted in any way. This indicates a fulfillment of the way things were intended to be, an achievement of the goal to which all things are moving according to God’s good purpose. This demonstration gives an answer to those who are suffering from physical or natural evil. The blind shall have their sight restored, the deaf shall hear, the crippled shall walk, the mentally handicapped shall think clearly. More than that, there will be no more tsunamis to kill thousands of people, no more hurricanes, tornados, floods, sickness, disease. All things will be not just restored to their state before the fall, but will attain the good purpose for which they were created. Jesus overcame both moral and physical/ natural evil. He alone is the solution. Evil is only a problem for those who refuse Him.” (Doug Powell, Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics (Holman Quicksource Guides), 349-351 (Kindle Edition): Nashville, TN: Holman Reference).
Do not despair: God is working!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.