Ordination Question 2

2. What is your understanding of evil as it exists in the world?

One of the most difficult questions we face as humans deals with the existence of evil. The existence of evil, I think, is beyond question. Very few would argue in the face of the unspeakable suffering in the world that evil does not exist. We may argue about “why” evil exists or how to solve problems that result from evil, but I think we can be certain that evil exists. This creates a significant dilemma for those of us who would claim to speak for God. How do we explain evil in the world if God is good? Many would dismiss this question with a statement like, “You shouldn’t question God. That shows a lack of faith.” I would contend that a response like that shows a lack of understanding of the human condition. Evil results in and/or causes suffering; and suffering causes us to question God. It is our responsibility as Christian ministers to help those who suffer because of evil to frame their questions in ways that can bring them to a deeper understanding of who God is and who God wants us to be, admitting that we sometimes struggle to find answers to those same questions.

Article VII of the Confession of Faith begins – “We believe [humanity] is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil.” We proclaim that, because of our own free-will choices, evil is part and parcel of the human condition. One cannot be immune from evil and still be human. It is within God’s redemptive plan that we suffer because of evil and are brought, sometimes weeping, to the conclusion that God alone has the remedy to the problem of evil in our world.

I wish that I had better answers to this question, but it is my experience that any answer we offer falls far short when faced with the practical implications of this question. What do you say to a grieving widow or a child who has just lost their mother? There are no answers that suffice. Maybe the simplest answer holds the most truth. How can we possibly know what “good” is if we have not experienced evil? How can we appreciate light without darkness? How can we yearn for peace without having witnessed the ravages of war? Of course this does little to comfort the victims of evil, which we all are. Maybe what is important is that we learn to journey with each other through the “valley of the shadow of death”, weep with one another, comfort one another, and rejoice together as God’s peace vanquishes our fears.