A Difficult Biblical Issue: Theodicies

How do we handle the idea of evil in the world? How do we reconcile all the evil with a good God as we understand Him? This is what theodicies are all about.

Theodicy is a big word for sure, and we will define it in just a moment. First, let me share that as theologically oriented as I am, this word is not in my usual vocabulary. I do sometimes use big words but not this one.

When I first heard of theodicies in a recent sermon I wasn’t immediately aware of what it was all about. Now I do know, and it is really an important theological topic. Whether you know it or not, you probably wrestle with theodicies all the time just as I do.

Theodicy is a concept that raises some of the most troubling, provoking, hard to answer questions in life. It concerns itself with the problem of evil and God’s apparent tolerance of it or lack of action toward it. Theodicy makes us ask those troublesome “why” questions.

So, what does the term theodicy actually mean? Wikipedia offers this definition:

A theodicy from Greek (theos “god” + dike “justice”) is an attempt to resolve the evidential problem of evil by reconciling the traditional divine characteristics of omnibenevolence, omnipotence, and omniscience with the occurrence of evil or suffering in the world.

We have all asked some of the following tough questions at least to ourselves. Why has a loving God allowed so many small child to die violent deaths or die of a terrible disease? Why has He allowed tens of millions of babies to die by abortion? Why did He allow millions to die at the hands of Hitler and Stalin? Why have so many Christian missionaries been murdered in foreign lands when they were working for God? Couldn’t God have protected these people? Let’s be honest. These questions bother us at a deep level and satisfying answers seem elusive.

We can be encourged by the fact that many of the great Saints of Christianty have wrestled with theodicies just as we do. We are not alone with our questions.

When we ponder these tough questions we begin to seek answers. We reason, that we know that God is all powerful (omnipotent), all knowing (omniscience), omnipresent (everywhere present), and omnibenevolent (totally good). So, why does He, how could He, not take more direct action to stop all these horrible things from happening to us and others? This is one of the questions of the ages.

It is clear in Scripture that God is in control and this must also include the evil things that happen (Isaiah 45:7; 46:10). I’m not saying God is responsible for evil, but that he is in control of it and uses it for His own Glory. The book of Job is an excellent example of this process.

The truth is I’m not sure there is an answer that will adequately explain the evil in the world. There is no one answer that will satisfy everyone. Personally, I think our only recourse is to fall back on the very basics of Biblical revelation.

In the final analysis, we must accept by faith certain things that God does reveal about Himself and the world. Some things He simply has not shared with us and we must accept this.

There are things we can know. We can know, if we believe Scripture, that God is good (Psalm 100:5). We can know that all things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). We can know that God is in control (Isaiah 46:10, Daniel 4:34,35). We can know that God loves us (John 3:16). These truths are clear.

It’s still very hard for us to accept living with no clear answers, but there are some things that we will never understand this side of Heaven. We simply cannot explain all the evil in the world or even in our own lives. All we can do is trust that God is always doing the right thing at the right time and all for our good. It is all for His glory.

Next week we will explore some of the various theodicies that have been formulated over the centuries. I think you will find it very interesting. If you have any ideas, insight, or comments on this topic please post your comments here.