The Problem of Evil

The Problem of Evil

By David Bell  20 April 2025

The problem of evil has exercised the minds of much of humanity for centuries. Why do we dare to suggest a new explanation? We are not academics but have studied fairly widely. We don’t have a large following and have no desire for recognition. We simply hope that our thoughts might contribute to the wider conversation and offer hope to those with whom our thoughts resonate.

The basis for our contemplations has been the concept that God is love, that He loves all that He has created and treats each human as part of His family. The uniqueness in our approach to the topic comes from the belief that God has an overall plan and that that plan has been revealed, in part at least, through the prophecies in the bible. We believe that this age will be followed by at least two further ages and that certain underlying principles are set by God for each age.

We accept that our views are heavily influenced by the Judeo-Christian environment within which we were raised. We don’t believe that God favors any religion, we are all his children. We hate the divisions that have so often been the cause of strife and conflict. We don’t believe that the bible is the only source of truth or even that it consistently portrays the character of God. We do however believe that Jesus perfectly reflected the character of his father and gave the world a message of good news and a reason to believe that eventually all will be well for everyone.

We offer this article in all humility, not with any intention of undermining the thoughts of others, but rather hoping that our suggestions might prove useful to those who are seeking answers to such questions. In this article, we primarily discuss moral evil - the suffering caused by humans - while briefly touching on natural evil. 

We believe God created the world with the possibility of evil.

He knew that if humans ignored the guidance of His Spirit, we would twist the desires He gave us to procreate, protect, and prosper (these desires are essential, without them the human race would not have multiplied). He understood that these corrupted desires would lead to suffering and premature deaths. So why did He create the world this way?

We suggest that God’s ultimate plan is to live in harmony with all of creation. For this to happen, every human being must become spiritually mature - showing kindness, mercy, and forgiveness to themselves and others. In short, learning to unfailingly love both themselves and their neighbours.

Such maturity does not come easily. Babies are naturally demanding, relying on others to meet their needs. As they grow, good parenting helps them change - teaching them empathy and the value of sharing. In the best environments, these children grow into adults who treat themselves and others with goodness. But often, people grow into adults who act selfishly, and even those who strive to be good sometimes fall short.

My co-author Dave Griffiths and I believe that in this present age, God has two objectives. The primary objective is to create a vast number of unique individuals. The secondary objective is to guide those that are willing, into lives shaped by His unfailing love.

The first objective is clearly being fulfilled. Some estimate that over 100 billion people have been born throughout history. Progress on the second objective is less widespread. Only a few attempt to live a life of unfailing love. When we examine their lives, a pattern becomes clear: their spiritual growth often follows significant suffering. It seems that such maturity frequently arises from enduring painful consequences - either of one's own actions or of others'.

As we reflect on our own lives, especially in later years, we can often trace a process of development. In my youth, I was always in a rush - worried about providing for my family and sometimes blind to the needs and pain of those around me. I have suffered: my sister died in a road accident, my first marriage ended in divorce, and I lost my second wife to cancer. My friends have similar stories. Many have endured intense suffering.

I am not claiming that I or my peers have reached full spiritual maturity. I still struggle to show kindness and empathy at times. But I have gained more patience.

Experiences such as periods of happiness, service, education, or solitude can foster maturity - but suffering often seems essential before those lessons bring about a character change. Perhaps spiritual maturity can only be achieved through the persistent exercise of unfailing love in the midst of suffering. 

If suffering is necessary, why do some people face such extreme and terrible experiences? Could God have created a world where suffering was limited? We believe He could not - not if He also wanted to fulfil His primary objective of creating a vast number of unique humans with which to eventually have a loving relationship.

God is often described as omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere). We agree with these descriptions. But if God were to use His power and knowledge to control the character of each human at birth and their subsequent development, He would undermine His own purpose of creating a wide variety of unique individuals. For now, He is limiting His use of power. Maybe, that will not always be the case.

So far, we’ve focused on moral evil. But we must also consider the suffering caused by natural events. Earthquakes, floods, droughts and such like often cause devastation and trauma. These are all the natural outworkings of the systems created to provide the beautiful and life sustaining world that we live on. We believe that if everyone listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit then it would be possible for no one to be hurt by such events.

A further type of suffering, often attributed to God, is that of disease and deformity. We believe that the originally good life forms that God initially created are being slowly corrupted. The DNA of the first humans, once perfect, has deteriorated. Initially only good bacteria and viruses existed but over the years some have mutated and become harmful. God does not interfere with this process, but he has provided us with incredible abilities to recover from the damage that our bodies occasionally encounter.

Sometimes we can’t see any benefit to the suffering some experience, a young child dies of starvation, a family is wiped out in a flood. In such cases there is no chance for the people involved to mature before their body dies. It’s important to remember that spiritual growth is not God’s primary objective in this age; that process remains limited for now. There will be many opportunities in the ages ahead for the people who die before they have had the chance to significantly mature, to complete the process.

Before we consider what lies ahead, we must address a common accusation: that God is cruel for allowing the extreme or disproportionate suffering, such as child abuse, genocide, or natural disasters that kill thousands. Let us be clear, God does not orchestrate or desire the suffering we see. In the Bible, it says God never imagined humans would sacrifice their children in fire (Jeremiah 32:35). I believe God weeps over the horrors humans commit and the times when they ignore the promptings of His spirit to avoid calamities. But He cannot intervene without disrupting the very foundations of the world He created.

Think of gravity. If God "turned it off" to save someone falling from a cliff, the consequences would be catastrophic. Everything not anchored would float into space, and Earth would lose its atmosphere. Life would become impossible. In the same way, altering the spiritual framework now would cause chaos.

We must keep in mind that our lives on this earth are only a short prelude to our life after we are resurrected into immortal bodies. To us the early death of a person, or a life full of hardship and suffering, are considered as tragedies. We firmly believe that to God they are distressing - He feels our pain. However, He knows that each and every trauma can be overcome (He will wipe away every tear Revelation 21:4a).

So, how will God achieve His ultimate aim?

We believe this will happen in stages. In the current stage, God is encouraging the human population to grow by providing us with desires to procreate, protect, and prosper. He does not control the characteristics of each individual at birth or their development but tries to influence those that will listen to follow the teachings and example of Jesus. At the same time, He does not prevent the many causes of suffering, including the negative influences that distort the very desires that fuel human growth.

The bible predicts that this stage will come to an end. History shows us that major changes to the organization and direction of a society only happen after catastrophes. The human race will suffer a calamity greater than anything that it has known before. The earth’s population will be drastically reduced, and essential services - like electricity and running water - will cease to function. We believe this catastrophe will be a natural event, perhaps a massive volcano or multiple earthquakes (Matthew 24:21). Whilst God knows it is going to happen He will not cause it.

When the destruction stops Jesus will return to reign over the earth. He will bind the harmful spiritual forces (Revelation 20:2-3) and actively guide people to follow His ways (Isaiah 2:3). We believe the characteristics of each child will be determined by Jesus at birth and their development will be shaped in a more loving environment (Isaiah 44:3). The land will be capable of bring forth an abundance and everyone will be healthy (Isaiah 35:1-7). All sickness will be healed (Matthew 15:30) and lifespans will be extended (Isaiah 65:20). With the fear of death reduced, the drive to protect will naturally lessen.

Jesus will have helpers to assist him reign in this age and the age(s) to come (Revelation 20:4). These helpers will be those that did all they could to follow his example. Some will have died before or during the catastrophe and will be resurrected into immortal bodies, others will offer to help Jesus as they experience his love and the benefits of his reign. There is and will always be a reward to following Jesus at the earliest opportunity.

We envisage that after an initial period of upheaval, peace will prevail. Humanity will live in harmony for many years. (Our book ‘Emerging from the Rubble’ explores this time.)

Eventually, this stage too will end, and a new one will begin - on a new earth (Revelation 21:1). On this future world, everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected and be given immortal bodies (Isaiah 26:19). The desire to procreate will be gone (Matthew 22:30), and the desire to prosper will be greatly diminished. Those who had previously rejected Jesus will undergo a process of chastisement and reflection. Their experiences will lead them to change, forgive others - and themselves, and eventually embrace a life of unfailing love.

It may seem unfair that victims of extreme cruelty in this current age often don’t see their oppressors face justice. And it is unfair, but currently life is unfair in so many ways.  Our vision of the initial period on the new earth includes Jesus creating situations where each individual is made to realise the implications of their past misdeeds, take responsibility for their actions and become reconciled to those they have hurt. No one will escape ‘scot-free’, everyone will suffer until they have spiritually matured to the state where they are willing to live a life of love.

Ultimately, Jesus will achieve God’s desire and every human will enjoy an abundant life in peace and safety. (Our book ‘Hope for Everyone’ is set on this new earth.)

Some may wonder: why doesn’t God bring about this peace now? Why not redesign the earth to remove the natural dangers, remove the harmful spiritual forces today and give His followers everything they need to lead the world into harmony?

We believe that the current environment is the best possible environment that could be created to achieve God’s principle objective of multiplying the population. We are convinced that a better world could not be created whatever the power of the creator. Whenever anything is created in a physical environment the designer is constrained, tradeoffs have to be made. The designer of a car for example might like to make it as light as possible to give it fast acceleration, but is constrained by the need to add all that is necessary to keep the driver, and passengers as safe as possible – but the designer is not able to guarantee their safety. Similarly God is constrained by the physical properties of the world he has created, it is magnificently good at supporting life but perfect safety is not possible.

God has ensured that everything on Earth is driven by two forces. Currently the most powerful force is powered by the desires to procreate, protect, and prosper. That force cannot be removed without being replaced by something greater.

The Bible often refers to a "ruler of this age" who exerts power over humanity (Matthew 4:8-9; John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19). If this force were to be removed much of humanity would be directionless. Many would lose hope.

The other force in this age is the power of love, it empowers all life but is currently a ‘weaker’ force. It does not manipulate or coerce and is prepared to die rather than demand its way.

The current state must continue until Jesus returns and binds up the ruler of this age. In doing so he will constrains our desires, heals our infirmities and guide the population into a better future. In these future states individuals will still have free will and will learn through suffering (probably mainly emotional suffering) but the changes that Jesus will introduce will facilitate a swifter change of character whilst maintaining each person’s individuality.

In conclusion, we believe there is a logic to our existence, a reason for our suffering, and a hope for every person. If you would like to explore these ideas further, please visit our other articles on this website or read our books ‘Emerging from the Rubble’ and ‘Hope for Everyone’.