WHY DOES EVIL EXIST?

Observing the world scenario, we can see humanity immersed in a process of continuous suffering. There are famines and wars in different regions of the planet afflicting population masses.  Occasionally, natural disasters take the lives of thousands of people. Man himself afflicts his fellow man in interpersonal relationships. These question then comes to us: "Since God is good, and having done all good things, where does evil come from?" 

This question was raised by the Christian thinker Saint Augustine, in his work Confessions, within the context of the analysis of the problem of evil in mankind. It is one of the most complex for theology. In his analyzes and reflections, the Bishop of Hippo wrote: “I sought what evil was and did not find a substance, but a perversion of the will deviated from the supreme substance - from You, O God - and tending towards low things. ." [1]. 

What that great scholar was saying was that God did not create evil, but it came into existence through a deviation from human will.  According to the Genesis narrative, man was created in the image and likeness of God. And one aspect of this similarity between man and the Creator is the freedom to make decisions. Its misuse has brought all kinds of evil and suffering to humanity. The man has become bad. 

The Bible says that, originally, man lived in a vegetable environment and could eat from any tree, except the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil". God had told Adam that the day he ate from that tree he would die (Genesis 2:16, 17). But the tempter, in the shape of a snake, convinced the woman to eat. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”. 

An unreflective reading of this passage may lead to the conclusion that it is an exaggeration to consider that all this state of suffering and pain, in which humanity is plunged, is a consequence of the simple disobedience of the first couple. However, behind that act of Adam and Eve there was the desire for an autonomous life independent of the Creator. 

It was not just a matter of eating or not eating the forbidden fruit. The first man wanted to be "like God" and, at this point, it is observed that, at the moment of deciding whether or not to eat that fruit, he loved himself more than God. Created to live in communion with his Creator, that act of rebellion altered his original nature, and thus he separated himself from God, the source that nourished his life. With the communion broken, the human being plunged into a new existence that, because of the absence of God, is marked by pain, suffering and evil [2].

Man, however, has to wait for the outcome of the biblical prophecy that takes place in time. He, however, only returns to communion with God if he takes the path opened by God, through the death of his Son, on the cross. Therefore, we still perceive the evil in the world. But the conclusion of the biblical narrative ends with God saying: “I am making everything new!”, that is, a new world order, where there is no pain, mourning, suffering and death. Where there is no evil (Revelation 21:1-7). Antônio Maia – M. Div.

Direitos autorais reservados

[1] AGOSTINHO, Santo. Confissões. Ed. Vozes. Petrópoles-RJ, 2011, p. 157.

[2] MAIA, Antônio. O Homem em Busca de Si- Reflexões sobre a Condição Humana na Parábola do Filho Pródigo. amazon.com.br