# Theodicy: The Problem of Evil - Author: Daniel Lira Serhan (https://daniellira.com/) - Type: Exegetical paper - Course: THEO-6306 · Dallas Baptist University - Presented to: Dr. Gregg Ammons - Date: 2025-05-08 - URL: https://daniellira.com/ensayos/theodicy/ - PDF: https://daniellira.com/ensayos/theodicy.pdf - Language: en *Full text of the paper, reproduced exactly as in the original document.* --- THEODICY THE PROBLEM OF EVIL \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ An Exegetical Paper Presented to Dr. Gregg Ammons Dallas Baptist University \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for THEO-6306 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ by Daniel Lira Serhan May 8, 2025 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY **Torah** **The Prophets** **The Writings** **New Testament** WHAT HAS THE CHURCH BELIEVED Second Temple Judaism Greek influence Church Fathers Modern debates CONTEMPORARY APPLICATION CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY --- ## INTRODUCTION Theodicy is the lifelong quest to defend the goodness of God in light of the evil in the world. Its etymological meaning derives from the Greek roots θεός (theos) (God) and δίκη (dikē) (justice), which translates better as divine justice.[^1] Theodicy seeks not only to explain why there is evil but also to defend or describe God’s justice in the face of suffering, pain, catastrophe, or anything that could call “evil,” whether directly or indirectly.[^2] Every culture that believes in God has faced this same challenge and responded to it differently. Ancient Near East cultures faced the problem by blaming humanity, divinity, or both. Still, it primarily defined it through the *Retribution Principle*, which means that everyone got what they deserved. Those who do good receive good, those who do bad receive bad.[^3] This paper will establish a biblical basis for theodicy, God’s goodness revealed in Christ (theodicy incarnate), and the real solution to the problem of evil in the coming judgment. It will do so by exploring what the Bible says, how the doctrine has evolved into modern thought, and asserting the need to return to Scripture. This research aims to provide a foundation for suffering servant discipleship, with the cross as a model and hope firmly established in the final restoration of all things. ## WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ### Torah The Torah is the foundation of scripture. It lays down foundational themes, definitions, and frameworks to understand scripture, humanity, God, and ultimately the world. As such, it is essential to begin there. Torah describes the foundation of the world, defines evil, and describes how it came to be. It also sheds light on the retribution principle and gives hints into the solution of God to cover the pain caused by human actions. God created everything, and it was good. While some philosophers and evolutionists try to speak of an instance before Genesis 1, this author believes that a truly biblical worldview should consider the beginning according to God. He created everything, and everything was good. “So God saw everything that He made, and behold it was very good.”[^4] (Gen. 1:10,12,18,21,25,31). God created Adam and Eve in His image and likeness within this good creation, which means that humans, by design, are good. Genesis 2 follows the creation account, providing more details about the creation of humans and hinting that the creation of humans is indeed the purpose of God's creation of the earth. Man and Woman “the apex of God’s creation.[^5] If God created man and woman to be the apex of His creation to reflect His image and likeness, then where does evil come from? Where did it all go wrong? The reality that humans are made with the purpose of reflecting God’s character (in his image and likeness) must mean two things. 1) Humans have to be able to know God and His intentions. 2) They must be able to choose (or not choose) God. These two characteristics give meaning to the definition made in God’s image and likeness.[^6] For such reason, God places a tree in the garden and one tree alone that they should not eat. Staying away from it meant remaining in God’s good design, while taking from its fruit meant they could now choose to follow “good” or “evil.” This tree is the single key to approaching theodicy. The tree of knowledge of good and evil. What is the definition of good? If the original design of human beings is considered, then good is everything that expresses the character of God and gives Him all the glory. Then what is evil? Anything that diminishes the glory of God and fails to express His character. By taking from the tree to choose what path to follow. To express the image and likeness of God or to rule without Him. The taking of the fruit itself began the cycle of choosing, every time, as Augustine would say: “an inferior good—themselves—in preference to God”[^7] this choice gives birth to the problem of evil. Be it by the fallen angels and the serpent or human beings. Choosing anything outside of God is choosing a lesser good. It is expressing a corrupt (not perfect) image of God. With every choice, this lesser good is expressed into creation in crescendo. With a domino effect, it has produced the evil of today—suffering, pain, catastrophe. Creation expresses God's character; men do, too. The problem of evil is born as the corrupted expression of God’s glory. As Moses wrote: “the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time.” (Gen 6:5) This corruption is shown on a personal level in Genesis 3-4 with the fall of Adam and Eve. On a human level, in Genesis 6-8, with Noah’s culture. On a national level, in Genesis 11, with the creation of Babel. [^8] How does God respond to the problem of evil? With goodness. Every single time, God provides a unilateral covenant that validates the retribution principle but bypasses it by the payment of the price by himself. This is Theodicy: The goodness of God as seen in the covenants of redemption. The rest of Genesis shows us the covenant of God being reiterated time and time again to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God inspired such a book that describes evil in 8 chapters (Genesis 3-11) and describes theodicy in 42 chapters. This is the goodness of God. The rest of the Pentateuch establishes a firm foundation of His goodness and His passion toward humanity. The book of Exodus shows the reader a passionate God who feels, moves, and acts to redeem. Leviticus describes the path to maintaining God's purity, thus reflecting His goodness in His people. Numbers demonstrates the fidelity of God even when His people fail to understand it. Finally, the Deuteronomic patterns reflect the Retribution principle. The choice given in the fruit of the tree of knowledge is now explained with new words: “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil.” (Deut. 30:15) There is no need to defend the goodness of God in the face of evil because evil is the product of the corruption of a “good” creation. Even though those who corrupted it deserve death, God, in His goodness, provides a path to life—a path back to Him. ### The Prophets Most prophets echo the Tanakh, primarily the Deuteronomic patterns, and address the problem of evil in light of God’s goodness. The main cry of every prophet is: Come back. A path that man chooses by himself: death or life. Yes, the retribution principle is in effect, but one can be free of it when returning to God. However, Israel keeps on choosing death, which eventually leads to exile, where the culmination of the Deuteronomic patterns can be seen as expressed through the prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all speak to an Israel that has left God and is thus experiencing exile, asserting that the evil arises because they chose the path of death. Then, the real theodicy begins. It is only upon the return that the people of God start to view the problem of evil as one to be resolved in the eschaton. Habakkuk is one of those books where God presents a theodicy from His perspective. In the same way that Habbakuk’s attitude is transformed from indignation to hope. Tchavdar explains: “The ‘answer’ to the prophet’s complaint is to assert that God has appointed a time for judgement (2:3 5) and that the ‘deed-consequence’ connection, which stands at the heart of the doctrine of retribution, is still operative (2:6 20).[^9] Thus, once again, God reveals through Habakkuk two things. 1) The Retribution principle is in effect towards the eschaton. 2) There is an escape from the consequences of evil when placing faith in God. ### The Writings While the prophets echo the Torah, the writings reflect a scripture-based philosophical approach to life. The book of Job describes a man who becomes closer to God in the face of suffering. Ecclesiastes presents the intellectual journey of the wealthiest man, discovering that anything without God is just vanity and futility. He concludes that God is the ultimate goal and the only goodness in the world. Psalms and proverbs, lamentations, and Song of Songs all provide an emotional response to this world. What is shown in the writing concerning theodicy is a God that is always involved in one way or another. ### New Testament The New Testament reunites all of the prophecies and reveals that "in Christ,” the problem of evil is resolved.[^10] God's great and mysterious plan is to put Christ as the head of everything, with a mind directed toward a good administration of heaven and earth, and to restore what Adam corrupted—to rule the earth as it should be ruled. (Ephesians 1) Death defeated, sin defeated, devil defeated. Thus, “evil is defeated." Furthermore, the New Testament helps the believer understand that it is now its role to reflect the image and likeness once more. How? Going against the Retribution Principle, just as he did. Laying one’s life even unto death, the believers participate in Christ's sufferings so that others can see His goodness and escape evil. As John Walton reflects: “In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the blessing of suffering and being persecuted for the sake of the gospel and the kingdom (Mt 5:10–12; cf. 1 Pet 2:19–25; 3:14; 4:12–19). This jarring statement runs contrary to what we have come to identify as the retribution principle.” [^11] Why can someone or something be contrary to this principle? It is by the hope of the resurrection. Knowing that in the eschaton evil has been defeated places a burden on the life of the believer to give up one's life in order to “rescue” others just as Jesus did. ## WHAT HAS THE CHURCH BELIEVED ### Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is the pinnacle of apocalyptic literature. Jews of the time read the Tanakh and framed it in an eschatological framework. The “promises” did not come to pass in the immediate future, and the search for the Ben-David did not bear fruit. For such reasons, jews of the time pushed those promises to an end time coming of the messiah. Their answer to theodicy, although incomplete, revealed that the retribution principle would come into effect only in the end times. It is in the coming judgment that those who are wicked will receive eternal afterlife torment. In the same way, the good will receive a reward.[^12] They did not consider the substitutionary action of the messiah by which one became godly. ### Greek influence While the first-century Jews held an apocalyptic framework of theodicy, this did not carry over to the church fathers. Instead, the church embraced a Greek philosophical concept that God was impassible. 2[^13]0 A doctrine put forth by Philo’s Hellenized Jewish framework that presented an outsider, a non-passionate God, a being who does not feel or get moved. This idea became fundamental in the foundation of theodicy theology of the church fathers.[^14] Although many of their doctrines hold high and do defend the goodness of God, they do so by separating it from the burden of a God that feels and thus makes it easier to approach the dilemma philosophically. ### Church Fathers **Augustine (AD 354 – 430)** It is Augustine who provides the most profound definition of evil. In his terms, Augustine defined evil not as something in and of itself but rather the absence of good. In a way, he did recover a Torah-like view of theodicy. “When a person chooses to do evil, he or she is really choosing to turn away from good.” [^15] In his view, evil only exists as a deficiency of something else, and as God is whole, he is Good.[^16] What Augustine provides to the debate is a clear understanding that evil is not created or provoked by God but is defined as an absence of the goodness or character of God. **Tertullian (AD 160 – 240 )** As stated before, Tertullian’s main point is that a good God wishes to be known and to be known freely. This means that men should be able to willingly choose the goodness of God rather than any alternative. As such, Tertullian argues that it is preferable for humanity to be created as fallible but free to choose the goodness of God instead of being created in a way that forces “choosing” God.[^17] What Tertullian provides to the debate is the clear understanding that humans have a free choice between the goodness of God and whatever less-good option there is to choose. Combining Tertullian’s and Augustine’s contributions leads us to an understanding that whenever one chooses anything other than God, he chooses evil. He chooses corruption. He diminishes the glory of God. **Athanasius (AD 269 – 373)** Athanasius focuses on answering his community with a dualist question that shows an obvious Greek influence. They would ask: Does the evil man do here have a spiritual reality? While the question is laden with Greek philosophy, Athanasius’ answer has a biblical grounding: “That evil has not from the beginning been with God or in God, nor has any substantive existence; but that men, in default of the vision of good, began to devise and imagine for themselves what was not, after their own pleasure.[^18] What Athanasius provides to the debate is the clear understanding that evil has no part in God and has not existed before creation itself. ### Modern debates Every time the world seems to fall into a great time of suffering, the problem of evil and the goodness of God resurfaces. It is then, after a period of optimism, that the First and Second World War challenged theologians to broaden theodicy once more more.3[^19]1 It is during this time that the notion of impassibility is challenged, mostly abandoned and gives birth to a theology of “divine suffering”.[^20] The perfect model for this new theology of divine suffering is portrayed in the Cross. Just as Edgar William explains: “The cross of Christ is the answer to the problem of evil. It is also the ultimate demonstration of the goodness (or benevolence, as he prefers) of God in creation. Evil came into the world because of the “personal evil” of the first humans.” ## CONTEMPORARY APPLICATION Theologians need not defend God as He defends Himself. The problem of evil is resolved when humanity steps out of its corrupt mind and believes God for who He is and who He has shown to be. Every culture that has faced this problem has done so without knowing the true God. While they grasp the retribution principle, they lack the full revelation of how it can be just and good simultaneously. The retribution principle is the fundamental belief in causation. What someone does causes a reaction directly proportional to their actions. If it is good, it results in goodness; if it is bad, it produces badness. The problem is that humanity is corrupted and has fallen into a cycle of corruption where creation grows. All that humans desire in their hearts is evil. All humanity deserves evil, as humanity itself corrupted the earth and thus gave birth to evil. However, God is good. In the face of evil, He is and will always be good. God’s goodness is revealed in Christ. The reality of retribution is that He did pay for what humanity deserved so that humanity may live what they do not deserve. This is the best theodicy: The God who is good and did not provoke evil, placed upon himself all “evil” so that no human, who did provoke evil, would suffer for it eternally. How, then, does someone bear the cruel reality of this world? Understanding a theology of divine suffering should push the pastoral ministry to, like Jesus did, “steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:61 KJV), where the cross awaited. The church must focus on embracing the cross as a model of discipleship and holding on to the hope of the coming judgment. Believers are meant to follow in Christ's footsteps to show others that evil has been defeated. They do so by giving up their lives, even unto death, in hope of the final day. The final judgment signifies being hidden in Christ or receiving judgment, to be covered by the goodness of God or to face what is deserved. All those who are covered will live in an eternal kingdom where Christ will restore all things. There will be no evil, pain, or suffering, for all those things have passed. Jesus will tabernacle among us forever. ## CONCLUSION It is paramount that the church cease the philosophical debates blending Greek and modern influence with biblical truth. The God of the Bible, the One True God, is a God who is moved. He was moved in eternity past to create a being in His image and likeness so that they could participate in His own delight. He is moved through the Tanakh by the actions of His own nation. He is moved by the pain of His children drifting away into darkness, so He sent the prophets. He is moved in such a way that He inspired beautiful poems and writings of lamentation and hope. He is so moved that He became flesh and carried all the pain on the cross. The problem is not evil in itself; the real philosophical issue is how God is so good in the face of such corruption. The answer: He is goodness in and of itself. ## BIBLIOGRAPHY Akin, Daniel L., Albert Mohler, Paige Patterson, Mark Dever, Russell D. Moore, and Timothy George. 2014. *A Theology for the Church*. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic. Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder, eds. 2016. In *The Lexham Bible Dictionary*. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. Bauckham, Richard. 1984. “‘Only the Suffering God Can Help’: Divine Passibility in Modern Theology.” *Themelios* 9, no. 3: 7. Davies, P. R. 1998. *Daniel*. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. Edgar, William. 2010. “Review of The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World, by William A. Dembski.” *Themelios* 35, no. 1: 137. Hadjiev, Tchavdar S. 2020. *Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: An Introduction and Study Guide*. Edited by Adrian Curtis. T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament. London; New York; Oxford; New Delhi; Sydney: T&T Clark. Meister, Chad, and James K. Dew Jr., eds. 2017. *God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views*. Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. 2015. *Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version*. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. Oden, Thomas C. 1986. *Crisis Ministries*. Classic Pastoral Care. New York: Crossroad. Ortlund, Eric. 2021. *Piercing Leviathan: God’s Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job*. Edited by D. A. Carson. Vol. 56. New Studies in Biblical Theology. London; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds. 1885. *Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian*. Vol. 3. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Sanders, John, Gabriel Fackre, and Ronald H. Nash. 1995. *What about Those Who Have Never Heard?: Three Views on the Destiny of the Unevangelized*. Edited by John Sanders. Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. Schaff, Philip, and Henry Wace, eds. 1892. *St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters*. Vol. 4. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series. New York: Christian Literature Company. Evans, C. Stephen. 2002. *Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion*. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Thomas Aquinas. n.d. *Summa Theologica*. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne. Walton, John H., and Andrew E. Hill. 2014. *Old Testament Today, 2nd Edition: A Journey from Ancient Context to Contemporary Relevance*. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Walton, John H., and Tremper Longman III. 2015. *How to Read Job*. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. William Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard and Frederic William Bush, *Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament*. 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1996), 22 Wright, Christopher J. H. 2001. *The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit*. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press. [^1]: Page Brooks and D. A. “Theodicy.” In *The Lexham Bible Dictionary*, ed. by John D. Barry, David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016) [^2]: Chad Meister and James K. Jr. Dew “Introduction.” In *God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views*, edited by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr., (Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, . 2017), 5 [^3]: Brooks, “Theodicy.” [^4]: All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted are taken from *Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version.* 2015. Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. [^5]: William Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard and Frederic William Bush, *Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament*. 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1996), 22 [^6]: Thomas C. Oden, *Crisis Ministries*. Classic Pastoral Care.(New York: Crossroad, 1986), 60. [^7]: Phillip Cary, “A Classic View.” In *God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views*, ed. by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr. (Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2017), 25. [^8]: John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill. *Old Testament Today, 2nd Edition: A Journey from Ancient Context to Contemporary Relevance* (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 76. [^9]: Tchavdar S. Hadjiev *Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: An Introduction and Study Guide* Ed. by Adrian Curtis. (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament. London; New York; Oxford; New Delhi; Sydney: T&T Clark, 2020), 80. [^10]: Edgar William “Review of The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World, by William A. Dembski.” (*Themelios* 35, 2010), 1: 137. [^11]: John H. Walton and Tremper Longman III *How to Read Job*. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2015), 137 [^12]: Brooks. “Theodicy.” [^13]: 20 On Philo, see J. C. McLelland, *God the Anonymous: A Study in Alexandrian Philosophical Theology* (Cambridge, Mass.: Philadelphia Patristic Foundation, 1976), pp. 37–40. [^14]: Bauckham, Richard “‘Only the Suffering God Can Help’: Divine Passibility in Modern Theology.” (*Themelios* 9, 1984), 3: 7. [^15]: Brooks “Theodicy” [^16]: Thomas C. Oden, 61 [^17]: Thomas C. Oden, 60 [^18]: Athanasius of Alexandria “Against the Heathen.” In *St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters*, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, translated by Archibald T. Robertson. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series. (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1892), 4:7. [^19]: 31 *Cf.* F. House, ‘The Barrier of Impassibility’, *Theology* 83, Mozley, *Impassibility*,( on Studdert-Kennedy, 1980) 160. [^20]: Richard Bauckman, 3: 6.