The other day I was presented with the following argument:
(2) Gratuitous evils are incompatible with the God of theism (omnipotent, omniscient, all-good).
(3) Therefore, the God of theism probably does not exist.
After analyzing this argument, I found several errors with this line of thinking. The entire argument rests upon the premise that gratuitous evil exists. Yet, the argument says that gratuitous evil probably exists. It's not definitive. To answer the question whether or there is gratuitous evil, we must first answer the question what is evil? Evil has become a word so flippantly used that its true meaning has been lost.
Evil has been commonly defined as "something that deliberately causes destruction or violates morality." Now its vital to understand the essence of morality. There are two leading theories in regards to morality. Relative morality and absolute morality.
The theory of relative morality is flawed for several reasons. 1. Relative morality can be summed up simply: There is no absolute truth, there is no absolute standard for right and wrong. Yet, notice that this term is said to be true. How then can it be true that there is no absolute truth? It makes no logical sense. 2. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that there is the "Law of Nature" which provides a basic sense of right and wrong. This "moral conscious" is present in every human being. Cultures throughout history have all regarded selfishness and stealing as a vice. Think of it this way: Will an argument of "my truth does not find stealing wrong" be upheld in a court of law? Never! Such an argument is ludicrous. Likewise, an argument of relative morality is ludicrous.
The Constitution of the United States is the absolute law of the land. It was created by the creators of the country to be the Supreme Law. For absolute morality to be absolute, it must be set by the leading authority. But by what authority can morality be set? Standard for morality and decency vary in each culture. Is there a man alive who has the authority to create such a important standard? By what authority can he create such a standard? If man is indeed equal, then we a equally qualified to set the standard for morality. However, since the standard for morality cannot change as was stated earlier, someone, something, more powerful than man must have created the standard for morality.
This leads to an important conclusion. God is the ultimate standard for morality. He defines immorality as anything that breaks His commands. This is called sin. Sin originated not in the Garden of Eden, but at the feet of God. Satan, head of God's angels, grew jealous of God's power and wanted to become like God. Satan sought to overthrow God, yet he was unable to match God's limitless power. Satan fled to earth and tempted Adam and Eve with power, telling them they could be like God Himself. After their rebellion, evil entered the earth.
To understand gratuitous evil, we must first look at the definition of gratuitous. Gratuitous can be defined as "pointless, meaningless, random, or unnecessary." But can evil be "pointless, meaningless, random, or unnecessary?" Evil can be summed up as this: Anything that seeks to rebel against God's absolute power and holiness. Under this definition, can there be gratuitous evil? No! When we choose to rebel against God, we choose evil. Evil is not the random result of eons of time, but the deliberate and purposefully choices of beings with an eternal soul. Therefore, gratuitous evil does not exist and theory that God is a myth falls to pieces.
