Jesus as God
What kind of God is Jesus?
Omniscient, Part 2
***UNDER CONSTRUCTION***
Omniscience & Theodicy
(The Problem of Evil)
Reasoning from the Scriptures states:
If God foreordained
and foreknew Adam’s sin and all that would result from this, it would mean that by creating Adam, God deliberately set
in motion all the wickedness committed in human history. He would be the Source of all the wars, the crime, the immorality,
the oppression, the lying, the hypocrisy, the disease.[1]
Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1 further elaborates:
This concept would
mean that, prior to creating angels or earthling man, God exercised his powers of foreknowledge and foresaw and foreknew all
that would result from such creation, including the rebellion of one of his spirit sons, the subsequent rebellion of the first
human pair in Eden (Ge 3:1-6; Joh 8:44), and all the bad consequences of such rebellion down to and beyond this present day.
This would necessarily mean that all the wickedness that history has recorded (the crime and immorality, oppression and resultant
suffering, lying and hypocrisy, false worship and idolatry) once existed, before creation’s beginning, only in the mind
of God, in the form of his foreknowledge of the future in all of its minutest details.
If the Creator of
mankind had indeed exercised his power to foreknow all that history has seen since man’s creation, then the full weight
of all the wickedness thereafter resulting was deliberately set in motion by God, when he spoke the words: “Let us make
man.” (Ge 1:26) These facts bring into question the reasonableness and consistency of the predestination concept; particularly
so, since the disciple James shows that disorder and other vile things do not originate from God’s heavenly presence
but are “earthly animal, demonic” in source. – Jas 3:14-18.[2]
The WTBTS thereby asserts/implies
that:
1. The Fall and all evil resulting from it is contrary to the will and purpose of
a God who is wholly good.
2. If God foreknew the Fall and all the evil resulting from it, God is ultimately
responsible for the Fall and all evil resulting from it.
3. Foreknowledge of the evil and wickedness resulting from the Fall would necessarily
make God’s decision to go ahead with Creation unjust/unrighteous.
4. The doctrine of “predestination” is unreasonable and inconsistent
if God foreknew/ordained the existence of evil.
In a nutshell, theodicy
is the study of the Problem of Evil. How can a holy, good and righteous God create a world in which evil exists? John Battle
elucidated the dilemma and introduced the study of man’s response to it when he wrote:
…How could God
in his goodness and power create and uphold a world where there is sin, evil, and suffering? Does not he then share in the
responsibility and guilt? The attempt to answer this question has been given the name theodicy, which derives from two Greek
words theos (God) and dike (justice). The Oxford English Dictionary defines this word as “the vindication
of the divine attributes, especially justice and holiness, in respect to the existence of evil; a writing, doctrine, or theory
intended to ‘justify the ways of God to men.’”[3]
And according to W. Gary
Crampton:
If, according to the
Bible, God, who is omnipotent and benevolent, has eternally decreed all that ever comes to pass, and if He sovereignly and
providentially controls all things in His created universe, how is He not the author of evil? How can evil exist in the world?
How do we justify the actions of God in causing evil, suffering, and pain? This is the question of “theodicy.”[4]
My arguments, which address
the underlying cornerstones of the WTBTS objections outlined above, are many. In the interests of clarity and any hope of
addressing the manner with any degree of organization, I’ll present all issues involved in my arguments as a numbered
list (below), then proceed to address each in further depth.
1. Is theodicy necessary (or desirable)?
a. Theodicy in the Scriptures
b. God’s motive(s)
2. Who is responsible for the first sin? For my sin?
3. Does evil serve a purpose?
4. Examining the alternatives: A world in which Adam and Eve did not sin
Is Theodicy Even Necessary (or Desirable)?
The arguments set forth
by the WTBTS presumes theodicy as a requirement. We must first believe it proper to judge Yahweh’s conduct before proceeding
to do so, but is that correct? Should we consider developing a personal theodicy as our moral duty as intelligent creatures?
Do we have the right – or has God given us the right by creating us as free moral agents – to question his actions?
Are we even capable of grasping the issue?
I would say yes.
And no.
John MacArthur stated:
Scripture never
assumes that God owes man, even His children, an explanation for what He does or why He does it. You need to understand that at the very beginning. As Deuteronomy 29:29 says: "The secret things
belong to the Lord." God is not bound to explain to us anything about what He does or why He does it…We might wish there
was more than the third Chapter of Genesis to tell us about evil, how evil entered the world. But really, knowing more was
not God's will. And God does not feel pressed to justify Himself or to explain Himself to his fallen creatures, even the noblest
of them, who identify him as their God. What we know is what God has chosen to tell us, and what He has chosen to tell us
is in the Bible. That's all we know and that's all He wants us to know. And with that, we should be satisfied.[5] [Emphasis mine.]
What of the Scripture Mr.
MacArthur cites?
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children
for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. (KJV)
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that
we may observe all the words of this law. (NASB)
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that
we may follow all the words of this law. (NIV)
“The
things concealed belong to Jehovah our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons to time indefinite, that
we may carry out all the words of this law. (NWT)
Of Deuteronomy 29:29, Adam
Clarke wrote, “The simple general
meaning seems to be this: ‘What God has thought proper to reveal, he has revealed…The things which he has not
revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired after.’”[6]
John Gill agreed:
There are many secret things in nature, which cannot be found out and accounted for by men, which the Lord only knows; and there are many things in Providence, which
are unsearchable, and past finding out by finite minds, especially the true causes and reasons of them; and there are many
things relating to God himself, which remain secret with him; notwithstanding the revelation he has made of himself…of
his perfections, as eternity, immensity, &c. are beyond our comprehension…the thoughts, purposes, and decrees of
God within himself, until brought into execution…many things relating to his creatures…[7] [Emphasis mine.]
The selfsame assertion is
reflected in the New Testament as well:
Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are
his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (KJV)
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (NASB)
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his
judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (NIV)
O
the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments [are] and past tracing out his ways
[are]! (NWT)
According to Albert Barnes,
“The word 'unsearchable' means
what cannot be investigated or fully understood.”[8] And he wrote again, in regards to his ways past finding out (KJV):
Literally, which cannot be tracked or traced out…It denotes that God’s plans are deep, and beyond our
comprehension. We can see the proofs that he is everywhere; but how it is, we cannot comprehend. We are permitted to see the
vast movements around us; but the invisible hand we cannot see, nor trace the footsteps of that mighty God who performs his
wonders on the ocean and on the land…[9]
Origen’s remarks particularly,
in regards to this verse are particularly apropos:
And if any curious reader were still to ask an explanation of individual points, let him come and hear, along with
ourselves, how the Apostle Paul, seeking to penetrate by help of the Holy Spirit, who searches even the "deep things" of God,
into the depths of divine wisdom and knowledge, and yet, unable to reach the end, so to speak, and to come to a thorough knowledge,
exclaims in despair and amazement, "Oh the depth of the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of God!"[10]
We must then be satisfied
with what God has chosen to reveal to us and leave those matters he has not chosen to reveal or explain in the Father’s
capable hands.
Jehovah does allow us, under
certain conditions, to seek him in regards to evil in the world, however. At least he does so in Scriptures without rebuking
some inquirees (see ‘Theodicy in the Scriptures’ below), but I must note that there is a vast difference
between seeking God’s help and challenging him. We can try to understand, struggle with it, turn to God for help, but
when push comes to shove, we have to be satisfied with what God explicitly reveals to us in the Scriptures. If the Father
chose not to explain the matter to the degree or depth we desire, Deuteronomy 29:29 and Romans 11:33 indicate we should not
expect to understand the whole of it. No matter how mightily we struggle with grasping a subject, we have to set aside our
perplexity at some point and simply trust God.
Charles Hodge wrote:
Such is the distance
between God and man, such the feebleness of our powers, and such the limited range of our vision, it might seem reasonable
to leave this question to be answered by God himself. If a child cannot rationally sit in judgment on the conduct of his parents,
nor a peasant comprehend the affairs of an empire, we certainly are not competent to call God to account, or to ask of Him
the reason of his ways.[11]
Daniel Howard-Snyder agreed:
…no authoritative
Christian source holds forth that we should expect to be able to understand why God would permit so much evil rather than
a lot less. Indeed, the biblical message is that we have no business thinking we an do anything of the sort. This is the lesson
of the Book of Job and the words of the prophet (Isaiah 55:8-10):
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the
earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”[12]
Isaiah 55:8, 9
[8] For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (KJV)
[8] "For My thoughts
are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. [9] "For {as} the heavens
are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (NASB)
[8] "For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. [9] "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)
[8] “For the thoughts of YOU
people are not my thoughts, nor are my ways YOUR ways,” is the utterance of Jehovah. [9] “For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than YOUR ways, and my thoughts than YOUR thoughts. (NWT)
John Gill wrote:
In some things there may be a likeness between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of men…but then the thoughts
of men are finite and limited, whereas the thoughts of the Lord are infinite and boundless; men's thoughts have a beginning,
but the Lord's have none; though not so much the nature as the quality of them is here intended…[13]
We cannot expect to understand
God’s thoughts and his actions, so says Isaiah.
In his essay, “God,
Evil, and Suffering,” Daniel Howard-Snyder considers, in-depth, several salient points in regards to our ability to
grasp God’s reasons for allowing the existence of evil. Although this essay was written as a response to atheists’
denial of the existence of God due to the existence of evil[14] his logic and reasoning is quite relevant to our ability to grasp theodicy. First, he asserted that we should not expect
to grasp God’s reasons:
…God has informed
us that we should expect to be unable to discern His purposes in permitting evil. (That seems to be the main
lesson of the Book of Job, and it is arguably an implication of the doctrine of the Fall.)[15] [Emphasis mine.]
Next, Mr. Howard-Snyder
argued:
…it takes “the
insights attainable by finite, fallible human beings as an adequate indication of what is available in the way of reasons
to an omniscient, omnipotent being.”[16]
In demanding that God’s
reasons must be apparent to us and fully knowable, we lower God to our level. We demand that our limited abilities to reason
are an equivalent reflection of Jehovah’s. Perish the thought.
Mr. Howard-Snyder also addressed
the matter of complexity as to why we cannot be expected to understand/grasp the Problem of Evil:
…One thing Mozart’s
Violin Concerto No. 4, fine coffee (notably, Starbuck’s), and the best sorts of love have in common when compared to
Chopsticks, Folger’s, and puppy love is that each illustrates the fact that the goodness of a state of affairs is sometimes
greater, in part, because it is more complex. Now, since immense, undeserved suffering and horrific wickedness is so bad,
it would take correspondingly greater goods to justify God’s permitting so much of it rather than a lot less. Hence,
it would not be surprising if God’s reasons have to do with goods whose complexity is beyond our grasp. It follows that
it would not be surprising if God’s reasons were outside our ken.[17]
And finally, Mr. Howard-Snyder
stated:
…Crucial to
our practice of trying suspected wrongdoers in a court of law is the sensible assumption that we are trying one of us,
someone whose reasons for acting would tend to be accessible to us, because they are the sorts of reasons available to humans
generally. Without this assumption we’d have no grounds whatsoever for ruling out reasons we don’t know of. When
God is in the dock, however, we cannot presume to know quite well the sorts of reasons that He would be privy to. As
I have argued, we are in the dark on that score.[18] [Italics emphasis his.]
Can we understand theodicy?
No, not completely. I daresay, after reading through a stack of articles that is literally 2 inches thick (not counting books
and other references), not even mostly. We see through the looking glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12). We should not and cannot expect to grasp
it. At best, we may come to terms with theodicy only in part.
Should we pursue theodicy
then?
I would say yes. See the
examples outlined below of theodicy pursued in Scripture, but personally, the strengthening and growth such study has engendered
in my own faith has been a remarkable blessing to me and my Walk with the Lord. But – and this is the central hinge
upon which whether or not theodicy should be pursued – my study of theodicy revolved around seeking God’s
answers rather than my own. Theodicy may, and perhaps should, in certain instances be studied as a fruitful, worthwhile endeavor.
But no Christian should ever approach theodicy, or any other subject for that matter, as a challenge to Yahweh God. We should
never demand answers of our Creator like recalcitrant schoolchildren. There is a vast world of difference between demanding
justification from Jehovah God and earnestly seeking to understand God and his purposes in order to build your personal relationship
with him. Caveat emptor – buyer beware.
Theodicy in the Scriptures
W. Gary Crampton wrote:
…the Biblical
writers themselves address the issue of God and evil. The prophet Habakkuk complained, “you [God] are of purer eyes
than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue
when the wicked devours” (1:13)? And Gideon asked, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all
this [hardship] happened to us” (Judges 6:13)?[19]
Examining the proffered
examples…
Habakkuk 1:13
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that
deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (KJV)
{Your} eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness {with
favor.} Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more
righteous than they? (NASB)
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you
tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (NIV)
You
are too pure in eyes to see what is bad; and to look on trouble you are not able. Why is it that you look on those dealing
treacherously, that you keep silent when someone wicked swallows up someone more righteous than he is? (NWT)
Keil and Delitzsch wrote
of Habakkuk 1:13 that “The
persons intended are rather the godly portion of Israel, who have to share in the expiation of the sins of the ungodly, and suffer when they
are punished (Delitzsch). This fact, that the righteous is swallowed along with the unrighteous, appears irreconcilable with
the holiness of God, and suggests the inquiry, how God can possibly let this be done.”[20]
Turning
to Habakkuk 2, we find God’s answer to Habakkuk’s complaint and despair. While not quoting the entirety of the
chapter here, God responds by assuring Habakkuk that he will punish and destroy the Chaldeans for the evil laid upon the Israelites,
to God’s glory in verse 14:
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (KJV)
"For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. (NASB)
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters
cover the sea. (NIV)
For
the earth will be filled with the knowing of the glory of Jehovah as the waters themselves cover over [the] sea. (NWT)
Jehovah
God points Habakkuk to the end of evil he will bring about and to the glory to God that will follow that victory.
In
his introductory comments of Habakkuk 2, John Gill wrote:
This chapter contains an answer from the Lord to the expostulations, pleadings, and reasonings of the prophet, in
the name of the people. The preparation of the prophet to receive this answer is described, Hab 2:1 then follows the answer
itself, in which he is bid to write and make plain the vision he had, that it might be easily read, Hab 2:2 and a promise
is made, that vision should still be continued to the appointed time, at which time the Messiah would come; and this the righteous
man, in opposition to the vain and proud man, is encouraged to live in the faith of, Hab 2:3 and then the destruction of the
enemies of the people of God is threatened for their pride, ambition, covetousness, oppression, and murder, Hab 2:5 which
would be unavoidable, Hab 2:13 and issue in the spread of the knowledge of the glory of God in the world, Hab 2:14[21]
So
Habakkuk got an answer, perhaps not the answer he’d hoped for, but he got one. Evil would ultimately be destroyed, evil-doers
punished, and God would be glorified throughout the earth. How does Habakkuk respond to God? Habakkuk 3 records Habakkuk’s
praise of God, particularly verse 13:
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine
anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. (KJV)
You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house
of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah. (NASB)
You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader
of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. Selah (NIV)
And
you went forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed one. You broke to pieces the head one out of the house
of the wicked one. There was a laying of the foundation bare, clear up to the neck. SeŽlah. (NWT)
Habakkuk rejoices in his
salvation in God’s Annointed (revealed in the New Testament to be Christ Jesus).
As noted by Crampton, Gideon
also despaired and asked God why the wicked prosper while the faithful suffer.
Judges 6:13
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?...(KJV)
Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?...(NASB)
"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?...(NIV)
At
this GidŽe·on said to him: “Excuse me, my lord, but if Jehovah is with us, then why has all this come upon us, (NWT)
How did God reply? Did God
tell Gideon why such evil had befallen him? No. In the remainder of Judges 6, Yahweh reminds Gideon that he, God himself,
was sending Gideon and he directs Gideon to depend on him, Jehovah God, rather than himself.
How does Gideon respond?
Gideon prepares a meal in
verse 19, which becomes an offering to God and Gideon even builds an altar there.
Joseph is another example
of theodicy in the Old Testament. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, then thrown into prison in Egypt. In Genesis 45, however, Joseph says that God sent him before his brothers in order to save lives (Genesis 45:5-8;
see also Genesis 50:20).
Adam Clarke wrote:
… for, says he, God did send me before you to preserve
life. On every word here a strong emphasis may be laid. It is not you, but God; it is not you that sold me, but God who sent
me; Egypt and Canaan must both have perished, had not a merciful provision been made; you were to come down hither, and God
sent me before you; death must have been the consequence of this famine, had not God sent me here to preserve life.[22]
John Gill also stated:
This he repeats to impress the minds of his brethren with a sense of the good providence of God in bringing him to
Egypt before them, to make provision for their future welfare, and to alleviate their grief, and prevent an excessive sorrow
for their selling him into Egypt, when by the overruling hand of God it proved so salutary to them…[23]
And
again:
…it was not they so much as God that sent him; whose providence directed, disposed, and overruled all those
events, to bring Joseph to this place, and to such an high station, to answer the purposes and designs of God in providing
for and preserving Jacob's family in a time of distress…[24]
And Gill once again in regards
to Genesis 50:20:
…their intentions were bad…but God meant it unto good; he
designed good should come by it, and he brought good out of it: this shows that this action, which was sinful in itself, fell
under the decree of God, or was the object of it, and that there was a concourse of providence in it; not that God was the
author of sin, which neither his decree about it, nor the concourse of providence with the action as such supposes; he leaving
the sinner wholly to his own will in it…but in the issue, through his infinite wisdom, causes it to work for good…[25]
The Genesis account does
not record Joseph asking God why such evil, horrible things had happened to him. Genesis records only the conclusions Joseph
drew: God had allowed his suffering to save many, many lives.
Jeremiah also struggled
with the evil in the world, particularly the apparent prosperity of the wicked while the faithful suffered. So much so that
Jeremiah petitioned Yahweh in Chapter 12.
Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy
judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? (KJV)
Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead {my} case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with
You: Why has the wa of the wicked prospered? {Why} are all those who deal in treachery at ease? (NASB)
You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak
with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? (NIV)
You
are righteous, O Jehovah, when I make my complaint to you, indeed when I speak even about matters of judgment with you. Why
is it that the way of wicked ones is what has succeeded, that all those who are committing treachery are the unworried ones? (NWT)
God answers Jeremiah’s
complaints and despair:
Jeremiah 12:5, 17
[5] If thou hast run
with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein
thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? [17] But if they will
not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD. (KJV)
[5] "If you have run
with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will
you do in the thicket of the Jordan? [17] "But if they will not listen, then I will uproot
that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD. (NASB)
[5] "If you have raced
with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you
manage in the thickets by the Jordan? [17] But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it," declares
the LORD. (NIV)
[5] Because with footmen you have run, and they would tire you out, how, then, can you run a race with horses? And in the
land of peace are you confident? So how will you act among the proud [thickets] along the Jordan?
[17] But if they will not
obey, I will also uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying [it],” is the utterance of Jehovah. (NWT)
Jehovah God began his response
by pointing to his building Jeremiah up through suffering. How can Jeremiah run against horses if he hasn’t trained
to run against his fellow men? How will he perform in much worse conditions if he hasn’t trained to perform in good
conditions?
Albert Barnes stated:
Yahweh rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, showing him by two proverbial sayings, that there were still greater
trials of faith in store for him. Prosperous wickedness is after all a mere ordinary trial, a mere “running with the
footmen;” he will have to exert far greater powers of endurance…. if thou canst feel safe only where things are
tranquil, what wilt thou do in the hour of danger?[26]
Adam Clarke agreed:
If the smallest evils to which thou art exposed cause thee to make so many bitter complaints, how wilt thou feel
when, in the course of thy prophetic ministry, thou shalt be exposed to much greater, from enemies much more powerful? Footmen
may here be the symbol of common evil events; horsemen, of evils much more terrible. If thou have sunk under small difficulties,
what wilt thou do when great ones come?[27]
Then, in verse 17, God once
again says he will destroy the wicked.
Mr. Crampton notes Habakkuk
and Judges, but the best exemplar of suffering and God’s permission of it can be undoubtedly found in the book of Job.
Job is a great exposition and exploration of God and the Problem of Evil. Keil and Delitzsch wrote:
To this question the book furnishes, as it appears to us, two answers: (1.) The afflictions
of the righteous are a means of discipline and purification; they certainly arise from the sins of the righteous man, but
still are not the workings of God's wrath, but of His love, which is directed to his purifying and advancement. Such is the
view Elihu in the book of Job represents. The writer of the introductory portion of Proverbs has expressed this briefly but
beautifully Pro 3:11; cf. Heb 12)…Discipline designed for improvement is properly no punishment, since punishment, according
to its true idea, is only satisfaction rendered for the violation of moral order. …(2.) The afflictions of the righteous
man are means of proving and testing, which, like chastisements, come from the love of God. Their object is not, however,
the purging away of sin which may still cling to the righteous man, but, on the contrary, the manifestation and testing of
his righteousness.
…If I know that God sends afflictions to me because, since sin and evil are
come into the world, they are the indispensable means of purifying and testing me, and by both purifying and testing of perfecting
me, - these are explanations with which I can and must console myself. But this is still not the final answer of the book
of Job to its great question. And its unparalleled magnitude, its high significance in the historical development of revelation,
its typical character already recognized in the Old Testament, consists just in its going beyond this answer, and giving us
an answer which, going back to the extreme roots of evil, and being deduced from the most intimate connections of the individual
life of man with the history and plan of the world in the most comprehensive sense, not only practically, but speculatively,
satisfies.
… There is a conflict between evil and good in the world, which can issue in
victory to the good only so, that the good proves itself in distinction from the evil, withstands the assault of evil, and
destroys the evil that exists bound up with itself: only so, that the good as far as it is still mixed with the evil is refined
as by fire, and more and more freed from it.[28]
Turning to specific verses, letR
