I recently kicked a guy out of the group for writing that James White, and Calvinists, believe that God is the author of moral evil. (In a nutshell.) He was being very simple minded, and ignorant, as well as insulting. He was acting as if only Calvinists have been concerned with theodicy. The concept of moral evil, and the theological study of it is called, “Theodicy.” It isn’t just a Calvinist thing. People of all monotheistic religions have had to wrestle with this idea. You, as a Christian have probably briefly thought about it, but decided it was above your pay-grade, and simply trusted in the goodness of God. This is not a fault, so to speak. It is the default position until you are ready to deal with this idea, as one who is mature in the Faith.
Let me set the argument up. God is sovereign. He is omniscient. He is omnipotent. We accept these truths. If those things are true about God, and babies are still molested, and killed, then God must be responsible because, He knew it was going to happen, He has the power to stop it, and in His sovereignty did not intervene. At this point, most people shut down. We have to stare into the difficult things if we are to boldly share our faith, because this topic will come up when you argue with an atheist. It is the whole, “If God is good, why all the human suffering?” argument.
If you don’t know the terms; Sovereign- God is ruler of all He has created. Omniscient- God knows all that can be known, and He knows it perfectly, as He is the source of all knowledge. Omnipotence- God is all powerful. He alone upholds the creation by the power of His Word. If He willed it, you would simply cease existing.
Also, consider that moral evil, and human suffering are not the same. Human suffering isn’t necessarily directly caused by individual sin. For instance, you are told you have cancer, and are going to die a painful death. You may not have committed a sin that lead directly to this, but you are a sinner, and as a sinner are destined to die. The Bible is clear that suffering is God’s providence for our sanctification. Moral evil is the breaking of God’s laws, and violation of His character, by individual’s committing cosmic treason. They are His creatures, yet He has provided in His will for them to commit treason against Him as their Sovereign Lord.
Now, considering those ideas, look at the argument again. If God is all of those things, how can moral evil occur? Sure, we can understand why human suffering happens. We are all under the curse of God, due to the original sin of Adam. Well would you look at that? How was Adam able to sin? It is true that Adam, and Eve were the only two people who were created by God with a volition that was not enslaved to sin. Everyone after them, except for the second Adam, Jesus Christ, has been born as a slave to sin. If you answer this question, you’ll be able to answer all the other questions about moral evil, and why God has provided for it in His eternal, sovereign plan, that is also informed by all of His other attributes.
God owns everything He has created, even you, even an infant. How many people did God kill in the flood? Did He kill little children in the flood? Was it a death of suffering? Was it morally evil for God to kill babies in the flood? The way you answer these questions is telling. If you say that God was not morally evil for the killing of the infants, and their suffering death, you have to explain how that is. Most people say that it is because the world was so wicked, they deserved it, “but what about the innocent babies people will cry?”
By now, you should be able to see where I’m going with this. Since before God created anything, or anyone, He was always going to create just as He did. Remember, you can’t understand eternity, and you can’t understand God’s ways. You are just a small little speck of cosmic dust, floating around on courses you did not set for yourself. You may be self-deceived, and think you are setting your course, and are the master of your own destiny, and temporally you are, but eternally you are not. Still crying that I won’t consider the two categories in the flawed way you want me to? I don’t care. You are wrong. So now to it. God owns you. He owns the babies. He owns the criminals. He owns the murderers. He owns Satan. Satan is His creature. None of His creatures are omniscient, omnipotent, or sovereign! God’s plan will run its course, exactly as He intends. You are not yours. You are not for your own purposes. You are for God’s intended purposes. No matter how bad you suffer, and no matter at whose hands it happens, you cannot say that God has wronged you, or done evil to you. You are born in sin, in sin your mother conceived you. You are by nature a child of Adam, and must die! You can die, and rise in Christ, or you can die, and suffer the second death, and Hell. Do you believe that God is truly good, and has a purpose for every suffering moment of His creation, or do you believe that He is not in control of that suffering, and has no purpose for it in His creation? I for one, won’t question the validity of God’s sovereign volition in the causes of human suffering, and moral evil. God uses Satan for His own purposes, just like He uses our sins, for His own ends as well. Yes, you read that right! Stop trying to make yourself God’s judge in the matters of human sin, volition, and suffering! Does this make God the author of sin? Only if you haven’t understood a thing I just wrote, proving you are simple minded, and immature. You cannot judge the law giver, and Judge! We are subject to His laws. He is good, no matter what we think of how He has decided to run His creation.
After reading the long answer, here is the short answer. No, God is not the author of moral evil. Is it possible for us to understand how that is in light of what you just read? No, not fully, but yes, in part.
Snyder's Soapbox 