Steven Johnson, DDS | April 12, 2026
The Goodness of God in an Evil World, what a topic. When you look at the news, talk to people, look at social media, and think about all that is going on in society, both here and around the world. From the events in the Middle East to crimes against various people groups around the world, to even a lack of respect for teachers by students in schools in this country. Where do we begin on this topic?
Law of Human Nature
There are some laws in life that never change: the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west, you drop something, the law of gravity will make it fall, you are born, and you will eventually die, but there is one law that humans can disobey, and that is the Law of Human Nature. Everyone, no matter where they come from, whether the US, Middle Eastern countries, Russia, China, or somewhere else in the world, believes they are right and know what is decent behavior in their eyes. If someone says I don’t believe there is any right or wrong, just wait and see if you do something to them; they will let you know you are wrong and be upset with you. An example is Russia in the Ukrainian war, which was saying it is ok to bomb civilian targets inside Ukraine, but when Ukraine started targeting Russian sites inside Russia, they said that was wrong. That is why, no matter if we don’t like the law of Human Nature or not, we all still believe it, and unfortunately, we all break it.
Moral Law
God did not create the world because he had to; he created it because he wanted to. The existence of the universe is entirely contingent on the goodwill of the Creator. The universe is directed by something, and I believe that is the Moral Law of God. C.S. Lewis argument of the subject can be summarized as:
1) There must be an objective, universal moral law, or else no ethical judgments make sense. Nothing could be called evil or wrong, and there would be no reason to keep promises or treaties.
2) This moral law does not originate with us. In fact, we are bound by it.
3) The source of this law is more like mind than matter, and it cannot be part of the universe any more than an architect is part of the building he designs.
4) Therefore, there exists a Moral Law Giver who is the ultimate source and standard of all right and wrong. (1)
Evil- What makes evil
In order to have evil, you first have to have good. In the Garden of Eden, everything was good to start with, but God gave free will first to the angels. Satan and some of the other angels decided they wanted to be like God and turned evil. God also gave mankind free will. Adam and Eve both sinned, which marked the beginning of evil entering the world. Those who want political law, instead of God’s absolute moral law, open them and society to evil. When a person or society puts themselves first, they are actually saying to themselves, I want to be god.
If we were like the God of Eternity, we would be perfect and wouldn’t be evil; that isn’t us. Instead, man’s heart is sinful. I can’t think of an example of a man who has stepped outside traditional morality, gained power, and used it exclusively to benefit others. Rather, there are examples of dictators who say they want to help their country, but in the end, turn a good cause into an evil pursuit. They may steal from their people, murder their people, and/or lie to their people to stay in power and make themselves rich. People may rob stores or shoplift, saying they are not hurting anyone. Some may cheat on tests in school. Some may cheat on their husband or wife and say I deserve to be happy, don’t I? Even a so-called white lie is evil. All these are evil in God’s eyes.
God’s Goodness to Us
God could and should destroy us all because we have all sinned against Him. Sin entered the world through Adam’s sin, and any sin is evil in His sight. God is a loving God, but also a just God. God gave us free will. Without free will, how could our self-surrender to Him be voluntary? God does not send us to hell; we choose it. What do we choose, hell? Yes.
But God, in His love, started making a way for us way back in the Garden of Eden when He took skins of animals to clothe Adam and Eve. God sent His only son, Jesus, down to earth to be the sacrifice we needed to be right in God the Father’s eyes.
John 3:16-21 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works are evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
Also, Romans 3:10-18 and 23 says, “as it is written. None is righteous, no, not one, no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless, no one does good, not even one…..”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 tells us, “ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 10:9 says, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 says, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
And finally, Romans 8:38-39 says “neither death nor life….will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God in an Evil World
As you can see, God is good in an evil world. There are 2 kinds of people, as C.S. Lewis said: “those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says in the end, 'Thy will be done.'” All that are in hell choose it. (2) Are you choosing HELL, or are you going to choose HEAVEN? The choice is yours.
About the Author
Steven served 36 years as a dentist in his hometown of Buffalo Center, Iowa, before retiring from his practice. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa Dental School in 1987. He currently resides in Mankato, Minnesota. Dr. Johnson is a devout disciple of Christ. He faithfully attends Wooddale Church of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Steven was the husband of our late beloved Dr. Michelle Johnson
Dr. Johnson’s desire is to continue to honor Michelle with the passion she held so dear--writing articles that glorify God. He hopes to offer believers further reasons to trust in the risen Savior and desires to share the gospel with the lost, prompting them to accept Christ as their Savior.
Notes
(1) Geisler, Norman L. , The Big Book of Christian Apologetics, Bakerbooks, p. 306.
(2) Giesler, Norman L., The Big Book of Christian Apologetics, BakerBooks, p. 307.
(3) The Bible is the English Standard Version.
(4) General references are C.S. Lewis's books Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man.
----This response is not intended to prove you wrong. It's only intended to prove that somebody can be reasonable to disagree with your viewpoint. You may say my views are wrong, but reasonableness is not as exacting as "truth" and isn't synonymous with "truth, and therefore, it is possible that a belief can be reasonable even if it is also wrong.
If someone says I don’t believe there is any right or wrong, just wait and see if you do something to them; they will let you know you are wrong and be upset with you.
----Atheists who actually know what they are talking about qualify their assertion and say there is no "absolute" or "objective" right and wrong, and so properly leave open the possibility of subjectively perceiving harm. There's no universal right or wrong in the animal world, and yet we clearly see that individual animals still personally experience grief at perceived injustices.
God did not create the world because he had to; he created it because he wanted to.
-----Then he must have gotten lonely, and apparently, the "perfect" fellowship he had within his trinitarian self stopped giving him perfect fulfillment. Otherwise, he would no more have created people, than the man who is both perfectly content to be single, and who also never changes, would never seek to get married.
1) There must be an objective, universal moral law, or else no ethical judgments make sense.
-------No, when I complain about some guy robbing me, I'm not committing myself to belief in some "universal" anything. It is entirely subjective. It only looks "universal" because other human beings feel the same way and have formed groups where the way feel is called "law".
Nothing could be called evil or wrong, and there would be no reason to keep promises or treaties.
--------The only reason to keep a promise is the promisor's personal morals. That's why were first determine another's morals before we rely on their promises.
2) This moral law does not originate with us. In fact, we are bound by it.
--------All empirical observations indicate a person's sense of morality arises from a combination of their genetic predispositions and their environmental conditions. It doesn't matter if "god" has something to with it too, this extra stuff cannot be demonstrated, as the failure of all moral arguments for god indicates.
And if moral law originates with God, then it was morally good for God to respond to David's adultery and murder by torturing his baby to death over a period of 7days (2nd Sam. 12:13-18).
And if God is morally good, then his sovereign providence is equally morally good. Therefore if god by choice refuses to protect a child who is being raped, you cannot classify such divine neglect as bad, you MUST call it "good" even though you personally feel there is a serious problem with such a label. Well? Is it morally good or morally bad for God to stand by and simply allow adults to severely abuse children?
3) The source of this law is more like mind than matter, and it cannot be part of the
universe any more than an architect is part of the building he designs. 4) Therefore, there exists a Moral Law Giver who is the ultimate source and standard of all right and wrong. (1)
--------Doesn't mean much in a world where Trinitarian Christians, like animals, disagree with each other about morality.
Evil- What makes evilIn order to have evil, you first have to have good. In the Garden of Eden, everything was good to start with, but God gave free will first to the angels.
---------Calvinists say it was compatibilist freewill, Arminians say it was libertarian freewill. Spiritually alive people who disagree with each other on what type of freewill god gave humanity, are fools if they expect spiritually dead people to figure out which view is correct.
Satan and some of the other angels decided they wanted to be like God and turned evil.
--------We condemn a man who gives his dog enough freedom to maul a child, and we condemn a god who gives creatures enough freedom to create evil. The parts of the bible that say god is perfectly righteous no matter what it might look like, are wrong. I'm willing to call biblical authors wrong and then wait and see what happens on this esoteric "judgment day" stuff that Trinitarians also disagree with each other about.
God also gave mankind free will. Adam and Eve both sinned, which marked the beginning of evil entering the world.
------That's Romans 5, alright, but Genesis 3 clearly indicates the evil serpent was already in the world before Adam fell.
God’s Goodness to UsGod could and should destroy us all because we have all sinned against Him.
-------Perhaps I shouldn't have responded to this article. After all, the way speak at this point indicates you cannot rationally have intended the type of audience who denies they are sinners. And it is irrational to seriously expect that you'll change their mind by just hurling bible verses at them just like it's irrational for a Calvinist to think he'll change your mind by merely hurling bible verses at you.
God does not send us to hell; we choose it.
------That's a very popular cliché that people live to hear on Sunday morning, but it's also biblically false. The "burn up the chaff" of Matthew 3:12, the "throw" in Matthew 13:42, the "depart from me" in Matthew 25:41, the "beaten with many lashes" of Luke 12:47, the "dealing out retribution" of 2nd Thess. 1:8 and the "thrown" of Revelation 20:15 clearly describe god SENDING people to eternal conscious torment, or else inflicting on them something far worse than anything they thought they were "choosing". If you knowingly walk upon another man's land without his permission, are you "choosing" to be prosecuted for trespass?
God in an Evil WorldAs you can see, God is good in an evil world. There are 2 kinds of people, as C.S. Lewis said: “those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says in the end, 'Thy will be done.'” All that are in hell choose it. (2) Are you choosing HELL, or are you going to choose HEAVEN? The choice is yours.
-------Trinitarian Calvinists tell me to reject evangelism from Trinitarian Arminians like you, because you mix the gospel with the pagan idol of human autonomy. Would you seriously expect a spiritually dead person to figure out which Trinitarian group got it "right"?