One thing important to keep in mind with the problem of evil is that evil does have a purpose. It is not a creation of God, but it is used by God. If Christianity is true, then Christianity says that there is a reason for every happening in the world. It does not tell us that we can know that reason at this point in time, but it does assure us that there is one. We simply must trust.
Let’s consider this point though because this is fundamental to the Problem of Evil. Somehow, if we believe there is some reason to the suffering that we are undergoing, then that makes it all the easier. It doesn’t make it a joyride, but it makes it more bearable. The idea of gratuitous evil is one often raised by skeptics of the faith. Unfortunately, they would have to have omniscience to know there is no such thing as gratuitous evil, that is, evil that is meaningless.
Let’s consider the question from another perspective though. What about anything else? Does anything have any purpose? Does good have a purpose? If something good happens in your life, does that have a purpose? What about your life itself? Does your life have a purpose? Do you really think that the nature of your life is a cosmic accident?
After all, if this is simply a cosmic accident, then the skeptic is right. There is no purpose of evil. However, it is a far worse situation than he realizes. There is also no purpose in good. Things simply are. There is no such thing as evil ultimately and there is no such thing as good. Life is a pitiful and meaningless existence and we are born, we live, and we die, the end.
For the problem of evil to work, there must be some purpose. There must be some good for the evil to be affecting. What is it though? What is there that is good? If there is good, then there is purpose in the world. Where does this purpose come from? How can there be a final cause to all that is if all that is simply an accident?
Ultimately, this is another way the problem of evil self-destructs. Without the objective moral standard, you can’t define evil. Without the purpose of good, then you can’t complain about evil having no purpose as there is no purpose. It’s useless to look for purpose in anything, even the so-called good. Maybe your loved one died of cancer. That person is just gone entirely, no point to their existence, and they will become dirt soon enough. It makes one think of how C.S. Lewis said about his wife’s death that if she doesn’t exist now, she never did exist. He was not in love with a person but a set of molecules.
If Christ is true though, your loved one can live again and will. There is a purpose to life. It is the glory of God. How does that help us in evil? Well, that’s another blog.
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