Good vs Evil: The Problem of Evil

In today’s world, the struggle between good and evil is impossible to ignore. Turn on the news or do a doom scroll through social media and you’ll see a world filled with corruption—whether in Hollywood, the government, or even our own communities. Questions about why evil exists and why people commit such horrific acts echo in the minds of many—so much so that it often feels like evil is winning. Yet, these questions are not new. Instead, they trace back to the very beginning of human existence, where the seeds of this battle were first sown.

The problem of evil is an ancient one, rooted in the earliest moments of human history. And to understand how we got here, we must go back to the beginning: the Garden of Eden. There, in a moment of deception, evil was awakened, setting the stage for the brokenness we now experience.

Imagine living somewhere with everything you could ever want or ever need. Sounds pretty amazing, right? The only catch is that there is one thing you can’t touch—just one. What do you think you’d do? Do you think you’d leave that one thing alone?

When God created the world, He created everything in it and said it was good. This included the pinnacle of creation—man and woman. God gave them—Adam and Eve—freedom in the Garden of Eden, but that freedom came with a choice. They had everything they could ever need, but there was one tree they weren’t supposed to touch—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s command was straightforward: “You can eat from any tree in the garden, but if you eat from this one, you will die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

This wasn’t about God being harsh or unfair; it was a way for Adam and Eve to show their love and trust in Him. Obeying that one rule was how they submitted to God’s authority. But at that tree is where the battle between good and evil took a devastating turn.

That’s when the serpent (a symbol of Satan) shows up. With his smooth talk, he twists God’s words and plants doubt in Eve’s mind: “Did God really say you can’t eat from any tree?” (Genesis 3:1). He makes it sound like God is holding out on them, as if there is something God doesn’t want them to know.  And in that moment, they gave in. They ate the fruit, and with that one act of disobedience, they opened the door for evil to enter the world. That one decision changed the course of history forever. The immediate consequence of Adam and Eve’s decision was the loss of innocence. Their eyes were opened, and they became aware of their own vulnerability. Emotions they had never known before, like fear and shame, entered their hearts. They hid from God, their once-perfect relationship with Him broken.

But the effects of their sin went far beyond their individual relationship with God. All of creation was cursed because of their disobedience. Pain and suffering entered the world. Death, which had never been part of God’s perfect creation, became an unavoidable reality for all mankind. This was not just physical death but spiritual death—a separation from the source of life, God Himself. The sin of Adam and Eve introduced a hereditary curse that would be passed down to every generation. As the apostle Paul explains in Romans 5:12, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”

From that moment on, evil became an ever-present force in the human experience. It manifested in jealousy, murder, hatred, and violence. We see it in Cain’s murder of his brother Abel, in the wickedness of humanity that led to the Flood, and in the rebellion at the Tower of Babel. The entire human race was plunged into a cycle of sin and death, unable to break free from the grip of evil.

Evil continues to wreak havoc on our world today. We see its effects in the brokenness of our societies, the corruption of our governments, the exploitation of the vulnerable, and the constant presence of war, poverty, and suffering. Evil not only exists in the grand, sweeping injustices of our world, but also in the hearts of every individual. Each of us is born into this fallen state, with a nature inclined towards sin.

The problem of evil isn’t just a theological issue; it’s a deeply personal one. We feel its impact in our own lives—in our relationships, our struggles, and our moral failures. Humanity is caught in a struggle, enslaved to sin, and we have no ability to free ourselves. Evil seems to have the upper hand, and it often feels like darkness has triumphed.

But is that the end of the story? Has evil truly won?

While evil may seem to dominate the world, and its effects are undeniable, the story doesn’t end here. Even amidst judgment, God’s grace was at work. In Genesis 3:15, God gives a promise during the curse. He speaks of a future descendant of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent, though the serpent would strike His heel.

This promise points to something greater, a coming victory over evil, a defeat of the powers of darkness. Evil may have entered the world through man’s disobedience, but good is on the horizon. Something—or Someone—is coming who will set things right.