Is There a God Who Cares?
If so-
Why has he permitted wickedness?
Will life ever be free of trouble?
IF GOD exists, why has he allowed so many terrible things to happen to people all through history? If he really cares about us, why does he permit wickedness and suffering to continue?
2 Thinking persons everywhere ask those questions. And with good reason, because for centuries the human family has suffered so much from horrible wars, food shortages, poverty, crime and disease. Injustice and oppression have caused a great amount of grief too. So have calamities such as floods and earthquakes. Quite often, innocent people suffer through no fault of their own. Is all of this proof that God does not care about what happens to us? Is there any genuine hope for a better world, a world where we can really enjoy life on earth to the full, free from all these troubles?
3 Such questions demand truthful, satisfying answers. But it is not truthful, or satisfying, to be told, "It is God's will for us to suffer," or, "These are things we cannot understand." If God created the awesome universe of such marvelous order, surely he must have a good reason for allowing humans to get so disorderly. And would such a Creator not care enough about his own human creation to tell us why he has permitted wickedness? Would it not make sense for him to correct these bad conditions in due time if he has the power to do so? Any loving father would do that for his children if he could. Certainly an all-powerful, all-wise, loving Creator would not do less for his own earthly children.
Who Can Best Answer?
4 Who can best answer the questions about God's permission of wickedness? Well, if you were charged with some fault, would you want people to listen to only what others said about it? Or would you want to speak for yourself to clear up the matter in the mind of anyone who sincerely wanted to know? It is God who is held to be at fault for permitting wickedness. Since he best knows why he permits it, would it not be fair to let him speak for himself? Looking to humans for answers will never be satisfying, since so often they have conflicting ideas about these matters.
5 Where does God provide the answers? There is only one source that the Creator claims to have authorized to tell us what happened and why. That source is the Bible, which states: "All Scripture is inspired of God." (2 Timothy 3:16) This should not be surprising, because if God had the power to create the amazing universe, surely he could become the author of a book. Mere humans can project voices and ideas, even pictures, out over invisible airwaves to your radio or television set. So it would not be any great task for the almighty Creator to project his thoughts to faithful human writers and to see to it that they put these down correctly. That is why the apostle Paul could say with confidence: "When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God."-1 Thessalonians 2:13.
6 Perhaps you have never examined the Bible. Yet you may be interested to know that it contains the most complete, dated historical record in existence today. In fact, a first-century historian, Luke, a medical doctor, was able to trace the ancestry of Jesus of Nazareth through four thousand years of history, step by step, name by name, all the way back to the first man. Since the Bible goes back to the very beginning of human existence, it can tell us who is to blame for wickedness, why God permitted it, and how it will be remedied.
Is God to Blame?
7 If someone else committed a crime, how would you feel if you were blamed for it? You would consider this very unjust. Justice requires that the guilty be punished and the innocent be freed from blame. If an automobile driver ignores a stop sign at a busy intersection and gets into a bad accident as a result, it is not the fault of the law. If a person becomes a glutton and gets sick from overeating, it is not the fault of the farmer who grew the food. If, despite good upbringing, a young man leaves home, ignores his father's good counsel and then gets into trouble, it is not the father who is to blame. Then why should the heavenly Father, God, be blamed when mankind commits wrongs? Should not the blame be put where it belongs-on the guilty party?
8 Also, there is something else to consider. If we blame God for such things as starvation from food shortages, whom do we credit for the productive fields and orchards that produce such bountiful crops in many lands? If we blame God for sickness, whom do we credit for the body's marvelous healing systems? If we blame God for city slums, whom do we credit for majestic mountains, clear lakes, delightful flowers and beautiful trees? Clearly, if we blame God for the world's troubles and then credit him for the good things of the earth, it is a contradiction. A loving God would not promote both good and bad at the same time.
9 To say that God does not exist only makes the problem worse. Believing that this earth and its marvelous forms of life just happened is to ignore the facts. The fact is that the earth is far better equipped to sustain life than any house, yet every house has an intelligent designer and builder. Then what about this planet with its far grander life-sustaining systems of air, land and water? The Bible says logically: "Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but he that constructed all things is God." (Hebrews 3:4) True, some people conclude that because humans do bad things it means that God does not exist. However, this is like saying that because people who live in houses do bad things then houses have no designers or builders. It would also be like saying that because a person does something wrong he never had a father.
10 Who, then, is to blame for the terrible things that have happened to the human family? Much of the blame must rest on people themselves. Human dishonesty and frustration cause crimes. Human pride and selfishness cause wrecked marriages, hatreds and racial prejudices. Human error and unconcern cause pollution and filth. Human arrogance and stupidity cause wars; and when entire nations blindly follow political leaders into those wars, then they must share the blame for the suffering. Hunger and poverty are primarily due to human neglect and greed. Consider: the world now spends well over $200 billion each year on armaments. If all of this were properly spent on growing and equally distributing food and eliminating poor housing, think what could be done!
11 Nor is God to blame for the wrongs committed in the name of religion. For instance, clergymen pray for God's blessing on the wars of their nations. Yet often, though on opposite sides, the soldiers killing each other belong to the same religion! God could not be to blame for that, because he condemns what they do, saying that those who truly serve him must 'have love among themselves.' (John 13:34, 35) If they do not have this love, then God says that they are "like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother." (1 John 3:10-12) Killing people in the name of God, whether during inquisitions or in wars, is similar to the ancient practice of sacrificing children to false gods, a thing that Almighty God says he 'had not commanded and that had not come up into his heart.'-Jeremiah 7:31.
12 The clergy's political meddling, support of wars, and false teachings such as saying that God is responsible for this world's suffering, or that he even burns people in a literal hellfire forever, are repugnant to reasoning persons, and to God. Religious leaders who teach and practice things in opposition to God are called "hypocrites" in God's Word, which also says to them: "You resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men's bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27, 28) In fact, Jesus said of hypocritical religious leaders: "You are from your father the Devil."-John 8:44.
13 No, God is not to blame for the wrongs that humans themselves commit. And he is not to blame for the wrongs blessed by clergymen who claim to serve God but who do not speak the truth or practice it. Well, then, was there something wrong with the way God made mankind? Did he give the human race a bad start?
A Perfect Start
14 When a person reads the first two chapters of the book of Genesis, it becomes very clear that when God created man and woman he gave them a perfect start. He created them with perfect bodies and minds, so that sickness and death would never plague them. Their home was a lovely, parklike garden of delightful flowers, lush vegetation and fruit-bearing trees. There was no lack. To the contrary, there was an abundance. Also, God set before our first parents interesting work and stimulating goals. He instructed them to extend the parklike conditions of that paradise throughout the entire earth. In time they would be assisted in this by the many perfect children that they would produce. Thus, eventually, the human family would become a perfect race of people, inhabiting an earthly paradise, enjoying life forever, and even having the animals in loving subjection.
15 But why did things turn out so disastrously? Was it because God did not really create humans perfect in the first place? No, that is not the case, because Deuteronomy 32:4 says of God, "Perfect is his activity." However, human perfection did not mean that the first human pair knew everything, or could do everything, or could not do what is wrong. Even perfect creatures have limitations. For instance, there were physical limits. If they did not eat food, drink water and breathe air they would die. Nor could they do such things as violate the law of gravity by jumping off a very high place and not expect to get hurt. Also, they had mental limits. Obviously, Adam and Eve had a lot to learn, since they had no experience. But no matter how much they learned, they could never know as much as their Creator. Hence, although perfect, they were limited by being in the human realm. Perfection simply meant that they were complete, that there was no flaw in their physical and mental makeup.
16 Also, God created humans as free moral agents, not to be guided just by instinct, as are animals. And surely you appreciate such freedom. You would not want anyone dictating to you, every minute of your life, what you should do. However, that freedom was not to be absolute, that is, without limitations, but was to be relative. It had to be exercised within the boundaries of God's laws. Those fine laws would be few and simple, designed with the greatest happiness of the entire human family in mind. God's love for humans was shown by his requiring that they obey his laws, since he knew that respect for those laws would bring them unending benefits. Disrespect for God and his laws would interfere with their happiness. It would bring nothing good. In fact, it would bring certain calamity, because God warned Adam and Eve that if they abandoned him they would "positively die." (Genesis 2:17) So to keep living, they needed not only to eat food, drink water and breathe air, but also to be guided by God and his laws.
17 There is another very crucial reason why our first parents needed to keep depending upon God. That reason is that humans were not created to govern their affairs successfully independent of God. God did not give them the right or the ability to do that. As the Bible says: "To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step." (Jeremiah 10:23) That is why the Bible declares: "He that is trusting in his own heart is stupid."-Proverbs 28:26.
How Did Wickedness Begin?
18 With such a fine start, what went wrong? This: our first parents, Adam and Eve, used their freedom of choice wrongly. They decided to go their own way instead of submitting to God's rule. In fact, the woman thought that they could become "like God, knowing good and bad." (Genesis 3:5) They wanted to determine for themselves what was right and what was wrong, relying on their own thinking. They did not foresee the vast damage that would result from such thinking. But that is what happened, since 'God cannot lie.' (Titus 1:2) When they pulled away from God's rulership, what resulted is, in a broad sense, like what happens when you pull out the plug of an electric fan. Cut off from its source of sustaining power, the fan slows down and eventually comes to a dead stop. Similarly, when the first human pair pulled away from the Source of life, Jehovah God, they eventually deteriorated and died, as God warned that they would.
19 Since our first parents rebelled against God before they had children, imperfection set in before the birth of their first child. Adam and Eve became like a defective pattern. Everything produced from them was also defective. They could pass on to their children only what they themselves now had-imperfect bodies and minds. They were no longer perfect because they had withdrawn from the Source that sustains perfection and life, Jehovah God. So in line with what the Bible says at Romans 5:12, everybody born since then has been born in imperfection, and is prone to sickness, old age and death. But God cannot be blamed for this. Deuteronomy 32:5 says: "They have acted ruinously on their own part; they are not his children, the defect is their own." And Ecclesiastes 7:29 notes: "The true God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans."
20 But is it reasonable that disobedience by just two persons should result in such tragic consequences for everybody? Well, we know that human carelessness by just one person in handling a small safety factor in the construction of a building can result in a disaster that may cost the lives of many people. Failure to care for a similar feature in a dam could lead to its rupture and a flood that could cause enormous destruction. A single act of corruption by a ruler may open the way for a chain reaction of wrongdoing in a government, leading to great harm for millions of people. In a family, when a father and a mother make a wrong choice, their children can suffer serious consequences. Our first parents made the wrong choice. As a result, the entire human family was plunged into imperfection and disaster.
21 Since God's law was involved, and his integrity too, he could not let the violation go by without enforcing that law. What respect would people have for him or for his law if he did nothing about it? Do we respect rulers today who do not obey their own laws, or who allow certain people to break them willfully without penalty? Hence, God carried out his stated penalty for disobedience, which was death. But he mercifully allowed the first pair to have children, which we should appreciate, otherwise we would never have been born. And although we are imperfect due to Adam and Eve's failure, do we not prefer to be alive rather than dead?
22 Is this to say that wickedness originated entirely with humans? No, there is more to it. God's producing of intelligent creatures was not limited to humans. Already he had created countless other intelligent sons in the heavens, spirit creatures. While they too were free moral agents, they would also have to submit to God's good and reasonable laws to remain alive. However, one of these spirit creatures meditated on wrong ideas. And when a person meditates on what is wrong, that can build up to a point where he does the wrong thing he is thinking about. So too with this spirit creature. He built up ambition in himself to such a degree that it moved him to challenge God's actions. He told Adam's wife, Eve, that they could disobey God and still, he said, "You positively will not die." (Genesis 3:4) He questioned their need to depend upon the Creator for continued life and happiness. In fact, he told them that disobedience would actually improve matters for them, causing them to be like God. Thus he called into question the truthfulness of God. And by calling into question God's laws, he cast doubt on God's way of ruling-indeed, on God's right to rule. For this he was called Satan, which means resister, and Devil, which means slanderer.
Why Has It Been Permitted for So Long?
23 Because God is so much stronger, he could easily have wiped out these human and spirit rebels at the start. But that would not have settled matters satisfactorily. Why not? Because it was not God's strength that was challenged. The issues raised were moral ones. And a vital issue among them was this: Would the way of rebellion prove successful? Could rulership that ignored God bring lasting benefits to the entire human family? Would God's rulership of people be better for them, or would man's rulership be better? God, in his wisdom, knew that this, and other key issues raised, would take time to settle. So he allowed a definite period of time that would give humans ample opportunity to arrive at the peak of their political, social, industrial and scientific achievements.
24 That time period could not be just a few days or a few years. It would take many generations for the answer to be demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt. Court cases can take weeks or months even where just two people are involved. The great issues at stake relative to God's rule demand a full answer, not a halfway settlement. In this way the settling of these issues would never need to be repeated at any future time. A loving God could accept nothing less than a full settlement. And we can be glad that this is so, since only such a settlement can open the way for unending peace and security for all of God's universal family, in heaven and on earth.
25 About 6,000 years have now passed since the issues were first raised. What has been the result of independence from God's rule? All kinds of governments, all kinds of social orders, all kinds of economic systems, and all kinds of sectarian religions have been tried. But nothing has brought true peace, security, lasting health and happiness. Can one boast of material progress when World War II alone took over fifty million lives? Is it progress to send men to the moon, when those same rockets with nuclear warheads could annihilate mankind, and when hundreds of millions of people on earth were suffering from hunger and poverty at the same time that men walked on the moon? What good is having a house with many conveniences when families are torn apart by arguments, when the number of divorces grows constantly, when fear of crime in the neighborhood spreads, when pollution and slums grow, when economic depressions throw millions out of work, when riots, civil wars and the toppling of governments are yearly occurrences that threaten a man's home and way of life?
26 The truth is just as United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim admitted: "Despite material progress, human life has never had a greater sense of insecurity than it is experiencing today." The book Environmental Ethics also states: "Man, created to breathe clean air, drink and enjoy pure water, and enjoy the adventure of his natural surroundings, has changed his environment and finds he cannot adapt. He is preparing his own mass execution." Truly the long permission of wickedness should demonstrate to all reasonable persons that men were not created with the ability to direct their affairs successfully apart from the guidance of God. And with six thousand years of human failure as evidence, never can anyone rightly charge God with not allowing enough time for humans to experiment. The allotted time has been enough to prove that the way of rebellion against God has been an absolute disaster.
Wickedness Soon to End
27 The human family desperately needs a change for the better. In fact, we need an entirely new system. As sociologist Erich Fromm admitted, the evils in society can be corrected "only if the whole system as it has existed during the last 6,000 years of history can be replaced by a fundamentally different one." That is exactly what God has in mind! When his allotted time period is up, God has guaranteed to crush out of existence the entire present wicked system of things, along with those who prefer it. "All the wicked ones he will annihilate."-Psalm 145:20.
28 When will this take place? Very soon, because God's Word shows that the unprecedented troubles that have struck the human family since the first world war began in 1914 make up a sign identifying what is called in the Bible "the last days." The Bible foretold that in these "last days" there would be world wars, mounting crime, hunger, disease epidemics, wanton pleasure-seeking by the majority, the turning away from belief in God, religious hypocrisy and decay, and many other events. These would be like the lines of a fingerprint, identifying with certainty our generation as the final one in which God would tolerate such terrible conditions. Jesus prophesied that our time would indeed see the end of the system of things now dominating the earth.
29 Jesus also said regarding the generation of people who saw the beginning of the "last days" in 1914: "Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." (Matthew 24:34) This means that some of the people who were alive when World War I began in 1914 would still be alive to witness the end of this present system of things. That World War I generation is getting very old now, and this is strong evidence that the end of wickedness is rapidly approaching.
30 When the end comes, God will display his mighty power and intervene directly in man's affairs. All human systems in opposition to him will be crushed. The prophecy of Daniel chapter 2, verse 44, says about this: "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever." (Revised Standard Version) With all hurtful human systems taken out of the way, God's rule over the earth will assume complete control.
31 Hence, God's rule will be exercised by a new government, a heavenly government, the kingdom of God. That is the government that Jesus Christ made the main point of his teaching. And he foretold that it alone would control the entire earth in due time. Since the Kingdom will rule from heaven, directed by God, there will be no chance of its being corrupted by selfish men. So governing power will be where it belonged in the first place, in heaven, with God. With God's rule dominating the earth, his promise is that "righteousness is what the inhabitants of the productive land will certainly learn." (Isaiah 26:9) Nor will anybody be misled by false religion, as there will be none. Everyone living will be taught the truth about God and his purposes, so that, in the fullest sense, "the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."-Isaiah 11:9.
A Righteous New Order
32 Under the rule of God's kingdom, an entirely new human society will develop, a society made up of godly people. In this new order, God's great care for us will be demonstrated by what he does. For one thing, wars will never again mar the peace and happiness of humans. Why not? Because all who will have survived the end of this present wicked world will already have been educated in the ways of peace, so that the new human society will have a peaceful start. Then, all who come to live in that new order will continue to receive the same education in doing God's will. That is why the Bible's promise will be certain of fulfillment that God "is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth." (Psalm 46:8, 9) How complete will that peace be? God's prophetic Word says: "The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace."-Psalm 37:11.
33 In addition, those living in that new order will transform the earth into the paradise that God originally purposed for it. What a satisfying work that will be for mankind! And with paradise restored, people will be able to enjoy to the full the lakes, rivers and oceans; the hills, mountains, plains and valleys; the lovely flowers, plants and trees; as well as the interesting animals. Nor will food shortages ever occur, for "the earth itself will certainly give its produce; God, our God, will bless us." Yes, "there will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow."-Psalm 67:6; 72:16.
34 Along with lasting peace and plenty of food will come vibrant health. Since God created man, he knows better than any doctor exactly what to do to heal the crippled, to make the blind see and the deaf hear, and how to eliminate all sickness, aging and death. The power of God to do this was demonstrated by Jesus Christ on a token, or small, scale when he was on earth. The Bible tells us: "Great crowds approached him, having along with them people that were lame, maimed, blind, dumb, and many otherwise, and they fairly threw them at his feet, and he cured them; so that the crowd felt amazement as they saw the dumb speaking and the lame walking and the blind seeing."-Matthew 15:30, 31.
35 Jesus referred to this earthly Paradise when he told the man who was hung alongside him: "You will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43) But that man died. So how could he get into Paradise? By means of another marvelous provision that shows how much God cares-by means of the resurrection from the dead. The Bible says at Acts 24:15: "There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." When on earth, Jesus resurrected dead persons to demonstrate God's power to do this under the rule of his kingdom.
36 Do you find the idea of a resurrection hard to believe? Yet even now you can see television programs with people in them who have long been dead. You hear their voices, observe their actions and note their characteristics. If mere man can preserve such things on television tapes, it would not be difficult for the All-Wise God to retain in his memory the detailed imprint of the personality and characteristics of each individual human that he would want to re-create. This he has done, and he will raise such dead ones up to life again. In this way, they too will have the opportunity to enjoy life in God's new order. And by emptying the graves, and by healing people from inherited sickness, aging and death, God "will actually swallow up death forever." (Isaiah 25:8) Thus, people will be able to live forever!
37 By means of his kingdom, God will completely reverse the bad situation that has prevailed for so long! Throughout eternity he will show his great care for us by showering down blessings that will far more than make up for any hurt that we have received in the past. The previous troubles we have experienced in this present system will fade to a dim memory then, if we care to remember them at all. God's promise is: "I am creating new heavens [a new heavenly government over all mankind] and a new earth [a righteous human society]; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart. But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating." (Isaiah 65:17, 18) With such grand blessings just ahead, you can see why the Bible says that God "will wipe out every tear from their eyes." And why not? For "death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."-Revelation 21:4.
God Cares-Do We?
38 The fact that God will end wickedness soon and usher in a delightful new order shows that he really cares about us. But do we care about him? If we do, we need to show it. What must we do? The Bible says: "The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever." (1 John 2:17) The kind of people God wants in his new order are those who do his will and submit to his righteous rulership. These are the kind of people who will obey his laws and contribute to making the "new earth" a fine place in which to live. People who oppose God's rule would only be troublemakers, so they will not be allowed to live there.
39 Do you want to live in God's righteous new order? Then the first thing to do is to learn God's requirements for life. Is that so much to ask? If you were offered a beautiful home in parklike surroundings, without cost, would you not take the time to find out how you could qualify? God's Word offers far more-eternal life on a paradise earth-if we search to find out what his will is for us, and then do it. The Bible says: "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ."-John 17:3.
40 Learning from the Bible will also give you and your family the practical guidance so necessary for everyday living in these troubled times. In addition, it provides true peace of mind, since it tells us why conditions are so bad and what the future holds. Most importantly, it will enable you to develop a genuine love for God, seeing that "he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him."-Hebrews 11:6.
41 Jehovah's witnesses will gladly and freely give of their time to assist you to learn more about God's provisions for life in his new order. No doubt, too, there are other questions you have about God and the Bible. Jehovah's witnesses will be happy to discuss these with you in your own home, from your own Bible. Then, rather than following an independent course of life or relying on the thinking of imperfect humans, you will be guided by the very best information available today. Hence, while there is yet time you are urged to do as the inspired counsel of God's Word says: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, . . . because he cares for you."-1 Peter 5:6, 7.