The Morning I Listened
I was on a certain media site early this morning. Quiet room. Coffee in hand.
A voice asked, “If God is good, why do parasites blind kids? Did God create cancer?” The room went silent. It was an honest question, not a trap.
I didn’t jump in. I rarely do. I am non-confrontational by nature. I write blogs that grow out of what I hear people ask. Listening gives me clearer words than arguing ever will.
So this post is the answer I would have shared if I had taken the mic. Short. Plain. Respectful. You do not need to agree to follow the logic.
Start Here:
There are two kinds of “evil.”
Moral evil is what people choose. Cruelty. Lies. Abuse.
Natural evil is suffering that flows from the way nature runs. Disease. Disasters. Parasites. Cancer.
They are not the same problem. So we should not treat them like one.
The Christian claim is careful. We do not say “pain is good.”
We say the world began good, was fractured, and is now beautiful and broken at the same time (Romans 8:20–22, NKJV).
God does not tempt or enjoy harm (James 1:13). He enters the mess in Jesus, heals, and promises a final repair.
How Do “Natural Evils” Even Happen?
Short answer: a law-driven world.
Life runs on stable rules. Cells divide. Genes copy. Ecosystems compete. Gravity is constant.
Those same rules let science work and medicine work. The benefit is huge. The edge is sharp.
Sometimes cells escape control. We call that cancer.
Sometimes organisms exploit niches. We call some of them parasites.
There is no moral intent inside a cell or a worm. There is a system that usually brings life, which sometimes allows harm.
Could God stop every sad outcome? Yes.
Would a world with constant overrides still be knowable or free? Not really.
If every consequence is removed on demand, freedom becomes theater, and science becomes noise.
Why Allow a World Like This?
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Stable laws make love and learning possible.
You can keep promises tomorrow because nature is consistent today. -
Real freedom requires real consequences.
If nothing painful can ever follow any choice, choices are not meaningful. -
Character forms under resistance.
Courage, compassion, perseverance grow in real struggle, not in a padded universe.
None of this makes any single tragedy “okay.”
It explains why a world that allows great goods also permits real risks.
What the Christian Story Actually Says
Creation good. “Very good” is the opening note.
Fracture entered. Relationship with God broke. Creation started to groan (Romans 5; Romans 8:20–22).
God with us. Jesus steps into suffering. He heals. He bears injustice. He defeats death.
Hope. A promised future with no death, no sorrow, no pain (Revelation 21:4).
In the meantime, we are told to push back on suffering now. Heal. Feed. Defend. Research. Love.
“The LORD will fight for you; you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:14, NKJV)
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10, NKJV)
How Sin Entered the World (Romans 5:12)
What happened on earth.
“Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). Adam chose the lie over God’s word. Sin entered the human story. Fellowship broke. Death and disorder followed.
Where it came from before it entered.
Sin did not originate in the material world. It began as spiritual rebellion. Scripture speaks of an exalted being lifted up in pride (Ezekiel 28:12–17). Isaiah pictures the same fall with the “I will” pride statements (Isaiah 14:12–15). Jesus names the devil “a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The devil did not create; he perverted what God created good. It formed from an immaterial realm and then touched our material world.
Putting it together.
• Origin (immaterial): Pride and deception in the spiritual realm.
• Entry (material): Humanity agreed with that lie. Through Adam, sin entered our world (Romans 5:12).
• Result: Broken fellowship, death, and a creation that now “groans.”
• Hope: Christ, the “last Adam,” brings righteousness and life to those who receive Him (Romans 5:17–19; 1 Corinthians 15:22).
Short definition: Sin is not a thing God made; it is goodness bent—truth twisted, love misdirected, worship misplaced.
Straight Answers to Hard Examples
“The worm that can eat a child’s eye.”
In scientific terms: parasitism inside a competitive ecosystem.
In Christian terms: tragic fruit of a broken creation.
Response: sanitation, medicine, prevention, compassion. Christians are called to fight this, not excuse it.
“Did God create cancer?”
Christians do not say “God created cancer to hurt people.”
Cancer is a by-product of the same cell machinery that normally keeps you alive and heals your wounds.
God is not the author of evil. He is the healer and redeemer inside a world that often hurts.
Common Pushbacks
“An all-powerful God could make freedom without suffering.”
Maybe in theory. But to keep meaningful freedom and reliable laws, removing every harmful outcome on demand collapses the very framework that makes choices real and science possible.
“What about animal suffering or deep time?”
Christians hold different views. The debate is real.
The central claim is not that we can map every pain.
It is that God has acted in history to deal with evil at its root and will finish the job.
If You’re Truly Skeptical, Try This,
Ask a clean question:
“If God abolished every painful consequence today, would we still have genuine freedom and a knowable world tomorrow?”
Then a human one:
“If God exists and has acted, would I want to know? What would count as good evidence for me?”
You do not need to fake faith to ask fair questions.
A Quiet Prayer You Can Borrow (Optional)
Father, if You are there, I am listening.
I do not want slogans. I want truth.
If You are real, make Yourself known in a way I can understand.
Give me courage to follow truth where it leads. Amen.
Key Scriptures (NKJV)
• Romans 8:20–22 - Creation “groans” for redemption.
• James 1:13 - God does not tempt with evil.
• John 11 - Jesus weeps, then raises Lazarus.
• Revelation 21:4 - No more death, sorrow, or pain.
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