Introduction William Lane Craig writes, “The communist torturers often said, ‘There is no God, no Hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’ I have heard one torturer even say, ‘I thank God, in whom I don’t believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.’ He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners.” 1 “Evil exists” is a statement that no-one will deny. In fact, evil has existed since the beginning of history. Evil was the cause of banishment (Genesis 3); Evil was the reason for destruction (Genesis 9); Evil was the reason for the dispersion of people and the creation of languages (Genesis 11); it could even be argued that evil was in the beginning at the time of creation when God called the things he was creating “good” (Genesis 1:4). Evil was the reason for the promises to Abraham that would one day set the world to rights. Yet, even with the promise to Abraham being fulfilled evil is still alive and doing quite well. Even as this is being written a mass shooting is taking place in San Bernardino, California. This brings up one of the biggest conundrums that Christians face: (1) God created everything; (2) Evil is a thing; (3) God then must have created evil. The question then is if a God whose eyes are too pure to look on sin (Habakkuk 1:3) can be responsible for the existence/creation of evil. Since the events of September 11, 2001, it seems that evil has taken a more prominent role in everyday life. Somehow, evil seems to have taken some people by surprise to the point that New Testament scholar N. T. Wright wrote, “The odd thing about this new concentration on evil is that it seems to have taken many people, not least politicians and the media, by surprise.” 2 While it has been said, and is being said, that evil is on the rise, it has to be remembered that evil is a relative word. The world is battling radical Islamic terrorist, also called ISIS, due to their 1 William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (Wheaton: Crossways, 2008), 81. 2 N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God (Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2006), Chpt.1, under “Evil is Still a Four Letter Word.