In what follows, I provide a brief argument (four propositions and a conclusion) that seeks to make sense of evil in the world. The argument is based on the metanarrative of Scripture—creation, fall, and redemption; together with the revelation of God concerning his overarching purpose for creation and history. I call this the Greater Glory Theodicy because it seeks to locate the primary solution to the problem of evil in that which brings God the greatest glory—the atoning work of Christ.

One of the perennial conundrums of the Christian worldview is seeking to make sense of the ubiquitous presence of evil in the world. How can such malevolent conditions persist under the hand of a perfectly righteous God who abhors all manner of wickedness and yet has the requisite power to quickly dispense with it? This is the classic problem of evil or theodicy. A theodicy is an attempt to justify the ways of God in the face of evil. The logical problem poses a trilemma. God has revealed himself as being (1) omnibenevolent and (2) omnipotent which is juxtaposed with the fact that we also have a world filled with (3) evil. The undeniable reality of evil would appear to place one or both of these suppositions about God in jeopardy. However, to be faithful to God’s infallible self-revelation, we cannot dispense with these truths. This means there is some explaining to do.

Most Christian scholars who tackle the problem of evil accept God’s perfect goodness and power. However, they are content to simply defend God against charges that he is somehow culpable for the seemingly unfortunate intrusion of evil upon his good creation. Few are compelled to speculate about whether God has a positive purpose in permitting evil; or dare we say, ordaining it for some good end? But is the attempt to formulate a positive theodicy as ill-advised as some claim? I do not think so. The grand narrative of Scripture provides a compelling theodicy whose locus is the cross of Christ. The atoning work of Christ does not answer every last question the multifarious quandaries of evil and suffering present, but it addresses the broadest and most important question—why does evil exist in the first place?

The Monomyth and the Metanarrative of Scripture

The triple movement that forms the metanarrative of Scripture is part of the familiar parlance of biblical theology—creation, fall and redemption. This summary of the biblical plot is the paradigmatic example of what many literary critics call the monomyth in storytelling. The monomyth is a near universal pattern that makes all serious storytelling (whether history or fiction) so captivating. If a story is to grip an audience and draw hearers (or readers or watchers) to the edge of their seats, a crisis must be introduced—a compelling conflict that cries out for a hero to bring it resolution in the course of the story. A fledgling warrior must save his people from a superior foe. Think Braveheart. Think David and Goliath. A beautiful but obscure and lowly maid must be rescued by a handsome prince. ThinkCinderella. Think Ruth and Boaz. A visionary who cannot catch a break must overcome impossible obstacles to meet success. Think Thomas Edison. Think Nehemiah. The ideal monomythic pattern in storytelling follows a “U” shaped plot arc—good followed by crisis followed by restoration to the good. C. S. Lewis calls the storyline of the Bible the “True Myth” because it embodies this universal mythopoetic pattern and invests it with truth—not only truth in terms of the Bible’s historical veracity, but in terms of how the Bible solves the primary crisis of humanity: how our sin has alienated us from God and his good design for us.

Subsequently, the presence of evil in the world, dating back to the serpent slithering into the garden and tempting our parents to reject God, is the crisis of the Bible’s grand story, the crisis of history and humanity itself. The crisis thrusts us into an impossible predicament we cannot solve on our own.

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