In his book Unanswered, Jeremiah Johnston wrote that the number-one reason people walk away from faith in God is experiencing an unexpected personal tragedy. He described interviewing atheists who had once been believers. They told him that the reason they doubt the existence of God is “the world is not as it ought to be.” That raises the question of how the world ought to be and how we can know.
As Johnston wrote, stating that the world is not as it ought to be “infers a standard of objective worldwide virtue and goodness.” Where does that standard come from? From an atheist viewpoint, where could it come from? If the world is a cosmic accident that just happened and we are an evolving collection of molecules we call life, what is the criterion for deciding how the world ought to be? Who gives us the right to make that judgment?
Why should we expect anything good in this world? How can we define good, and how can we know the difference between good and evil? Skeptics can’t accept the idea of a God who cares when there is so much evil in the world. The question is: how can there be evil unless there is good, and how can there be good without God? What is the atheist using to define evil—or good?
Going beyond the existence of good and evil, why is there love? What is the source of love? Nobody can truthfully say that there is no such thing as love. The Bible tells us that God IS Love. (See 1John 4:8 and 16.) Love comes from God, in whose image we are made. God is also good, and without goodness, how can we define evil?
Yes, the world is not what it ought to be, but we cannot deny God’s existence because of that fact. Evil is obvious because good exists. Good and love exist because God exists. When someone asks why God allows evil, remember that evil exists because humans allow it. It is humans who have brought evil into the world, and it is up to the followers of Jesus to combat that evil with love.
We must begin by accepting God’s love, demonstrated by the sacrifice of His Son. When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we can share God’s love with others. Love and goodness, which come from God, can overcome the problem of evil. Those who deny the existence of God have no basis to know how the world ought to be.
— Roland Earnst © 2026