Rules of Engagement: God’s Permission of Evil in Light of Selected Cases of Scripture

Abstract

Abstract This article addresses the problem of God’s permission of evil from the perspective of biblical theology. For the purposes of this article, to say God permits a given evil occurrence is to say that God possesses the sheer power to prevent that evil. If God is powerful enough to prevent evils and sometimes does so, as the Bible portrays, why does God permit so much evil? This article surveys selected biblical cases and argues that such cases provide evidence for a rules-of-engagement framework that sheds light on God’s permission of evil within the context of biblical theology. Specifically, this article: (1) suggests that, in the context of a cosmic conflict, there may be “rules of engagement” that operate as temporary divine self-limitations regarding God’s prevention of evil and (2) briefly considers how a rules-of-engagement framework might advance the discussion regarding God’s permission of evil in the context of biblical theology.