Does the Presence of
Natural Evil Preclude
the Existence of God?
A Christian Response
Richard Deem
Argument Against God from Evil
1. God is all-powerful, loving, and
perfect.
2. A perfect, loving God would create a
universe that was perfect (e.g., no evil
and suffering).
3. The universe is not perfect but
contains evil and suffering.
Therefore, an all-powerful, loving, and
perfect God does not exist.
Kinds of Evil
Moral Evil – Bad things that happen to
us that are perpetrated by moral agents
(e.g., human beings)
 Natural Evil – Bad things that happen to
us that are the result of the nature of
the universe

Natural Evil and God’s Existence
“Although an omniscient, omnipotent,
perfectly good God could be justified in
allowing moral evil, such a God is never
justified in creating a world in which
natural evil occurs.”
Brian Marston, atheist philosopher
“Because natural evil is gratuitous, its
existence is incompatible with the
existence of God.”
Fëdor Mikhailovich Dostoevski
Rejected Christian Arguments
1. Satan (or demons) are responsible for
all natural evil
2.
The Fall of mankind, due to sin,
Example:
caused
God’s physically-perfect
• Satan
harassed
Job and his family
creation to become imperfect,
through fire and wind
resulting in moral and natural evil
(young-earth argument)
•3.
The
Bibleevil
clearly
indicates
that
the
Natural
is
always
due
to
God’s
Examples:
current
laws of physics were
judgment
• The
great flood,
drought
operating
prior
to
the fallfor
(e.g.,
the
4.
Natural
evil
is
required
spiritual
• Earthquakes,
drought,
famine,
laws
of thermodynamics)
growth
(not
completely
rejected)
asteroid, hail, fire, disease
The Primary Reason for
Existence of Natural Evil
The physical laws and processes that
are required for human existence
produce, on occasion, instances of
natural evil.
 Without these laws, God’s purposes for
mankind could not be accomplished on
earth

Argument For Natural Evil

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There exists an omnipotent, omniscient,
wholly good Being.
An omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good
Being would prevent the occurrence of any
intense suffering it could, unless it could not
do so without thereby losing some greater
good or permitting some evil equally bad or
worse.
It is not the case that there exist instances of
intense suffering which an omnipotent,
omniscient Being could have prevented
without thereby losing some greater good or
permitting some evil equally bad or worse.
Natural Evil
(According to Atheists)
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Collisions in the universe (Crabtree, 2007)
Earthquakes (Tattersall, 1998, Marston, 1998,
Crabtree, 2007)
Volcanic eruptions (Marston, 1998, Crabtree, 2007)
Landslides (Tattersall, 1998)
Floods (Marston, 1998, Crabtree, 2007)
Hurricanes (Marston, 1998)
Tornadoes (Marston, 1998, Crabtree, 2007)
Lightening strikes (Rowe, 1979)
Fires (Tattersall, 1998)
Painful death from an incurable terminal disease
(Marston, 1998)
Infectious disease (Crabtree, 2007)
Animal pain (Rowe, 1979, Marston, 1998)
God’s Requirements for the
Universe
1. The universe must allow for the
existence of sentient creatures
2. These sentient creatures must have
the ability to make moral choices
3. The universe must operate by
physical laws that are reliable, so that
the sentient creatures can interact
reliably with their surroundings and
each other
4. The universe must declare the power
and glory of God
Requirement 1: Sentient Creatures

Humans to rule over the earth:
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And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moves upon the earth. (Genesis
1:28)
The LORD God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
(Genesis 2:15)
…You made him ruler over the works of your
hands; you put everything under his feet: all
flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the
birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that
swim the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:3-9)
Requirement 1: Sentient Creatures
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Humans to be in relationship with God:
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"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and
His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His
commandments; (Deuteronomy 7:9)
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8)
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus
from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans
8:11)
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together
with me in your prayers to God for me, (Romans 15:30)
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (1
Corinthians 3:16)
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the
God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be
with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and
raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the
ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He
has made to dwell in us"? (James 4:5)
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to
eternal life. (Jude 1:21)
Requirement 2: Moral Choice
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"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set
before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in
order that you may live, you and your descendants, (Deuteronomy
30:19)
"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for
yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your
fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the
Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
"Let us choose for ourselves what is right; Let us know among
ourselves what is good. (Job 34:4)
Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways.
(Proverbs 3:31)
"He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse
evil and choose good. (Isaiah 7:15)
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:3-4)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Requirement 3: Reliable, Fixed
Physical Laws
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Fixed physical laws are required for sentient
creatures to reliably interact with the world
and each other
God fixes the laws of the universe:
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“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or
fix their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:33)
Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light
by day And the fixed order of the moon and the
stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so
that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His
name: “If this fixed order departs From before
Me,” declares the LORD, “Then the offspring of
Israel also will cease From being a nation before
Me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)
Requirement 4: Universe Must
Declare the Power and Glory of God
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For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in
all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)
Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)
And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and
Amen. (Psalm 72:19)
The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
(Psalm 89:5)
Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD
and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But
the LORD made the heavens. (Psalm 96:3-5)
The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory. (Psalm 97:6)
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear
Him. (Psalm 103:11)
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth. (Psalm 108:5)
The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. (Psalm 113:4)
To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; (Psalm 136:5)
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and
heaven. (Psalm 148:13)
And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of
His glory." (Isaiah 6:3)
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts
than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)
Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched
out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the
LORD. (Jeremiah 31:37)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them;
for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that
they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)
Is Natural Evil a Necessity Under
All Possible Creations?
Is natural evil necessary given the
current laws of physics?
 Could God have used other laws of
physics to accomplish the same goals,
but without the possibility of natural
evil?

Fundamental Forces of Physics
1. Strong nuclear force (keeps protons
within atomic nuclei from flying away)
2. Weak nuclear force (responsible for
phenomena within the atomic
nucleus, such as radioactive decay)
3. Gravity (attraction between masses)
4. Electromagnetic force (which governs
interactions of charged particles)
Can the Laws Be Tweaked?
Parameter
Ratio of Electrons:Protons
Ratio of Electromagnetic Force:Gravity
Expansion Rate of Universe
Mass of Universe
Max. Deviation
37
1:10
40
1:10
55
1:10
59
1:10
120
Cosmological Constant
1:10
These numbers represent the maximum deviation from the
accepted values, that would either prevent the universe
from existing now, not having matter, or be unsuitable for
any form of life.
Let’s Try to Eliminate All Forms
of Natural Evil
Can’t change the fundamental forces of
nature significantly and retain life
 Can attempt to eliminate underlying
causes of natural evil

Elimination of natural evil must not cause
additional evil
 Elimination of natural evil must not
negatively impact God’s requirements for
the universe

Natural Evil from
Extraterrestrial Sources
Meteorites
Every year, a few people are killed
by falling meteorites
 Couldn’t God just eliminate all
space “junk” in the Solar System?
 Produces a contradiction, since
planetary systems are produced
by accretion of material
 A solar system without any small
objects would be telling a lie
about the way it was formed
(Violates requirement #3)

Create the Earth Another Way?
God could have created only one star
and one planet?
 Violates requirement #4, since the
universe would not declare God’s glory

Natural Evil Due to
Tectonic Activity
Earthquakes
On average, thousands of people are
killed every year by earthquakes.
 How do we prevent the earth from
shaking?

Earth Science 101
The earth’s continents are floating on a
molten mantle
 When the plates that make up these
continents drift into each other, stress
builds up until one of the plates gives
 Energy released results in an
earthquake

Eliminate the Earth’s Molten
Interior?
None of the other rocky planets in the
solar system have a molten core
 Also removes the earth’s magnetic
field, eliminating the Van-Allen
radiation shield
 Resulting radiation results in a greater
evil.

Get Rid of All Radiation?
Nuclear fusion (which produces heat
and radiation) is required to produce
elements heavier than helium (for rocky
planets)
 Fusion cannot be made radiation-free
without messing with the weak nuclear
force, which would prevent life from
existing at all

Earthquakes are Good!
Without movable continental plates, no
dry land would exist on earth.
 Colliding continental plates build
mountains and volcanoes
 Without land-building processes,
erosion would result in a waterworld
 Advanced spiritual life is not possible
in purely aquatic animals (contradicts
requirement #4)
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Fault Zones and Civilization
13 out of 15 of the first civilizations
developed in the vicinity of earthquake
fault zones (the exceptions being
ancient Egypt and China)
 Due to:

More abundant underground water
supplies
 Rich volcanic soils
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Tsunamis
Tsunamis occur when earthquakes
happen under large bodies of water
 Energy released by the earthquake is
transferred to the water, resulting in a
very large wave
 Can’t get rid of earthquakes or oceans
and still have advanced life
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Volcanoes
Are caused by plate tectonics
 Relatively minor impact on human
populations, with some notable
exceptions
 Cannot be stopped without serious
impacts to the land masses of the earth
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Natural Evil Due to
Weather
Landslides
Every year Californians experience
landslides due to sporadic heavy rains
 Dozens to hundreds of people are left
homeless and occasionally people are
killed
 In order to eliminate landslides, one
would have to eliminate mountains (i.e.,
plate tectonics) or rain

Floods
Kill an average of 146 people in the U.S.
every year
 Caused by flat land and excessive rain
 Cannot eliminate the water cycle
 It is unclear how atheists propose that
both floods (flat land) and landslides
(not flat land) can be eliminated
simultaneously

Floods are Good!
Some rivers throughout the world used
New Orleans
to flood every year (e.g.,
the Nile)
 Flooding brought much needed silt and
minerals to the surrounding land,
Silt
making it more fertile
 In New Orleans, control of flooding
(levees) has caused the delta to sink,
since all the silt is funneled into the
Gulf of Mexico
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Gulf of Mexico
Hurricanes/Cyclones/Typhoons
Are tropical storms that gain energy
over warm waters to produce winds in
excess of 100 mph
 Caused by uneven heating of the earth,
so that they are found in tropical
locations

Fixing Uneven Heating
Multiple Suns?
 Cannot be made to orbit each other to
produce even heating on the earth

Orbital Parameters: Obliquity
23.5° 0°
Both
One Pole
PolesFreezes
Freeze
90°
Tornadoes
Although most tornadoes occur in the
Midwest part of the United States, they
can occur in numerous locations
throughout the world
 Wind speeds can exceed 200 mph
 Tornadoes cannot be prevented except
by preventing storms or preventing
uneven heating of the earth
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Lightning
Lightning strikes from thunderstorms
kill ~100 people every year in the United
States
 Lightning is caused by the differential
charges generated within clouds
 Eliminate lightning?

Eliminate storms
 Reduce the electromagnetic force
constant (violates requirement #1)

Lightning is Good!
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High energy electrical discharge results in the
splitting of molecular nitrogen and oxygen,
When these atoms recombine, they form nitric
oxide, which is delivered to plants in the rain
( Lightning)
+

N 2 O 2   2NO

Molecular nitrogen is inert, so other than the
action of some prokaryotes, is the way in
which nitrogen becomes available for use by
plants
Wildfires
In California, wildfires cause millions of
dollars in destruction and usually a few
fatalities every year
 Atheist William Rowe used the example
of fire as natural evil, in which lightning
started a fire in a forest, which
eventually burned a young deer (read
"Bambi") that suffered for several days
before dying

Get Rid of Fires?
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Fire requirements:
Fuel
 Heat
 Oxygen

Can’t eliminate any sources of fire
 Cellular metabolism is form of
combustion
 C6H12O6 + 6O2→6CO2 + 6H2O + Heat

Biological Forms of
Natural Evil
Genetic Diseases
Caused by mutation
 Some genetic diseases are “good” (i.e.,
adaptations)
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Sickle-cell disease
 Mutation
in hemoglobin gene
 Confers resistance to malaria
(which kills 1 million people/year)
 Homozygous individuals die young
 Heterozygous individuals
suffer minimal morbidity
Sporozoites
Malaria Life Cycle
Mosquito injects sporozoites Human
Into human blood stream
Host
Merozoites infect
red blood cells
Mosquito drinks blood
containing gametocytes
Female
Male
Egg
Sperm
Sperm and egg
develop from
gametocytes
Male
Sporozoites infect
liver cells
Gametocytes
Female
Liver
cells
Merozoites
Merozoites multiply
In red blood cells
Some merozoites develop
into male and female gametocytes
Fertilized
Egg
Oocyst
Fertilized egg
differentiates and
moves into stomach
Sporozoites migrate
To salivary gland
Salivary gland
Cancer
Caused by mutation (or viruses) which
cause cells to replicate uncontrollably
 Couldn’t God have done a better job
designing life so that mutation was not
possible?

Mutation Error Rate
Parameter
Humans
Replication rate 60 bp/sec
Error rate
~2.2x10-9 per
base per
generation
Bacteria
500 bp/sec
~1x10-8 per
base per
generation
Slower replication results in fewer
errors
 However, given the laws of
thermodynamics, there is no way to
make the error rate zero
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How DNA Replication Occurs
Origins of DNA replication (every ~150 kb)
5’
3’
3’
5’
Bidirectional replication
replication bubble
Fusion of bubbles
5’
3’
5’
3’
daughter chromosomes
3’
5’
3’
5’
Molecular Machines Required for
DNA Replication
b subunit “sliding clamp”
Dimeric replicative
DNA polymerase
SSB
Okazaki
fragment
DNA polymerase I
Primer
DNA gyrase
DNA ligase
Helicase primase
SSB
Bacteria
Single-celled prokaryotes
 Indispensible to the biomes of the
world, recycling carbon and minerals
from dead organisms
 Present at greater than 107 organisms/g
in soil
 Greater than 1030 bacteria on earth
 First trophic level in a food chain

Bacteria in Humans
10X more bacteria than human cells
 Colonize the intestinal tract

Metabolize “indigestible” material
 Prevent the overgrowth of pathogens
 Make biotin and vitamin K for us
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Pathogens
Recent, poorly adapted bacteria
 Usually originate from other species in
which they are better adapted
 Can’t prevent bacteria from translocating

Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Viral Diseases
Obligate intracellular parasites
 Probably originated as prokayotic
parasites that lost much of their
molecular machinery, since they could
exploit the hosts’ molecular machinery
 Mycoplasma genitalium is an obligate
intracellular parasite that can no longer
exist as a free-living bacterium
 No way to prevent virus formation other
than direct intervention when they arise
H1N1 virus

Viruses are Good!
~1030 viruses in the ocean
 These viruses positively impact the
marine nutrient cycle
Dell’Anno, A., et al. 2008. Major viral
impact on the functioning of benthic
deep-sea ecosystems. Nature 454,
1084-1087.
Rohwer, F. and R. Vega Thurber. 2009.
Viruses manipulate the marine
environment. Nature 459: 207-212.

H1N1 virus
Animal Pain
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Produced by carnivores on their prey
Elimination of carnivores would result in
over-population of herbivore populations
and starvation
 Starvation is much more painful than
being eaten
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Produced by disease
Removes weak members
 Strengthens gene pool
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Pain is Good!
Pain is produced by pain receptors,
which transmit the signal via nerves to
our brain
 Tell us that something is wrong
 People with genetic disorders that
prevent pain reception must be
constantly watched so that they don’t
do things that destroy parts of their
bodies
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Extent of Natural Evil
Natural evil
Meteorites
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Landslides
Floods
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Lightning
Fires
Genetic diseases
Cancer
Infectious diseases
Total
% People Affected/Year
0%
0.02% (Northridge, 1994)
0.2% (Mt. St. Helens, 1980)
0.02%
0.03%
1% (Katrina, 2005)
0.006%
0.00004%
0.1%
1.3%
0.5%
0.06% (deaths)
3.2%
Natural Evil Conclusions
All physical processes that produce
natural evil are required for the proper
functioning and existence of life on
earth
 It is not the case that there exist
instances of intense suffering which an
omnipotent, omniscient Being could
have prevented without thereby losing
some greater good or permitting some
evil equally bad or worse.

The Tinkering God?
Yes, God can (and has) intervened in
the laws of physics to prevent some
natural evil (i.e., miracles)
 Why couldn’t God intervene to prevent
all natural evil?

People would become complacent,
expecting God to rescue them whenever
they messed up
 The laws of physics would be deemed
unreliable, since God would be constantly
breaking them

Different Laws of Physics?
Nearly all natural evil is the direct result
of the laws of thermodynamics
 Eliminate the laws of thermodynamics

no stars
 no electromagnetic radiation (including
light
 no machines (including biological ones)
that depend on heat/energy flow

The Perfect Universe
Characteristic
There will be no Sun or
moon or stars
No more death, suffering,
pain
No sea
Gravity will be absent or
greatly reduced
Believers will receive a
spiritual, non-physical body
No sin
Implication
No thermodynamics
No thermodynamics
No water cycle
Heaven does not
contain matter (?)
Heaven does not
contain matter (?)
Limited free will?