The World is Under a Curse

Yesterday I posted about a theological issue: how can we reconcile God’s sovereignty to bad things that happen such as bridge collapses? If God is good and powerful, why do bad things happen?

On one hand, Scripture explains why bad things like earthquakes, floods, and diseases happen. Genesis 3:17-19 teach that natural evil – the bad things that happen like disasters and diseases – are a result of the curse placed on this world due to moral evil. One day God will remove this curse and this whole world will be free of the curse again.

Some people stop here. Bad things happen because this world is under a curse. This still leaves us with a question, though: what role does the sovereignty of God play in all of this? Some argue that this question is driven by a theological system. But some Scriptures seem to raise the issue as well. You also have to ask what God’s sovereignty has to do with moral evil, and human freedom, for that matter.

Tomorrow I’ll begin to tackle passages that address the relationship of God’s sovereignty to natural evil.