Defeating Evil: How God Glorifies Himself in a Dark World

by Scott Christensen

Revised, adapted, and condensed for a broader audience, this companion edition to Scott Christensen’s lauded What about Evil? shows how sin, evil, corruption, and death fit into redemptive history. Exploring the storyline of Scripture and addressing practical concerns, Christensen shows that God’s ultimate end in creation is to maximize his glory before his image-bearers by defeating evil through Christ’s atoning work.

Endorsements“The problem of evil is widely considered the hardest of all theological If God is omnipotent, sovereign, and good, why does evil exist? Where did it come from? Why does it persist, if a benevolent God has the power to eliminate it? Scripture is full of truths that shed light on those questions, and Scott Christensen skillfully brings them together in this helpful, insightful, and ultimately satisfying analysis. As a matter of fact, the ultimate biblical answer to the problem of evil is condensed and implied in this book’s title and Defeating How God Glorifies Himself in a Dark World. I don’t know of a better or more readable unfolding of that truth than Scott’s excellent, well-written work.”

—John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California; Chancellor Emeritus, The Master’s University and Seminary

“Scott Christensen has done it again! Following on the heels of his longer, groundbreaking book on the difficult challenge of the problem of evil, What about Evil?, Christensen has provided a more accessible version of it in Defeating Evil. What thrills me about the publication of this new book is that more people will be able to read it. Christensen provides some of the best biblical and theological thinking on why God has allowed sin and evil to exist in his good world; for those who may not have time to read the longer work, this shorter version is precisely what is needed. The only satisfying answer to the problem of evil from a biblical viewpoint is the ‘greater-glory theodicy’ viewed in terms of the glory of our triune God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a day when sound biblical and theological answers to the problem of evil are wanting, this book fills a huge need. I pray that it will have a wide readership so that the church will be grounded in the truth of God’s Word and thus have faithful answers to one of the most difficult questions of Christian theology.”

—Stephen J. Wellum, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; editor, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology

“As we experience pain and evil in our sin-cursed world, we are often tempted to cry with Asaph, ‘But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’ (Ps. 73:2–3). How can we reconcile the biblical teaching that God is all-powerful and good with what appears to be increasingly growing wickedness around us? In Defeating Evil, Scott Christensen helpfully answers the age-old problem of evil from Scripture. This book is readable, engaging, devotional, and uplifting for any Christian who needs to find hope in God in the midst of the darkness of this world.”

—Scott Aniol, Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, G3 Ministries; Professor, Pastoral Theology, Grace Bible Theological Seminary; author, Musing on God’s Music and Citizens and Exiles

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2024

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sickness (both physical and mental), mass shooting, war, sexual immorality, unspeakable crimes against children. The list of evil seems to be endless. But why? Where’s God? Why would He let this happen? If God is sovereign over all things, why is there so much pain? Why would a merciful god not make life easy, restful and beautiful for those that love him and do their best to follow his commands? If you’ve got questions…the Bible has answers and Scott shows us where to find those answers and unpacks the biblical nuggets that we can tuck away in our hearts. Nuggets of truth that we can cling to when the ugliness that surround us gets to be too much to bare. It’s a heavy book but it is uplifting and hopeful at the same time. Thank you Scott for condensing your book “What About Evil” and brining it to the lay folks. Thank you a hundred time over.

“As strange and mysterious as it seems, the ultimate outcome from any given occurrence of evil is better than if the evil had never happened in the first place.” pg.96

“What evil men, dastardly demons, and the devil himself mean for evil, God always means for good.” pg 105

“Thus, God is the “ultimate cause of everything” without being the direct cause of evil.” pg. 90

[Randall Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem of evil is universal: If God is good and all-powerful, then why is there so much evil in the world? The answer to this question differs dramatically depending on who you see as supreme. A worldview that sees humans as the center of the universe likely concludes that God is either not good or not powerful enough to do something about evil. A worldview grounded in the Biblical truth that all things exist to glorify God will explore how and why the existence of evil serves to glorify God.

This book's theodicy (defense of God) is based on a Biblical understanding of God, humans, good and evil, and the purpose for which God created everything. The author demonstrates that God is at the center of all reality (not human beings), that God’s purpose in creation is to put his own glory on display, and that good and evil were purposely designed by God to magnify his glory and to do so supremely.

On this basis, the author posits and supports the "greater glory" theodicy: “Evil exists so that the Father would have occasion to put the glory of His grace on full display through the work of the Son’s redemption…God created the universe, and particularly the world, to serve as a theater for his glory…The effusive favor that God showers on the undeserving elect few is designed to make known the riches of His glory…this is the greater-glory theodicy. It is the theodicy of Scripture."

I highly commend the full book for its consideration of alternative views, its Biblical support for its conclusion, and greater depth with which the reader can know God and worship His majesty and mystery.

[Jared Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Christensen, in his book Defeating Evil, addresses what has become known as "the problem of evil." He shows how the Christian Scriptures reveal the answer to the "problem." Apart from a holy, sovereign, and good God, there is no good, and thus, without the Christian God, there is no such thing as evil. And God has provided the answer to evil by sending His only begotten Son to defeat evil by conquering death, conquering the evil one, redeeming His people, judging His enemies, and ruling a kingdom of righteousness for all eternity.

If you're an atheist, this book will show you that you have no foundation from which to claim there is "a problem of evil," and you also have no foundation from which to provide a remedy for the problem. If you're a Christian, the biblically faithful answers, illustrations, and arguments in this book will strengthen your faith and encourage you to enjoy God's holiness, goodness, and sovereignty, by the Holy Spirit through Son to the Father. We do not know exactly why particular evils take place, but we do know the God who does. And knowing Him is enough.

[David Clouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content is very good in this. I didn't realize that this was a condensed version of a bigger book on evil, and now I wish I had purchased that book instead. This is because I felt like Christensen's treatment of certain topics at the beginning were a bit shallow and not fully expressed. It's likely that it's better done in his bigger book. After we get more into his defense for the "greater-glory" theodicy, I found his content well laid out, challenging, but also very biblical. It really helped me think differently and more broadly about the topic of evil, its origins, its purpose, and where God is in it all. Definitely a book to wrestle with, but worth the time and effort. I'll likely read his larger book later to get a better perspective on his ideas.

[Adam Kareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than just a shorter version of What about Evil? This book while being more accessible for the general public is also its own work as it not only dives into the greater glory theodicy of What about Evil? As well as putting this idea into the redemption story of God’s world.
Good read.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably a 5 star Reformed answer to the problem of evil. But I'm not Reformed, so I disagree strongly with the implications Reformed theology has on the problem of evil. I disagree with his starting premise, so I disagree with most of what he has to say about why evil exists.

[Shannon Herzog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great theology of God working through evil for “greater glory”. Pretty intellectual. Wouldn’t recommend for someone in the midst of personal/particular suffering (for that, I love Tim Kellers ‘Walking w/ God through Pain and Suffering!’)

[Gareth Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally very good.

[Clayton Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly written. Explains the “greater glory theodicy.” God allows evil in this world because, in comparison, it shows the magnitude of His glory. A world that didn’t need a redeemer would not display the full majesty of God’s glory.

[Matthew Groen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but a fantastic guide through the thick fog of the problem of evil. Great resource for the layman.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I found his insights deeply thought-provoking, and found myself weeping at the beauty of the Gospel.

[Patrick S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much of this review will parallel the review for the longer book What About Evil. With Defeating Evil, Christensen has streamlined his argument while keeping a great deal of what made What About Evil by top recommendation for theodicy and one that has personally impacted me and my sanctification after reading it. Christensen does deal with other argumentation but boils down the Reformed/Arminian distinction to a few of the key distinctions. Where this book shines is what was the biggest surprise to me when reading What About Evil, it's the focus on why this is a theodicy (a reason for) and not just a defense of evil. The big focus on the theodicy being the means by which we see in Romans 9 why God allows for evil to take place - to focus on the glory of God in the fullness of revelation. While I do think the book loses some of the biggest apologetics in both theodicy and defense, I don't think it suffers. It allows a certain group of readers who are apprehensive of reading an 800-page book but the message about the glory of God seen in all areas of life in this 300-page book is still useful and impactful. This is the book I would recommend to my friends at church while recommending them to checking out where I went through What About Evil on the Cave To The Cross website. Final Grade - A

[Pat Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Below is the review I wrote on Scott Christensen’s larger volume, “What About Evil”. This new book, “Defeating Evil: How God Glorifies Himself in a Dark World”, is basically a smaller edition of that book, with some updates.

As strange as it seems, we thank God for the fall of our human parents. We do no praise their arrogance and rebellion. We praise God for wisely structuring their fall to bring about the glory of redemption. I assure you that we would want it no other way!” This quote is from page 457 of “What About Evil” by Scott Christensen.

The quote above seems to be a good representation of the basic “Felix Culpa” (Greater Good Theodicy) explanation that Christensen uses to account for evil. He doesn’t believe that God is the author of sin, but that God did ordain the fall for His greater glory in redemption through Jesus Christ.

I am not much of a philosopher, so some of this required reading, and re-reading, passages, and I’m still not sure I fully comprehended. However, the book should be a fairly straight forward read for anyone with a basic Philosophical knowledge. I could see this used as an apologetic tool for someone to talk to others about evil in this world.

I would highly recommend the book, to Christian or a non-Christian.

“Take up and Read”. - St. Augustine

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Defeating Evil” is a much needed treatise on understanding why evil exists in God’s world and His purpose for allowing it to occur. Scott Christensen does a wonderful job of approaching this difficult subject in a manner that speaks to the everyday Christian. He breaks down what evil is and the various theological approaches to understanding the matter. He walks his readers through what Scripture tells about about the sovereignty of God and how it applies to His allowing evil to occur in this world. And he explains that God does indeed have a purpose for evil, a purpose which always points us back to the gospel and the glory of God. This text should be required reading in all churches and I encourage pastors to begin including this book in their church libraries and bookstores.

[Josh Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christianson gives a solidly written introduction to the ideas of Calvinism & Arminianism along with his primary argument supporting the former being the Greater Good/Glory theodicy. After this, Christianson goes down some well trod roads including common story structure and how the grander story of the Bible fits into it; most of this writing feels more akin to a book report than a discussion on the matter