Creation and the Problem of Evil
God as Creator
Christians believe that God created the universe and everything in it. The two primary sources for this belief are Genesis 1–3 and the opening of John’s Gospel. Together they present creation as a deliberate act of a loving, purposeful God.
In Genesis chapter 1, God creates the world in six days and declares it “very good.” The Spirit of God hovers over the waters in Genesis 1:2, showing the Holy Spirit’s role as the agent of creation alongside the Father. Human beings are created last and given dominion over the earth, made in God’s image (imago Dei). God rests on the seventh day — establishing Shabbat — and the pattern of creation-rest reflects an ordered, intentional universe.
In John 1, creation is framed through the concept of the Word (Logos): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.” John identifies this Word as Jesus, linking him to creation before his birth and establishing his pre-existence. The Apostles’ Creed affirms this: God is “maker of heaven and earth.”
Paul writes in Romans 1:20 that God’s “eternal power and divine nature” are visible through what has been made — a text that underpins natural theology (the argument that creation itself reveals God).
In Christian belief, creation involves all three persons of the Trinity: God the Father as creator, the Holy Spirit as the agent hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2), and the Word (Jesus, John 1) as the one through whom all things were made. Creation is therefore a Trinitarian act.
Christians differ significantly on how to read Genesis 1–3. A literal interpretation treats the account as historical fact: the world was created in six 24-hour days, a few thousand years ago. This view is associated with Young Earth Creationism and is held by many conservative Evangelical Christians who believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God.
By contrast, a metaphorical interpretation treats Genesis as theological poetry rather than science. Most mainstream Catholic, Anglican and liberal Protestant theologians hold this view, arguing that Genesis teaches who created the world and why (God, for a purpose), not how or when. This allows them to accept the scientific consensus on evolution and the age of the universe without conflict with their faith.
The Fall and Original Sin
The Fall is described in Genesis 3:1–19. Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, eat the fruit God had forbidden. As a result, they are expelled from the Garden of Eden, experience shame, and must live with pain, toil and death. Christians interpret this as the first misuse of Free Will — the freedom God gave human beings, which they used against his command.
The Fall gives rise to the doctrine of original sin. Developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE), this teaching holds that the sin of Adam has been passed down to every human being. No one is born morally neutral — all inherit a bias towards self-interest and away from God. This is why Christians believe they need salvation: without God’s intervention, sin dominates human life.
The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 reflects awareness of this: it includes a petition to be forgiven sins and to be delivered from evil, suggesting that the ongoing reality of sin and temptation is something Christians must regularly bring before God.
The Fall (Genesis 3:1–19) describes Adam and Eve disobeying God, misusing Free Will. Augustine developed the doctrine of original sin from this: all humans inherit a tendency towards sin from Adam. This is why Christians believe the whole of humanity needs saving by Christ.
Types of Evil and Suffering
The existence of evil and suffering is one of the hardest challenges for Christian belief in a loving, all-powerful God. Theologians distinguish two types:
Moral evil arises from the free choices of human beings. When people choose to harm others, lie, exploit or oppress, they cause moral evil. Christians see this as the direct result of the Fall: human Free Will, given by God so that love could be genuine, has been used to cause immense suffering.
Natural evil arises from natural processes — earthquakes, disease, floods, cancer — without any human choice behind them. This kind of suffering is more difficult to explain, since it does not obviously result from human sin.
The problem of evil and suffering asks: if God is omnipotent (able to prevent evil), omniscient (aware of it) and benevolent (willing to prevent it), why does evil exist? This challenge is called the ‘inconsistent triad’.
Christians offer several responses. One is the Free Will defence: God gave humans freedom to love or reject him; removing evil would mean removing freedom. Another is that suffering can produce spiritual growth and character. The book of Job explores a different angle: Job suffers despite being righteous, and God’s response from the whirlwind stresses the limits of human understanding. Some Christians point to Romans 8, which teaches that present suffering “is not worth comparing” with future glory. Others simply acknowledge the mystery — that God’s ways are beyond full human comprehension.