Apparently the author has left “free will” out his little theorum.
Evil exists because God has given us free will, and because, though weakness or wickedness, we choose evil.
We sin because we are sinners.
Our “free will” died in the Garden on the horrible day when our parents first sinned.
Are you one of those people who insists that our free will is a gift from God? By your definition it would appear to be a curse.
Which is it?
"The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
When we choose to ignore or deliberately break these two commandments our thoughts, words and deeds eventually become less and less "good" and more and more "evil". Because God is completely Good and Loving, anything which is NOT done from the motivation of the love of God and the love of my neighbor is less than Good & Loving. Initially these thoughts, words and deeds may appear to be from a "good" person but eventually the errors accumulate and the results become labeled as "evil" by even the least spiritual among us.
The evil began when I chose my way over God's way.
The theme song of evil is Sinatra's "I Did it MY Way!"
But is it fair, when the ‘free will’ of others and their choice of evil spills over into lives of others?
I agree. God could easily have made us automatons that worshipped Him incessantly, incapable of the choice to do otherwise. But I believe that God made us for His glory, that we would freely choose to love Him and worship Him. The free will to love God or not by its nature allows for evil to exist in the world. God wants us to overcome this evil, and He is willing to help us do so if we come to Him.
I see our relationship to God as not that different from a child’s relationship with a parent. A parent can demand that a child say that he loves the parent, but that is not true love. One of the best feelings there is is when a child comes to a parent and freely tells the parent that he loves him/her. The “art” that children make for their parents is of little intrinsic value, but we cherish it. We keep the dandelions our children bring to us as flowers because they are a sign of our children’s love for us.
Our so-called good deeds are, to God, not of any intrinsic value, but He values them when they done in His name.
At least that is my belief.