Some claim that God is evil; is He? Is the Bible evil?

from the old testament

• Some accuse God of being evil because He directly (or by command) kills people. To start, there is a distinction between murder and killing someone to satisfy justice. If God killed anyone unjustly, then He would be a murderer and, thus, evil. But death exists because humanity, made in God's image and given moral responsibility, chose to disobey Him. Though created to reflect God’s character (Genesis 1:26–27), Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, bringing God's promised judgment: death (Genesis 2:17; 3:6, 19). Every death since is a consequence of that rebellion—God’s just penalty for sin.
• The first judicial mass execution occurred in Genesis 6. Because of Adam’s sin, humanity became corrupt, and the world was filled with evil. “Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In righteous judgment, God declared, “I will blot out man whom I have created” (Genesis 6:7). As Creator, He had the right to bring immediate justice. Their destruction in the flood was not evil—they received the just penalty their sin deserved.
• In another example of God’s direct execution of death, Exodus 12:29 says, “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.” (Exodus 12:29). Pharoah and the Egyptians were sinning by keeping God’s people in slavery and by refusing Moses’s request to set them free. The result was, after many warnings, God killed every firstborn in Egypt. Because of Pharoah’s rebellion against the Lord, His judgment was righteous, albeit terrifying.
• Though God justly punished the Egyptians with death, at the same time, He mercifully provided a way of escape from that judgment—the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:13). That merciful offer to Israel foreshadowed God’s offer to the world through Jesus (see the New Testament section).
• God does not apologize for killing anyone because, as the Creator, He has full authority over life and death. He said, “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39).
• Neither God nor His Word are evil. The Bible records real events without covering up human sin. It also clearly teaches that death is the judicial penalty for rebellion: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God, though patient and long-suffering, sometimes brings that judgment swiftly, according to His perfect justice (Deuteronomy 32:4).

from the new testament

• Jesus warned His disciples to not fear oppressors (Matthew 10:28). God, as the righteous Judge, is the only One who judges eternally. Whether one dies a “natural” death or at the hands of an oppressor or even directly by God, God is the final Judge who makes sure justice is complete.
• God’s eternal judgment against unbelievers is known as the second death (Revelation 20:14–15). The “lake of fire” is hell, and the “book of life” lists those who have trusted in Jesus. Those who have not trusted in Him will die eternally. It is more than physical death; it is eternal death.
• God’s justice does not make Him evil; rather, He is the true Judge (Romans 1:18).
• Paul proposed a rhetorical question, which can be summarized as: “If God inflicts wrath, is He unjust?” (Romans 3:5). Paul forcefully responded, “By no means! For then how could God judge the world?” (Romans 3:6). If God did not judge evil and sinners, He would be unjust because unpunished sin would remain.
• Though most of the time, people don’t experience death right after sinning, there is a case in the New Testament where God inflicted His judgment immediately with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–10). However, this wasn’t a murder—it was a holy act of judgment on hypocrisy at a critical time in church history.
• God promised a final judgment at the end of time (Revelation 19:11, 15). The final judgment is not an evil, bloodthirsty massacre—it is the rightful, judicial conclusion of a world that rejected its Creator.
• There is one other death that God initiated. In John 3:16, we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” “Perish” is another way of saying “die.” God sent His Son to extend eternal life to men and women who otherwise deserve only wrath and eternal death.
• Paul said, “God put forward [Jesus] as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25a). A propitiation is a blood sacrifice that appeases the wrath of God. Jesus, being fully God, never sinned. However, being fully human, He lived like us and died in our place (Hebrews 4:15). This shows us how loving God is—not evil.
• Though death is our fair punishment for sin (Romans 6:23a), “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Those who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus’s life and death will be saved from the day of wrath (Romans 5:9).

implications for today

Many who accuse God of being evil are not sincerely seeking to understand what the Bible teaches. Often, such accusations are an attempt to justify personal sin by shifting blame. The very question, “Is God evil?” reveals how upside-down human morality has become. In a culture that idolizes autonomy, any divine act of judgment is seen as tyranny. But Scripture makes it clear: God—not humanity—is the standard of justice. Ironically, those who condemn God often do so to excuse the very evil He opposes.

Yet God will not excuse rebellion. He is not cruel or arbitrary, like a child tormenting insects for fun. He is the holy and righteous Judge, who will not tolerate sin. When He takes a life—whether directly or through what we call “natural” means—He does so with perfect justice. We are not owed life. In fact, we deserve death because all have sinned. And yet, this same Judge is also merciful. He has held back His final judgment, giving time for repentance.

The cross is where God’s justice and mercy meet. There, the Judge took the place of the guilty. Jesus bore the punishment we deserved so that God could remain just and still forgive sinners. Those who trust in Christ have already passed through judgment because their sin has been paid for.

To call God evil is to misunderstand both His holiness and the gravity of sin. But to trust Him as Judge and Savior is to find forgiveness, hope, and lasting peace.