Clement of Alexandria, AD 150-215, said, “So in no respect is God the author of evil . . . since free choice and inclination originate sins.”8 According to the early church fathers, the tragic and terrible current state of the world is caused by angels and humans misusing their free wills. Jesus instructed us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Why would there be a need to pray that if everything that happens on earth was already God’s will? This presupposes that God’s will is not always being done on earth.
