I've been struggling for years with a theological problem that I can't quite see through. It's this: why would God ever allow evil to be done in God's name?
There are a number of examples of actions by those purporting to act in God's name that seem positively evil. These include recent history (clergy abuse scandals), somewhat older history (Inquisition, Crusades), and Biblical history ("bad" kings of Israel). It's possible to quibble with any of these, but I think the general proposition stands that some very bad things have been done, publicly, in the name of the Church. So I throw these out not for specific debate in this thread, but just as examples of the sorts of problems that trouble me.
My concern is that it does not seem that a loving and kind God would allow humans to publicly misrepresent him by doing evil in his name. So does that mean God is not loving and kind? Or God does not exist (or does not have the power to lead his people)? Or that God values humans' free will even more than the integrity of his "body" in this world, the Church?
If anyone has thoughts or can point me to thoughtful resources in this area, I'd appreciate it! Also, if this has been extensively discussed already in some other thread, please feel free to post a link. My searching hasn't unearthed much...
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!