Did God Create Evil?

Dr. Huk-N-Duck

Dr. Huk-N-Duck

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I’m beginning this thread from another thread that was really unrelated. I think this deserves its own dedicated area. The gist of the conversation was that God allowed/allows evil, but is not the author of it. However, if God invented everything/everyone (and thus existed prior to everything/everyone) then does one come to the uncomfortable conclusion that God invented evil? I think we’re getting more into philosophical territory here than theological territory, but I think this topic should be fleshed out.
 
Colloquially I would define evil as an action or person who is opposed to the goodness of God.
 
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31

Everything that God created was good. Evil is the twisting of or departing from the created order.
 
voicecrying said:
So it's an adjective - evil action, evil person - as opposed to a thing.
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Yeah, I don't think that evil exists in the abstract. It is something that is done, or the description of a person or thing.
 
Huk said:
Was it God’s plan or just foreknowledge that evil would exist?
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Both. God obviously has foreknowledge, but it isn't merely knowledge of future events. God knows what will happen, because it's his plan that it should happen.

Divine foreknowledge (prognosis, in Greek) isn't merely prior knowledge. It's part of the divine decree. Note, for example, in Acts 2:23 where foreknowledge is connected to God's "definite plan" with respect to the crucifixion.
 
Ransom said:
Both. God obviously has foreknowledge, but it isn't merely knowledge of future events. God knows what will happen, because it's his plan that it should happen.

Divine foreknowledge (prognosis, in Greek) isn't merely prior knowledge. It's part of the divine decree. Note, for example, in Acts 2:23 where foreknowledge is connected to God's "definite plan" with respect to the crucifixion.
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David Hume, a skeptic, wrote of the “problem of evil”: Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? then where does evil come from?
Perhaps the best defense I’ve seen, is the simple word reason. Why does God allow earthquakes, tsunamis, childhood illnesses, etc.? Because we, as simple humans, cannot conceive of the reasoning behind the greater good. I suppose free will and other arguments can be made, but reason is probably the most powerful to me. If half the world is wiped out in a nuclear war, although it may not seem just, there is still reason behind it, though we might not ever comprehend.
 
Huk said:
Was it God’s plan or just foreknowledge that evil would exist?
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I would say it was his foreknowledge. I don't believe that God would plan evil...It's not in his nature.
 
Huk said:
David Hume, a skeptic, wrote of the “problem of evil”: Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? then where does evil come from?
Perhaps the best defense I’ve seen, is the simple word reason. Why does God allow earthquakes, tsunamis, childhood illnesses, etc.? Because we, as simple humans, cannot conceive of the reasoning behind the greater good. I suppose free will and other arguments can be made, but reason is probably the most powerful to me. If half the world is wiped out in a nuclear war, although it may not seem just, there is still reason behind it, though we might not ever comprehend.
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Don't conflate moral evil with natural evil, for some introductory reading on that read here...

Link

And for the dilemma that Hume raises you could study the idea of was known as...
Theodicy
 
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ALAYMAN said:
Don't conflate more evil with natural evil, for some introductory reading on that read here...

Link

And for the dilemma that Hume raises you could study the idea of was known as...
Theodicy
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Can you repost the link? It won’t open. In your other post, MacArthur stated: Sin is neither substance, being, spirit, nor matter. So it is technically not proper to think of sin as something that was created. In my mind, I’d like to take this from another angle: would MacArthur say the same of the opposite of evil - righteousness or good deeds?
 
Huk said:
Can you repost the link? It won’t open. In your other post, MacArthur stated: Sin is neither substance, being, spirit, nor matter. So it is technically not proper to think of sin as something that was created. In my mind, I’d like to take this from another angle: would MacArthur say the same of the opposite of evil - righteousness or good deeds?
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Sorry about the link but it's fixed now. Not exactly sure if I understand your question. But if I do grasp what you're getting at I would say that no, the opposite is not true because evil is a category that is in response to the nature of man and his rebellion towards God, but righteousness has always existed eternally prior to the existence of man because God is righteous and holy.
 
ALAYMAN said:
Sorry about the link but it's fixed now. Not exactly sure if I understand your question. But if I do grasp what you're getting at I would say that no, the opposite is not true because evil is a category that is in response to the nature of man and his rebellion towards God, but righteousness has always existed eternally prior to the existence of man because God is righteous and holy.
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I see what you mean by evil vs natural evil. I also see what you mean by righteousness, which is an excellent analogy. I do, however, wonder if natural evil and “sinful evil” (I’ll label it that for the sake of simplicity) aren’t as dissimilar as we might think. Neither is created by God, but both are allowed by Him. The reasons are moot, whether due to sin, free will, etc. Is that fair to say?
 
voicecrying said:
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31

Everything that God created was good. Evil is the twisting of or departing from the created order.
Click to expand...
Correct. Everything was made good, but not incorruptible.
 
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