Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Did God Create...?

Evil? Did He? Raise your hand if you said yes. No, I'm serious, raise your hand.

Did God create evil? Francis Schaeffer noted that, if God had created evil, He Himself would have to be intrinsically evil himself. Both intrinsically good and intrinsically evil. Do you believe God to be partly evil by His very nature?

In a recent discussion I had with a coworker, Jacob Brown, (partial credit to him for the thoughts that inspired this post) about the debate I had that I posted on this site, we were talking about something that I had said, "Evil is the opposite of Good". I was trying to make a point, but I see now, that I think I may have been wrong. Rather, I should have said, "Evil is the absence of Good".

Similarly, Darkness is the absence of Light, Cold is the absence of Heat (look it up, naysayers), Black is the absence of Color. Makes sense, right? But there's more. When you look at the Biblical account of Creation, where man sinned and was separated from God, we see that man had the potential for evil, right? Not really.

You see, Evil is still only the absence of Good, and Good is only God, therefore Evil is the absence of God. Thus: God didn't create Evil, he created man with the potential for being separated from Him. Angels, too, apparently, as with Lucifer.

Think about it for a while, it may change the way you view certain things.

5 comments:

whimsicalfaery said...

Very very very very very (enough verys?) good point. (I need to have someone at work like Jacob Brown; it would be easier to think up posts.) [smile]

Byran said...

Excellent thoughts.

Nic Miller said...

Yes, Annie, I can only imagine what kind of intellectuals you have there at Boyd and Wurthmans. Fun fun.

Hey By! You know that picture of you on the back of your newest CD? Get that one on the web, I think it's quite fetching! But then, I'm a guy....

Anonymous said...

Exactly, evil is the absense of good...also making it the opposite of good. Good being the position of having, or fulness while evil would be the opposite, or empty position. When Lucifer rebelled against God he took on him everything God was not (or more properly, he didnt take anything on him, but lost all goodness). Therefore he became the opposite of God and what he stood for. He became the agent of nothingness, the representative of emptiness, and the lack of God.

Nic Miller said...

VERY well stated, anon!