Did God create Evil?
DID GOD CREATE EVIL?
There is an ongoing debate being carried out these days among those who seemingly have little to else to do but to try to bring God down to their level.
Let me fill you in on their line of reasoning.
We are seeing so many events being carried out in the world that are bad or evil. Things like sickness, immorality, hatred, murders, and even the killing of children and babies not to mention wars.
Evil seems to be running rampant and yet God has made everything.
The scoffers are quick to tell you that if God created everything, then God created evil. According to the principle that our works define who we are, then God must be evil.
As we address these serious charges, let’s do it in a way that both theologians and children will be able to understand.
We all know about something that we call heat. We can have a little heat, some heat, lots of heat, red heat, white heat, and we all know about the super heat that is in the sun.
On the other hand we can have very little heat or even no heat which the scientists call absolute zero which is the coldest that it can get. Absolute zero or no heat is minus 458 degrees.
Interestingly, there is no such thing as cold, if there was we could find temperatures less than – 458 degrees.
Cold is only a word that is used to describe the absence of heat.
What about darkness? Is it something, or is it a word that we use to describe the absence of something else?
We can have dim light, normal light, bright light, or even blinding light. Darkness exists only in the absence of light. If you have even been in a cave in what we refer to as pitch darkness, you know that darkness cannot get any darker.
Death is much like darkness. When life departs from a body the result is death. It is not the opposite of life; it is the absence of life.
Lets get back to our original question, which was did God create evil? Is the violence that we see in the world the manifestation of evil? If it is, then evil must exist unto itself.
Evil, like darkness, does not exist unto itself; it is simply the absence of God. Evil is a word that we use like darkness or cold, or death. It is the absence of something.
God did not create evil, it is the result when man does not have God’s love present and at work in his life.
When there is no heat, cold is the result. When there is no light, darkness is the result. When there is no life, death is the result. When God’s love is not present in man’s heart, evil is the result.
I think that the Apostle John summed it up best when he said, “The way we know we’ve been transformed from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well, that eternal life and murder don’t go together.”
Taken from the Bible: IJohn 3:14-15
Remember this: Sin is never accidental, it is always intentional.
One more very sobering thought. Not only is evil the absence of God, but the indescribable suffering and anguish that the condemned will experience in HELL will be because of the absence of God.
Something to think about.
There is an ongoing debate being carried out these days among those who seemingly have little to else to do but to try to bring God down to their level.
Let me fill you in on their line of reasoning.
We are seeing so many events being carried out in the world that are bad or evil. Things like sickness, immorality, hatred, murders, and even the killing of children and babies not to mention wars.
Evil seems to be running rampant and yet God has made everything.
The scoffers are quick to tell you that if God created everything, then God created evil. According to the principle that our works define who we are, then God must be evil.
As we address these serious charges, let’s do it in a way that both theologians and children will be able to understand.
We all know about something that we call heat. We can have a little heat, some heat, lots of heat, red heat, white heat, and we all know about the super heat that is in the sun.
On the other hand we can have very little heat or even no heat which the scientists call absolute zero which is the coldest that it can get. Absolute zero or no heat is minus 458 degrees.
Interestingly, there is no such thing as cold, if there was we could find temperatures less than – 458 degrees.
Cold is only a word that is used to describe the absence of heat.
What about darkness? Is it something, or is it a word that we use to describe the absence of something else?
We can have dim light, normal light, bright light, or even blinding light. Darkness exists only in the absence of light. If you have even been in a cave in what we refer to as pitch darkness, you know that darkness cannot get any darker.
Death is much like darkness. When life departs from a body the result is death. It is not the opposite of life; it is the absence of life.
Lets get back to our original question, which was did God create evil? Is the violence that we see in the world the manifestation of evil? If it is, then evil must exist unto itself.
Evil, like darkness, does not exist unto itself; it is simply the absence of God. Evil is a word that we use like darkness or cold, or death. It is the absence of something.
God did not create evil, it is the result when man does not have God’s love present and at work in his life.
When there is no heat, cold is the result. When there is no light, darkness is the result. When there is no life, death is the result. When God’s love is not present in man’s heart, evil is the result.
I think that the Apostle John summed it up best when he said, “The way we know we’ve been transformed from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well, that eternal life and murder don’t go together.”
Taken from the Bible: IJohn 3:14-15
Remember this: Sin is never accidental, it is always intentional.
One more very sobering thought. Not only is evil the absence of God, but the indescribable suffering and anguish that the condemned will experience in HELL will be because of the absence of God.
Something to think about.
posted by Jim Burton at 9:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home