It seems that the topic of God creating evil has struck a nerve with some of us. And rightly so. Its no surprise to me either, that we would be interested and enthralled by the concept. We all want to know the truth, but can we? Maybe so...
As I said in class, if God is omniscient, is it possible for Him to create us and Not know that by creating us, he was creating evil? Or that the result would be evil? I say no. And a lot of people believe differently.
I believe that He knew exactly what would happen, that evil would follow the creation of us. But then another idea comes up. If God knew we would do evil, does that necessarily mean HE created it, or did we? I honestly dont know the answer to that, maybe we cant know. Are we as humans even capable of creating evil? I see a lot of it everyday.
Did God just allow the possibility of evil so as to truly make us free, under no obligation to serve him?
And then there it is again, if that is the case, and God did allow the "possibility" of evil, does that mean he created evil?
Its a very hard thing for me to try to wrap my mind around. I personally dont like the idea of God creating evil, but I also think its very possible, maybe even the most probable answer.
Maybe it doesnt matter. Maybe God, in the one hand, created evil as to give us real FREEDOM to choose to follow Him. Him being "good". So He had our best interests at heart. Or maybe God didnt create evil, and WE did. Then its our fault the world is the way it is, but God still loves us the same.
Either way God is still God. And all the truth we know about Him hasnt been irreconciliably changed either way you look at it. Whether God did or didnt create evil may change our perception of God, but it doesnt change the actual character of God.
Personally, I believe he did create evil. That He is omniscient, and that he allowed/made evil so that we could really choose Him, rather than automatically choose him. Thats a strange thought to ponder, and I know ive jumped all over the place, so if you read this far (thanks for reading this all the way through). Maybe it will help someone. I know writing this has helped my thought process. I also know there are possibly gaping holes in my theology but, this is what I believe now, and would love to hear the other side of the argument.
Peace and Love.
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I commented on Josh H's blog
ReplyDeleteKyle,
ReplyDeleteI love your second to last paragraph. As we grapple with these deep and hard to comprehend issues I hope it brings us to see even more that God is God. His character is beyond our wildest imaginations and nothing we can say, do, or think can change who He really is. Well stated. You had some very interesting and thought provoking points... Good stuff.
Sara
Well, here's my thoughts. Would God create an evil for his perfect universe? I believe God knew that Adam and Eve would choose the evil, however, I do NOT believe that he chose their choice (if that makes sense). I personally believe that God has given us all the ability to make decisions, as he did for Adam and Eve, and some of us do not choose the best choice (as Adam and Eve didn't choose the best choice). Though we are unable to know how God felt when Eve chose to take a bite out of that apple and have evil enter the world, I am almost positive that He didn't sit back and say, "Hey, that's what I wanted her to do! Go Eve!"; I imagine God being very disappointed in his creation. But, have no fear! We have a God with a kind of love that we will never understand. He is a God that loved Adam and Eve, even when they, THEMSELVES, brought evil into his perfect world...like I said, that is just what I think.
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