You don’t have to look far in this world to see “evil.” There is immorality, cruelty, hatred, crime, violence, all sorts of malice everywhere you look. These are all “bad” things that we call “evil.” Did God create evil?
To answer this question, let’s first look at what the Bible says about God.
God is good
The Bible tells us that God is good.
“… The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” – Exodus 34:6 (KJV)
“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; …” – 1 Chronicles 16:34
“Good and upright is the Lord; …” – Psalm 25:8
“The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” – Psalm 145:9
“… No one is good except God alone.” – Mark 10:18
“For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” – Psalm 100:5
God is all powerful
The Bible also tells us that God is all powerful. He can do ANYTHING.
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:37
“And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26
“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” – Jeremiah 32:17
We know that God is good and that He is all powerful. There is nothing that He cannot do. So did God create evil?
God created everything
The Bible says that God created EVERYTHING.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1
“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” – Colossians 1:16
“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” – John 1:3
Then does that mean that God created evil? If God is good, how could He create evil?
God created Satan
Since God made everything, we know that God created Satan (see Colossians 1:16 above). The Bible even says:
“The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.” – Proverbs 16:4
Ok, so God is good. He is all powerful. He created everything, including Satan. Then that must mean that God created evil. Right? Not so fast…
To understand the answer to the question, “Did God create evil?” let’s take a look at heat and light.
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Heat vs. Cold
What is heat? According to the study of thermodynamics, heat is the flow of energy that transfers from one object to another when the two objects are at different temperatures. Heat is measured in calories (thermal units of energy) with one calorie being the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius. Heat is what increases and decreases temperature.
Temperature can be measured as low as absolute zero (0 K, which is approximately -273.15 degrees Celsius or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit) but no lower. That is as “cold” as it gets because all flow of energy is stopped at that point. It is the absolute absence of heat.
We don’t measure “cold” because it does not exist on its own. It’s simply a term we use to define the absence of heat. Cold is not the opposite of heat the way we tend to think of it. It is actually just the absence of heat.
Light vs. Darkness
Visible light is electromagnetic radiation that exists in energy packets called photons. Light output is expressed in lumens (a measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time) and light intensity as perceived by the eye is measured in terms of lux (which is equal to one lumen per square meter).
Without going into too much detail, visible light appears in different colors based on its wavelength approximately ranging from dark red at 700 nm to violet at 400 nm. When light enters our eyes, it triggers the cone cells to send signals to our brain. Different wavelengths of light trigger different combinations of those cones at varying levels which generates our perception of color.
So how do we measure darkness? We don’t. You cannot make dark darker. You can only remove light which creates darkness, darkness does not exist on its own. Darkness is not the opposite of light, it is actually just the absence of light.
Good vs. Evil
Now let’s talk about evil. Similar to cold and darkness, evil does not exist by itself. Evil is not the opposite of good, it is actually just the absence of good. We already stated that God is good, thus evil is the absence of God.
So, did God create evil?
I believe the answer is NO!
God did not create evil. Evil occurs when God is absent from man’s heart. Just like there is cold in the world when there is no heat, and darkness when there is no light, there is evil in the world when God (good) is not present.
But isn’t Satan evil?
But what about Satan? God created Satan, isn’t he evil?
The Bible tells us:
“For everything created by God is good, …” – 1 Timothy 4:4
Is Satan good? I believe he was when God first created him. Just like Adam was “good” and sinless when God first created mankind.
Like mankind, God created the heavenly beings with free will. The Bible tells us that some of these heavenly beings chose to sin against God:
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;” – 2 Peter 2:4
Satan desired to be greater than God and was thrown out of heaven for his rebellion.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” – Isaiah 14:12-14 (KJV)
God did not create evil
God did not create evil, because evil is not an entity that was created. Evil is not something that exists on its own. It is merely the absence of good.
If the desire is for less cruelty, hatred, crime and violence in the world… then the answer… the only answer… is more of God!
Additional articles you may enjoy:
The Great Potter
Putting God in a Box
Facing the Storm
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