But if God did not create evil then where did it come from?
Think about a beach ball. Unless it is filled with air it cannot fulfill the purpose its creator intended. That’s because it is empty. There is nothing in it. It needs to be connected to an air pump and filled up. Then, full of air, it is perfect for the use its creator intended.
Now think about yourself. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit you are able to perform the purpose God created you to do. What happens when you are not filled with the Holy Spirit? Like the beach ball, how can you do what your Creator intended if there is nothing inside you?
Notice, also, that if the beach ball is partially filled with air it will not bounce properly. It does what it is intended to do, but in a corrupted way. In a similar manner, if we have some Good in us, but are not completely filled with Good, then we cannot properly do that which we are designed to do. Ever hear the saying, “God’s not finished with me, yet”?
And that is precisely the point. You must have Good in you if you are going to do good. And, if I am not properly filled with Good, then the things I do are not completely and totally Good. That ‘lack of Goodness’ is what we call ‘Evil’. There are, I think, two forms of Evil: Disobedience and Rebellion. King David, when he ‘went in to Bathsheba’ was disobedient. Queen Jezebel, in all that she did, was in rebellion. Disobedience is saying “no” to God. Rebellion is a purposeful opposition to God. You could say that with Disobedience there is some air left in the beach ball, with Rebellion the beach ball is popped.
Evil is an actual act by a creature with Free Will. Temptation is the thought process that precedes the Evil. Adam watched as Eve ate the apple. He had the opportunity to reject eating the fruit all the way up until he took a bite. Each of us has that same opportunity. Sometimes we listen to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we don’t. We have the power to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay’.
And when we say ‘nay’ we have the power to implement the action of disobedience or rebellion. Evil appears to have power. The power it has is the power that was given to the creature (human or angel) when that creature was created. The fallen angel or fallen human can use that power for Good or for Evil. We have the choice.
Permit me to repeat this in a different fashion: If Evil is not the Absence of Good, then it had to be created. If it is a created thing, then someone had to create it. If it was Satan, then Satan has the power to create Evil. The alternative to Satan is that God created Evil. I cannot accept either of these propositions. I must conclude that the power of Evil is the power of Good that has been bent or twisted into the manipulation of God’s creation for Evil purposes.
There is no Evil substance backing up Evil. And this is, for me, the most difficult part: Evil cannot exist without the powers that God gave to His creatures when He created them. Goodness, Morality, Honor, Justice, Fairness, all these can exist without Disobedience or Rebellion (Evil) being present. We have difficulty understanding that because we cannot really picture a world without Evil.
However, we talk of “dishonor” and “injustice” and “immoral” yet we do not talk about “uncowardice” or “undegenerate” or “ungreedy”. It would seem that “Honor” and “Justice” and “Love” and “Morality” are The Real. They exist as real things, they have substance.
The Bible frequently refers to “The Light” and “The Darkness” in reference to Good and Evil. The world we live in appears to be filled with Evil/Darkness. When we turn out the lamp it gets dark. But, even in this world, one has to go into a deep cave or build a special room to eliminate all light. In the same way, Evil appears to be everywhere. But wherever you go you can find Goodness. Even on Earth, with all the Sin that abounds, there is always Light, there is always Goodness. This knowledge is a very powerful weapon.
When we are faced with Evil, be it the temptation to eat a doughnut or to commit murder, we are told to “...resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” The actual quote is James chapter 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” Note the first sentence in verse 7: “Therefore submit to God.”
When we submit to God we are obeying Him. When we disobey (or rebel) we commit evil. When we are told that Sin means “missing the mark” we sometimes forget that the “mark” is obedience to God; it is doing God’s will; it is submitting to Him. Acts of Charity, Justice, Heroism all can “miss the mark” if they are not done in Obedience to God.
All of this can be very comforting. The closer I am to being filled with the Holy Spirit, the better I can function in the world in the way God designed me to function. Evil has no substance of its own; it is a corruption of God’s creation. God did not create evil, but He did create the beings with free will that manipulate His creation; therefore He is in Control. I find these thoughts to be very comforting.
But not completely comforting. If Evil comes from creatures God created with something we call “Free Will” then these ‘beings with free will’ (fallen angels and fallen humans) are, in a sense, the source of Evil. So, in some way, Evil is a product of Free Will.
Please see Part THREE for the conclusion.
Think about a beach ball. Unless it is filled with air it cannot fulfill the purpose its creator intended. That’s because it is empty. There is nothing in it. It needs to be connected to an air pump and filled up. Then, full of air, it is perfect for the use its creator intended.
Now think about yourself. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit you are able to perform the purpose God created you to do. What happens when you are not filled with the Holy Spirit? Like the beach ball, how can you do what your Creator intended if there is nothing inside you?
Notice, also, that if the beach ball is partially filled with air it will not bounce properly. It does what it is intended to do, but in a corrupted way. In a similar manner, if we have some Good in us, but are not completely filled with Good, then we cannot properly do that which we are designed to do. Ever hear the saying, “God’s not finished with me, yet”?
And that is precisely the point. You must have Good in you if you are going to do good. And, if I am not properly filled with Good, then the things I do are not completely and totally Good. That ‘lack of Goodness’ is what we call ‘Evil’. There are, I think, two forms of Evil: Disobedience and Rebellion. King David, when he ‘went in to Bathsheba’ was disobedient. Queen Jezebel, in all that she did, was in rebellion. Disobedience is saying “no” to God. Rebellion is a purposeful opposition to God. You could say that with Disobedience there is some air left in the beach ball, with Rebellion the beach ball is popped.
Evil is an actual act by a creature with Free Will. Temptation is the thought process that precedes the Evil. Adam watched as Eve ate the apple. He had the opportunity to reject eating the fruit all the way up until he took a bite. Each of us has that same opportunity. Sometimes we listen to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we don’t. We have the power to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay’.
And when we say ‘nay’ we have the power to implement the action of disobedience or rebellion. Evil appears to have power. The power it has is the power that was given to the creature (human or angel) when that creature was created. The fallen angel or fallen human can use that power for Good or for Evil. We have the choice.
Permit me to repeat this in a different fashion: If Evil is not the Absence of Good, then it had to be created. If it is a created thing, then someone had to create it. If it was Satan, then Satan has the power to create Evil. The alternative to Satan is that God created Evil. I cannot accept either of these propositions. I must conclude that the power of Evil is the power of Good that has been bent or twisted into the manipulation of God’s creation for Evil purposes.
There is no Evil substance backing up Evil. And this is, for me, the most difficult part: Evil cannot exist without the powers that God gave to His creatures when He created them. Goodness, Morality, Honor, Justice, Fairness, all these can exist without Disobedience or Rebellion (Evil) being present. We have difficulty understanding that because we cannot really picture a world without Evil.
However, we talk of “dishonor” and “injustice” and “immoral” yet we do not talk about “uncowardice” or “undegenerate” or “ungreedy”. It would seem that “Honor” and “Justice” and “Love” and “Morality” are The Real. They exist as real things, they have substance.
The Bible frequently refers to “The Light” and “The Darkness” in reference to Good and Evil. The world we live in appears to be filled with Evil/Darkness. When we turn out the lamp it gets dark. But, even in this world, one has to go into a deep cave or build a special room to eliminate all light. In the same way, Evil appears to be everywhere. But wherever you go you can find Goodness. Even on Earth, with all the Sin that abounds, there is always Light, there is always Goodness. This knowledge is a very powerful weapon.
When we are faced with Evil, be it the temptation to eat a doughnut or to commit murder, we are told to “...resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” The actual quote is James chapter 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” Note the first sentence in verse 7: “Therefore submit to God.”
When we submit to God we are obeying Him. When we disobey (or rebel) we commit evil. When we are told that Sin means “missing the mark” we sometimes forget that the “mark” is obedience to God; it is doing God’s will; it is submitting to Him. Acts of Charity, Justice, Heroism all can “miss the mark” if they are not done in Obedience to God.
All of this can be very comforting. The closer I am to being filled with the Holy Spirit, the better I can function in the world in the way God designed me to function. Evil has no substance of its own; it is a corruption of God’s creation. God did not create evil, but He did create the beings with free will that manipulate His creation; therefore He is in Control. I find these thoughts to be very comforting.
But not completely comforting. If Evil comes from creatures God created with something we call “Free Will” then these ‘beings with free will’ (fallen angels and fallen humans) are, in a sense, the source of Evil. So, in some way, Evil is a product of Free Will.
Please see Part THREE for the conclusion.
