Where does evil come from?

Question

Why did satan chose to sin?
If God is not the source of evil since He's all good.
From where did satans evil choice originate?
This is maybe a stupid question since you can always answer free will. But satan was an enourmously intelligent creature, doesn't his choice seem stupid?

Of course I don't mean the evil choices of people since they can have various reasons.
I mean the sin of satan.

Answer 1

I don't want to be too controversial, but I did find this in scripture for your consideration.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Answer 2

Oh, this is a good question! :) It's too bad the answer isn't as simple as most people will attempt to make it. I'll try...

First, you ask why Satan chose to sin. I think a more appropriate question is, "DID Satan choose to sin?" There are passages in the Bible (don't ask me to look them up, I don't know exactly where they are) that state angels do not have the power of free will that humans do. Was Satan predestined to make the choices he did?

Secondly, what are the origins of Satan? According to John 1 and Genesis 1, God created everything, INCLUDING THE ANGELS. This said, that means He created Satan, too. If He created the most evil being in the universe, it stands to reason that the evil came from God! Wait a minute, if God is all good, how and why did He create an evil being? Is God capable of creating evil? If not, how does evil exist?

Thirdly, you mention free will. Does free will actually exist? Think about it for a minute. If God really can see into the future, then He knows exactly what we'll do ten minutes, ten days, and ten years from now. He knows our choices before we make them. This sounds an awful lot like predestination to me. By logical deduction (in this particular argument), free will cannot exist juxtapositionally with omniscience.

In conclusion, my answer is that Satan did not CHOOSE to sin. He was predestined to do so. If God created everything, then He also created evil (including Satan). Satan did not create anything, therefore, he cannot be the original source of evil.

Answer 3

The wickedness of the devil. If you remember in the Bible or have read in the Bible the Devil was once an angel of God. The angel decided to try and show that he had as much or more power than God. God cast the angel out of heaven and into what we call hell.

You are right satan was and is a enourmously intelligent creature. He fools all of us every day. That's why we commit sin, and many times we don't even realize what we are doing.

Hope this helps and may God Bless You.

Answer 4

Evil is a fairy tale word that has no place in intelligent and rational dialogue about the meaning of life.

Satan was nicked from the original Jewish texts and maligned into some kind of evil monster.

Judaism should know what Satan is, and this is what it has to say on the subject:

(1) Satan never fell: Lucifer or Phosphorus (the "Lightbearer"), in classical mythology, is the name for the planet Venus as the morning star. Isaiah 14:12 alludes to the King of Babylon as "Lucifer, son of the morning", but in the belief that this verse contained a reference to the fall of Satan from heaven, the fathers of the early CHRISTIAN church -- not Judaism! -- attached the name Lucifer to Satan. On the above-referenced Isaiah verse in the Jewish bible: "This translation of the Bible does not use 'Lucifer' at all, but rather, uses 'O shining one, son of the dawn!' and further, footnotes it with the explanation "a character in some lost myth".

And

(2) Satan is an angel doing the job assigned to him by "God": Judaism has no concept of a "devil" or fallen angel. Angels do not have free will, so they cannot choose to disobey God as humans can. The word satan means challenger. This describes Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. Satan works FOR God. His job is to strength man's spirit. Christianity sees Satan as God's opponent. In Judaism, the idea that anything in the universe would be capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be the same thing as declaring Satan a god or demigod. The notion of an angel having free will is alien to Judaism. Free will requires the tension created by being a soul dwelling in a body. People can have free will, but angels can't. Satan acts as a servant of God, not as an opponent or even disobedient child. Angels cannot sin, they cannot fall.


What you call evil is ignorance. The only thing that stops a person from doing wrong is gaining the wisdom to know it's wrong. The only thing that stops a "sin" is enlightenment --- comprehending why it's wrong to do that particular thing.

Answer 5

I do not believe the Bible completely answers this question

I think God made the world good, but changeable, with the abilty to sin or not sin... why did they do it... to be honest.. I dont know

there is a theory that the angels were told they were to serve the people made from the dust of the earth which would become redeemed as the bride of Christ above the angels... and out of Pride posisbly Satan rebelled... it is a speculation ..and it still doesnt answer why he had pride the corruption in him

Answer 6

In my oppinion the rebellion of Lucifer is the greatest mystery in all the Bible. We aren't given all the answers. God's Word makes it very clear that EVERYTHING (including Lucifer) was created good; but something happened to Lucifer. The Bible only tells us that pride was at the root of Lucifer's rebellion.
The first truth the Bible tells us about the devil is that he is real, and he is our enemy. Jesus said that the devil "was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him" (John 8:44).

This is one reason why I caution you not to become too fascinated with the devil or with evil. Satan's main goal is to turn us away from God—and when we focus too much on the devil, then we won't focus on God the way we should. Yes, the devil is real, and so are his demons (evil spiritual beings who carry out his commands). But God is also real—and He alone is all-powerful. And someday He will defeat Satan and bind him forever.

Instead, focus your attention on Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8). How did He do this? He did it by His death on the cross for us (which won our salvation) and by His resurrection from the dead (which conquered death and Hell). Satan is a defeated foe!

Have you ever opened your heart to Christ, and are you seeking the help of His Spirit every day to defeat Satan's temptations? Make sure of your salvation today by giving your life to Christ. Then make Him the center of your life, for He alone gives us victory over death and Hell and Satan.

Answer 7

The one basic fundamental law that God gave his creatures, whether men or angels was, Love me.

It's evident that the Creator God gave men the power to create new things, too. And it is true of angels like Satan, for they can at least create illusions. I don't know whether or not the results of his creatures' creativity come as a bit of a surprise to God. One can imagine that He'd enjoy that, in the case of a GOOD act of creativity. In any event, God had the whole Plan of Redemption ready to counteract the ill effects of Satan's creation, overwhelming, unreasonable pride.

Satan's creative act was fueled by a corruption of his entire being. He had disobeyed that one fundamental rule of God. Instead of loving God, he was trying to usurp his power. Satan was brilliant. HOW could he have thought he would replace the Eternal, when he was not eternal, or the Almighty, when he was not almighty? History has shown us examples of many a man whose downfall is a highly unreasonable quest for power and self-gratification. It was the same for Satan.

Lust over brains.

Answer 8

Life is all about balance. There si no way to know that we are in sunlight, unless we have experienced dark. As such, we do not know evil without knowing good. There must be balance for everything in life, a yin and yang.

How is God NOT the source of evil? If he is good, then he must have also perpetrated evil in some way. Do not close your mind to religious texts, rather open it to what you know and see and feel.

Satan did not CHOOSE to be evil. He was cast out and chose the lifestyle, completely opposite of what God did, to bring in followers of his own.

His choice is exceedingly intelligent. If you cannot beat the other man, use against him what he is known for. You may have less followers, but you will HAVE followers.

And there is no such thing as a stupid question:
"When man ceases to make mistakes, it is also then he ceases to learn." -Me

Answer 9

The Greeks thought that evil came out of Pandora's Box, but Isaiah 45:7 (KJV) says that God created evil.

Answer 10

Evil comes from the depths of ones own soul Satan my have been intelligent but he still made bad decisions maybe it was pride. but he chose his own path