English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

Can you explain this passage taken from the Bible:

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

If God is only good, why does he create evil?

2007-02-14 02:40:52 · 22 answers · asked by Maverick 6 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

22 answers

Good is the absence of evil. Without evil, good could not exist. Cold does not exist, it is the absence of heat. Darkness does not exist, darkness is the absence of light. same thing.

2007-02-14 02:45:08 · answer #1 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 2 2

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with ineffability

The real answer is that until the Babylonian exile, when many elements of Zoroastrianism were incorporated into Judaism, there was no duality. God's will was responsible for all events.

For example in Job, it is God that causes the destruction of all Job holds dear. The Adversary acts more as a "Devil's Advocate" than an evil entity.

After the return from Babylon, you begin to see the appearance, notably in the Book of Daniel, of the idea of an afterlife and the Devil as a source of evil.

2007-02-14 10:49:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

First I am a Christian and I do not say that God is only good in the way that you are implying it.

However, God did create everything. Nothing came into exsistence without him. But just because he created it does not mean that it defines who he is. He created mankind, animals also, but he is neither mankind nor an animal.

Regards to Meat Machince Comments:
There is no way to know what "good" is without some sort of knowledge to scale what good means. So you have to have varying degrees of goodness. This is what the garden story is all about. Obtaining the knowledge of good and evil. I personally believe God always wanted us to have this knowledge.

2007-02-14 10:49:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

God, in Hebrew thought, is considered the final authority over everything. If wars or famine happen, then God has allowed that to occur, and therefore controls evil.

He does not initiate any type of evil.

When a man seeks to sin and commit adultery, that is his choice. He should not expect God to protect him, then from any disease or negative ramification of his choice. God's judgments and the loss of His protection are how he creates afflictions in the lives of men. Judgment is not morally wrong, though. Quite the opposite. Judgment is what we expect of a righteous God.

I hope this helps you to understand the differences in the word ra' (evil) a little more clearly.

2007-02-14 10:57:05 · answer #4 · answered by keiichi 6 · 1 0

There is no way to understand the complexity of god. God is so much more complex than we humans are. It would be like comparing an ants brain to a human brain. We are so much more complex than an ant. Keep it simple. Nothing happens by mistake in this world. Evil things do happen , why that is I don't know. But good things do happen too, and more good things happen to people who do good things for other people.
Its like karma, what goes around eventually comes around

2007-02-14 10:59:11 · answer #5 · answered by mikey50ways 2 · 0 0

This will only read this way in the King James translation or similar old English translations. This is because the wording use to be a way of speaking of a natural disaster. This would be the equivalent of an earthquake or similar event.

Of course these events are still hard events, but remember hard events are sometimes healthier for us than the easy life.

2007-02-14 10:46:22 · answer #6 · answered by Wind Chime 3 · 2 0

Because what we see as evil is always in the best interest of our spiritual growth, if we are paying attention.

Its not Gods fault we are not smart enough to understand the lesson.

Love and blessings Don

2007-02-14 10:49:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

God did create all things, Even satan, There is where our free will comes in, You are looking at the KJV bible, let see what the verse say, Evil is defined as calamity, & in the Aramaic it is call hardship.

2007-02-14 10:48:08 · answer #8 · answered by birdsflies 7 · 1 0

If you do not choose God you choose darkness.That is an Old Testament book. Jesus came to become the sacrifice for us. We do not have to choose the darkness we have free will. As for me and my house we have chosen to serve the Lord. You have that same free will.

2007-02-14 10:50:39 · answer #9 · answered by Pamela V 7 · 1 0

Would get pretty boring down here without a variety. GOD created lucifer or satan who went astray therefore the writer is conveying GOD's intent.

2007-02-14 10:47:54 · answer #10 · answered by Tribble Macher 6 · 1 0

fedest.com, questions and answers