Christians: If God is the a being of complete goodness, doesn't that definition put limits on Him?

Question

If God is good, then He is not evil. If God is not evil, then where did evil come from, if everything in existence came first from God in Creation? Is evil something that God, Himself, did not invent? If so, then is it true to say that God is the ultimate Creator when evil was created by something/one else? If God created evil, then doesn't the concept of evil have to exist somewhere in Him? So is it true to say that God is also evil as well as good? Wouldn't God have to be prefectly nuetral? Otherwise, wouldn't He Himself, tip the scales of balance to good? And can there exist good without evil to define it? Can there exist up without down, left without right, right without wrong?

Please explain. Give details. You may even quote the Bible if you have to. This is a philisophical question and not one of Faith so please, no blanket answers of "cause he can". Thanks.

Answer 1

Hehe. You make me happy.

In my opinion, the christian god IS neutral. I see no goodness and I see no direct evil. Neutral things can fall either way and that's frequently how things that christians scream that god or satan had a hand in -do- fall.

Answer 2

Hmm I would argue that good and evil are just view points set by god and the he himself is neither evil nor good. God created everything and then decided what he want to be "good" everything that is not good is then evil, however god could change is mind later and something that was evil could be good now and vice versa.

So I would say he didn't create it per se but just decided what is good and just as a matter of consequence the other things are labeled evil

Answer 3

That's a very good question. First, I've never actually seen where the Bible has said that God is completely good. God is good, just and holy. Some people don't like this answer, but this is one place where faith comes in. I can't even begin to have complete knowledge of everything that God created so how can I completely understand Him? My idea of good could be different than His. But look at it this way. In society, a good judge is one that will follow all of the laws and make sure that the accused criminal gets a fair shot. A criminal can be heard confessing, but if it's not done the right way a "good" judge won't accept it as evidence and the criminal will walk. That's a "good" judge. In that case, God's not good. He's just. The sinner won't walk. No excuses. God's goodness comes in that He actually provides the loophole to the sinner.

Regardless of what some will say, "faith" is not the pat answer to all answers for christians, but sometimes it is the answer. We call this anticipation!

Answer 4

Good and Evil are not equal and opposette. That is Duelism; The idea of two equal and opposette powers "fighting it out".
And we just choose one or the other side to be on. If that were the case, there would be no difference in our choosing except "preference".

That sounds plausible but does not stand up to scrutiny. Because once you remove every "Good" thing (intellegence, will, etc) from the "Evil" power, you would have nothing left.
Evil has to "borrow" from the good to maintain exsistence itself. You can explain the evil by contrasting it to the good. You cannot explain the good by similar contrast.
(Think of sexual pervision. You understand what pervision is by comparing with the "normal". It doesnt work the other way.)

Therefore, Evil is a parasite. Living and feeding off of the good. Therefore, Good CAN exist without Evil. Not the reverse. (contrasting "up & down", "right & left" with Good and Evil is mixing "apples and oranges".)

So God is not Evil or Nuetral. God is completely Good. Evil is the pervision of that Goodness. Satan cannot suceed in being evil without robbing from God.

Evil in "normal" experience, usally turns out to be the pursuit of some "good" (more money for bigger car, nicer house, more comfort-all is which is "good" in itself) by "unlawful" or "evil" (bad) means.

So God is not the "creator" of Evil, but it could not exist without Him. There has to be Original Goodness to be corrupted into the Parasitical Evil.


theBerean

Answer 5

Actually yes it does put a limit on God only that He cannot commit evil. Evil in the Bible is really disobedience of God, so God cannot invent that as he cannot disobey Himself. Just as darkness is the absence of light, so too sin is the absence of God. God is not neutral. And it is a false belief that there has to be some balance between good and evil. The balance was upset when man committed the first evil act of sin. I believe that good can exist without evil to define it, but evil cannot exist without good to compare to it. Again take light as an example. You can have light and have no knowledge of darkness because darkness only exists when light is not present. But you cannot have darkness without having an absence of light. Darkness is dependent on light existing, but light doesn't need darkness. So too with good and evil. I hope this answer makes sense to you. God Bless.

Answer 6

good question. i imagine maximum folk will admit there's a better means of a few variety of means. i in my opinion do no longer experience that this man or woman is all for widely used stay of persons as Christians do. With this variety of vast volume of different concept platforms, I too discover it difficult to imagine that in elementary words one is wright and anybody else is misguided. There are uncomplicated topics throughout all religions that are an same and that i think that is truer to the honestly reality in existence. i'd discover it difficult to believe that a loving God would condemn all Jews and Muslims to "hell". The Bible is a preparation to existence. The memories in it are in basic terms that; They were written through individuals to help clarify their international round them and to help them locate a intending to existence. you'll under no circumstances convince a basic Christian of this, even if. they don't look to be open minded to different opportunities.

Answer 7

God is not only good, but just, jealous, loving, all knowing and all powerful. He cannot exist alongside evil. Evil was not around in the beginning but God created free will and so Satan, once an angel, chose to want to be like God. He was then banned from heaven and his goal became to do everything in his power to cause evil. And yes, you're right, without evil the meaning of good and love would be lost. That's why God allows it. We would be nothing but robots if good and evil would not coexist. One by itself without something to compare it to would be very boring and all meaning to our earthly life would be lost. We'd have no purpose and no reason to do anything. Having a goal and God's love allows us to do good and to love others and to live within His will. At some point in time, evil will be banned along with Satan.

Answer 8

An important issue to understand is the independence of everything God has created. Everything that God created has its own intelligence and its own agency, or "free will." This applies to God himself. God's goodness isn't a limiting factor because he, himself, chooses to do right in the face of wrong choices.
Evil comes when individuals make wrong choices. Satan was initially good when created by God. Satan/Lucifer chose to do evil. His pride and rebellion were products of his own mind. God didn't make him do evil--that was his personal choice. The potential to do evil always exists, but this is independent of God.
I don't think that it is adequate to say that evil was created by something/someone else. Whenever there is a choice to be made, there are a number of possible options, good or evil (and in between, I guess). This does not take anything away from God as a Creator--he doesn't have to create all the possible decisions that an individual can make. We can all devise our own evil plans, if that is what we want to do.
I do not think it is correct to say that God is both good and evil. God is good because he chooses to be good. He does not ever choose to be evil. What good would it do if God chose to be neutral? He loves his children and desires to do good continually for them. I think he would like to tip the scales to good--but that's not really how it works, because everything he created has the option to choose evil independently. He granted them that right. It is possible that all his creations could choose evil and rebel against him, as Satan did. But choosing good has benefits because goodness leads to happiness, while evil leads to misery. That is why most of his creations will tend to choose at least some good over evil.
There is opposition in all things (good vs. evil, light vs. dark, joy vs. pain)--this is the natural order of the Universe. One can't exist without the other--they are like the two sides of a coin. God didn't necessarily create this--it is just how things are. God couldn't NOT create things this way without denying them their free will.

Answer 9

When we think about what is good we think about the Ten Commandments. However when we study the Ten Commandments we can that they reflect God's attributes. This is because goodness is defined by God's character, and evil is that which is contrary to God. God is only limited by Himself, that is He can not go against His own character.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, THAT CAN NOT LIE, promised before the world began;

When God created the man and angels he created them good. However he made them mutable, that is changeable. Mankind and the devil used their free will to turn on God, and do evil by seeking their own.

Answer 10

well, according to the bible, god created satan as an angel then this guy decided he didn't like worshiping unrelentingly and due to this, him, and any other such angels (a third according to the bible) were sent to hell and condemned as evil. so god DID create evil.

In my opinion this is a little excessive for someone that's supposed to be full of mercy. but hey, it's their book, not mine.

i don't believe the bible to be anything but a bunch of superstitious fables anyhow, but i was playing "gods advocate" if you will.


***edit***
and for those claiming satan had "free will" and "chose" to be evil, lets not forget that humans were the first beings supposedly created with this whole "free will" improvement. Angels didn't have this "luxury".

Answer 11

Goodness is obeying God. Evil or wickedness is disobeying God.

There are no limits on God. Evil came when God gave Adam and Eve free choice to obey Him or disobey Him. There would be no evil in the world if they had said "no" to Satan, but they said "no God I will not obey You." They ate the forbidden fruit and believed the devil instead of believing God. Bad Mistake!!! And evil (sin) came into the world and God allowed it because Adam and Eve chose it. And they suffered the consequences of God for disobeying Him. Good without evil cannot exist in this world. Up without down cannot exist in this world. Left without right cannot exist in this world. But there is a world coming with a righteous King where He will wipe out evil. No tears, no sorrow, no sin and no evil in the Kingdom of heaven which is yet to come.