This isn’t the gotcha you think it is, because the Bible literally says as much in Isaiah 45:7:
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
However, it’s not valid to conclude from the fact that God created evil that He must therefore be evil, because He created good as well. At best you could say He is neutral.
In fact, it is you who is evil because you ignore all the good that He does and focus only on the evil.
…it’s not valid to conclude from the fact that God created evil that He must therefore be evil, because He created good as well. At best you could say He is neutral.
I hate splitting hairs, but in this case I do feel it’s an important distinction to point out that I said he must “also be evil”; in the sense of being in addition to good, he is also evil. So he is both things, and not just one or the other.
In my personal experiences with Cristians, I have often heard how “God is good” because of all the good things (more often in reference to things other people have done to solve a problem; e.g., doctors, nurses, and firefighters), and that anything considered bad or evil is the work of Satan. At the same time, Christians that I have known are all too happy to acknowledge that God created everything, yet thy conveniently fail to acknowledge that evil is one of those things having been created too.
And for what it’s worth: while my focus here in this conversation has been on the negatives I see in life, that does not mean I do not acknowledge and rejoice in the positives when they present themselves. Mind you, I do suffer from depression and suicidal ideation, so I will acknowledge that it can be difficult from time to time to remember the positives when I feel like I’m drowning in the negatives.
Do with that as you will. I do thank you for the opportunity for discussion. 😊
This isn’t the gotcha you think it is, because the Bible literally says as much in Isaiah 45:7:
However, it’s not valid to conclude from the fact that God created evil that He must therefore be evil, because He created good as well. At best you could say He is neutral.
In fact, it is you who is evil because you ignore all the good that He does and focus only on the evil.
I hate splitting hairs, but in this case I do feel it’s an important distinction to point out that I said he must “also be evil”; in the sense of being in addition to good, he is also evil. So he is both things, and not just one or the other.
In my personal experiences with Cristians, I have often heard how “God is good” because of all the good things (more often in reference to things other people have done to solve a problem; e.g., doctors, nurses, and firefighters), and that anything considered bad or evil is the work of Satan. At the same time, Christians that I have known are all too happy to acknowledge that God created everything, yet thy conveniently fail to acknowledge that evil is one of those things having been created too.
And for what it’s worth: while my focus here in this conversation has been on the negatives I see in life, that does not mean I do not acknowledge and rejoice in the positives when they present themselves. Mind you, I do suffer from depression and suicidal ideation, so I will acknowledge that it can be difficult from time to time to remember the positives when I feel like I’m drowning in the negatives.
Do with that as you will. I do thank you for the opportunity for discussion. 😊