Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is God responsible for evil? | Bible general Archive 1 | forrest | 5361 | ||
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-1 God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. Genesis 1:31a For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and in the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1.16 The above passages leave no room for misunderstanding. All things were created by God. Nothing that is came into being except by his creative force and power. The apparent problem is how can a God who is holy and all "good" create what is evil. First is a definitional problem. What is good, and how can we as the created judge our creator? God is good. See Matt 19:16 (only One is good). Fortunately for us, He is also mericiful and desires for our well being. Matt 7:11. These two verses illustrate a very important understanding of what is good. One, God is good; two, he desires what is good or best for us, and we need to trust Him. The difficulty comes in understanding how this good God could create obvious evil. Good created only what is good. See Gen 1:31 above. However, there is evil. What is evil? If God is good and only good and all good things come from God, than what is not God is not good but is evil. All things came from God, how than can there be something not of God. that is evil? GOd created man (and apparently angels) as moral beings, spiritual beings with volition or the ability to chose. Now the only choice we may ever really have is whether to submit to God or to rebel against God. To chose against God is rebellion and God allows this but the consequence is death. See Gen 2:17. Apparently Satan was a good being with some volitional capacity who led a rebellion against God and thus was cast from his heavenly and created position. See Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, and Revelation 12 as well as the similar pride and encouragment of rebellion in Gen 3. But when Satan was cast from his proper position and relation to God, he had no power. Thus, he had to resort to deceiving man into breaking proper relation with God and falling as well. See Gen 3. But God was not surprised or without an prexisiting and eternal plan to work the best. He frustrated all of creation into the frustration of man's sin (see the curse of creation in Gen 3:17 and Romans 8:20). But all this is for the purpose of His greater good. All of this leads to the conclusion that God does not desire sin and death and corruption and evil, but He does desire freedom and choice and our coming to Him out of love instead of automation or neccesity. Evil is the result of man's failure. Starving babies is not God's desire but loving people is His desire. To have the latter you must create the capacity and potential for the wrong choice and its real consequences reslting in the former. But God will not be mocked and we must realize He is working out an eternal plan while we see in the very limited temporal. This requires faith. The good news is that if God is still creating. See 2 Cor 5:17 and Rev 21. Since God is good and still creating the latter shall be greater than the former and it shall be glorious indeed. We will not be returned to Eden but placed into a new heaven and new earth governed by the eternal God who came and bled and died and was resurrected so that we might live and have life in great abundance. This is His plan (or LOGOS-Word). From that perspective we shall understand (if we have any need to understand)how God used the capacity for choice and thus evil, this choice and moral will itself being good, to create the perfect creation and love. A shorter answer is that what is evil is merely what was created good now separated from God, the source of all goodness. |
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2 | Is whate'er my God ordains right? | Bible general Archive 1 | Lionstrong | 5403 | ||
Forrest, Is that which God does good because He does it? Or does He do it because it's good? In other words: Is whatever God does good? Or is there some standard outside of God by which we can judge what He does good or evil? Lionstrong |
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3 | Is whate'er my God ordains right? | Bible general Archive 1 | kalos | 5414 | ||
2 Timothy 2:23 (NASB) But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. | ||||||