Why did God create evil?

[JohnPaul]

Why did God create evil? This question has been disputed by theologians for centuries without a satisfactory answer. Some Christians blame the devil for evil, but that only pushes the question back a step: Why did God create the devil?

Many thinking Christians are disturbed by the obvious differences between the pure and loving God spoken of by Jesus and the primitive, vain and vindictive war-god of the Hebrew Old Testament. The apparent injustice perpetrated by the creator-god in the Garden of Eden when he punished the entire human race
forever for a seemingly minor transgression by a naive human couple there offends our human sense of justice.

The early Christian Gnostics came up with an answer, but the established Church condemned them as heretics and violently exterminated them. The ancient documents discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945 have revealed more about Gnostic beliefs.

Very briefly, the Gnostics believed that the true God was a remote, purely spiritual entity that did not directly interact with the material world, but issued bits of itself as "Emanations." One of these Emanations, apparently on a prideful whim, created the material universe. Because this Emanation lacked the full
balance of divine power and wisdom of its source, its creation was defective and not only contained the potential for all the evil we see today, but also trapped bits of the Divine Essence into the material world in the form of human souls.

One or more of the other Emanations recognized the defects of the material creation and tried to rescue the trapped souls. A human soul could escape the material world and return to its spiritual home only when the individual human realized and understood the "divine knowledge" trapped within himself. Other
"Emanations" or divine teachers such as Jesus could help, but it was ultimately up to each individual to develop the insight to access the "divine spark" within himself. This might take many earthly reincarnations to accomplish.

In the Bible, Jesus says: "The truth shall make you free." In the "Gospel of Thomas" found among the Nag Hammadi scriptures, Jesus says to Thomas: "When you understand what I have said to you, I will no longer
be your master, because we are both from the same source."

One of the Nag Hammadi documents gives a very different interpretation of the Garden of Eden story. In the ancient world, the serpent was a symbol of wisdom, not of evil. In the Nag Hammadi "Gospel of Truth," the serpent was a divine Emanation trying to rescue the trapped human souls by giving them access
to Divine Knowledge. The jealous creator-god, or "demiurge," resented this intrusion into his private creation and punished Adam and Eve for listening to the serpent.

It is easy to see why the established Church disliked and feared this Gnostic doctrine. It removed Original Sin and the threat of Hell, tools which the established Church needed to maintain its power over the fearful
masses.

I am not really a believer in either Christianity or Gnosticism, but I am very interested in hearing opinions on this doctrine, which makes more sense to me than the traditional Biblical interpretation.

John

[Choir Loft]

Why did God create evil? This question has been disputed by theologians for centuries without a satisfactory answer. Some Christians blame the devil for evil, but that only pushes the question back a step: Why did God create the devil?

. . . . .

It is easy to see why the established Church disliked and feared this Gnostic doctrine. It removed Original Sin and the threat of Hell, tools which the established Church needed to maintain its power over the fearful
masses.

Ignorance and military force were the tools the Papacy used to subjugate the masses. Theology did not play an important role in changing the political impact of Rome until the reformation and the rise of nationalism.

The tools which were most often used were positive in nature; favors bought and sold, papal decrees which 'paid off' sins and obtained blessings from God. In fact, by the time of Luthur and Erasmus Papal corruption and debauchery were rampant. The whole thing was political in nature; as far from true spirituality as men could get. The Papacy didn't need to threaten hellfire when they could remove a man's possessions and life by earthly force of law. The gnostic heresy was such a threat as it had more political impact than theological substance.

* * *

Christians use the Bible as their ultimate spiritual authority and nowhere in it's pages is there a statement that God created evil. If one is going to submit the argument to Christian examination, one is forced to accept the Bible's precepts on the subject.

The word 'evil' appears 667 times in the protestant Bible and everywhere it is associated with a choice. That choice is to obey God or to disobey Him. In this lies the essence of sin and rebellion against the Most High. Evil is the result of disobediance and distrust. God didn't create that.

Evil is the corruption of good. God gave free will or freedom of choice to mankind in the Genesis account of the garden of Eden. Man's choice was to do God's will or not, and man willingly chose not to. The corruption of the goodness of free will was man's choice, not God's.

In all things of life there is the possibility of use or abuse. It is the nature of man that sooner or later abuse will be tried. Evil is the result.

Eternity is by definition that which does not end. Choices which result in evil of necessity have forever consequences.

[JohnPaul]

Ignorance and military force were the tools the Papacy used to subjugate the masses. Theology did not play an important role in changing the political impact of Rome until the reformation and the rise of nationalism.

The early church certainly attracted followers by convincing them that they were sinners destined for hell and that only obedience to church doctrines and priests could save them. Even after the church achieved great political and military power, it still used the threat of excommunication and hell to keep the kings and feudal heirarchy subservient to it.

The Protestants may have rebelled against corruption, but they then proceeded to impose their own religious tyranny, worse in many respects than that of the Papal church. They even exported it to America in the form of the Puritan theocracy and witch hunts in the New England colonies.

You say that God did not create evil and that evil is a result of human choice? God certainly created "human nature," and even a not-too-bright human could have predicted what would happen when man was given free will. An omniscient, all-knowing God can, by definition, not only predict the future but actually see the future in all its detail. When God created human nature and free will, God certainly knew he was creating evil!

Using fear and the promise of salvation is standard practice in the establishment of any tyranny. The Nazis convinced the German people to vote them into power by convincing the people that the Jews, the Bolsheviks, and the injustice of the Versailles Treaty were terrible threats to Germany, and only Nazi policies could save them!

John

[Choir Loft]

Ignorance and military force were the tools the Papacy used to subjugate the masses. Theology did not play an important role in changing the political impact of Rome until the reformation and the rise of nationalism.

The early church certainly attracted followers by convincing them that they were sinners destined for hell and that only obedience to church doctrines and priests could save them. Even after the church achieved great political and military power, it still used the threat of excommunication and hell to keep the kings and feudal heirarchy subservient to it.

The Protestants may have rebelled against corruption, but they then proceeded to impose their own religious tyranny, worse in many respects than that of the Papal church. They even exported it to America in the form of the Puritan theocracy and witch hunts in the New England colonies.

You say that God did not create evil and that evil is a result of human choice? God certainly created "human nature," and even a not-too-bright human could have predicted what would happen when man was given free will. An omniscient, all-knowing God can, by definition, not only predict the future but actually see the future in all its detail. When God created human nature and free will, God certainly knew he was creating evil!

Using fear and the promise of salvation is standard practice in the establishment of any tyranny. The Nazis convinced the German people to vote them into power by convincing the people that the Jews, the Bolsheviks, and the injustice of the Versailles Treaty were terrible threats to Germany, and only Nazi policies could save them!

John

If you wish to blame God for evil, NAZI tyranny and all the nastiness of life you will certainly continue to do so.

The problem with this reasoning is that you refuse to assign credit where it's due, squarely in the hands and heart of man. No judge in criminal court would share your appraisal. I certainly hope you do not commit a felony and try to use this argument as a defense. You would be wasting your time and seriously flirting with an extended sentence in prison.

If a man purposely drives his car into a crowd of people, is it the fault of the manufacturer? No.
If a man uses a gun to shoot someone, is it the fault of the armorer? It certainly is not.
If a man gets drunk on beer, is it the fault of the brewer? Nope.

The car, the gun and the bottle are used at the discretion of the idiot behind the wheel, trigger or glass. Blaming God for the misdeeds of man is both irresponsible, unrealistic and logically unfounded. Only a person with a vendetta against the Almighty would consider such a flimsy notion to be true.

God made man's nature and man chose to use it against God in Eden.
The result was evil, a creation of man.
We've been choosing it ever since.

[bjs]

The early church certainly attracted followers by convincing them that they were sinners destined for hell and that only obedience to church doctrines and priests could save them. Even after the church achieved great political and military power, it still used the threat of excommunication and hell to keep the kings and feudal heirarchy subservient to it.

The Protestants may have rebelled against corruption, but they then proceeded to impose their own religious tyranny, worse in many respects than that of the Papal church. They even exported it to America in the form of the Puritan theocracy and witch hunts in the New England colonies.

You say that God did not create evil and that evil is a result of human choice? God certainly created "human nature," and even a not-too-bright human could have predicted what would happen when man was given free will. An omniscient, all-knowing God can, by definition, not only predict the future but actually see the future in all its detail. When God created human nature and free will, God certainly knew he was creating evil!

Using fear and the promise of salvation is standard practice in the establishment of any tyranny. The Nazis convinced the German people to vote them into power by convincing the people that the Jews, the Bolsheviks, and the injustice of the Versailles Treaty were terrible threats to Germany, and only Nazi policies could save them!

John

I agree that God did not create evil in that evil is not a thing which exists in physical sense. Evil a term to describe the absence or corruption of good. I like the old analogy that evil is the absence of good the way darkness is the absence of light.

God did create people with the capacity for evil. However, this is the only way He could create creatures with the capacity to do good. The only way a finite creature can do something good is if at some point it has the ability to do something evil.

I agree that God knew the result of His creation would be people doing evil. It seems that He thought that it was worthwhile to create creatures which could do good even if it meant that they would do some evil as well.

While I think the view of history presented here is incomplete at the least, I do agree that people have done bad things in the name of Christ and his church. The doctrine that addresses this is commonly called Original Sin. Put simply people are bad. Power corrupts. From the best of us to the worst of us, any time any individual or group achieves absolute power they will be corrupted. No group or individual should be given unquestioned authority. No matter how true or good our convictions, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[JohnPaul]

If a man purposely drives his car into a crowd of people, is it the fault of the manufacturer? No.
If a man uses a gun to shoot someone, is it the fault of the armorer? It certainly is not.
If a man gets drunk on beer, is it the fault of the brewer? Nope.

I agree, but if a manufacturer deliberately and knowingly produces an automobile with defective brakes, a gun with a defective trigger, or booze containing a poison (other than alcohol,) then the manufacturer can be held responsible for any injuries which occur as a DIRECT RESULT OF THE MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. The key is in the words "deliberately and knowingly."

If I set fire to an occupied building and someone dies as a result of the fire, I cannot escape responsibility by claiming that I did not directly kill the person, it was the fire that did the killing!

You admit that God created human nature and free will, and that God KNEW in advance that evil would be one result of this dangerous combination. So how can you claim that God did not create evil, even though evil was admittedly a secondary but inevitable and known byproduct of the created combination?

John

[JohnPaul]

I agree that God knew the result of His creation would be people doing evil. It seems that He thought that it was worthwhile to create creatures which could do good even if it meant that they would do some evil as well.

While I think the view of history presented here is incomplete at the least, I do agree that people have done bad things in the name of Christ and his church....

So you do agree that God created evil, but somehow thought evil was worthwhile?
I am a little confused as to why an all-powerful God could not have found some better way.

The millions of people horribly murdered and all the atrocities committed by the established church during the centuries of the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Witch Hunts deserve to be called something more than "bad things." Every Christian church in the world should be praying continuously night and day for forgiveness for these atrocities, yet Christians seldom mention it.

John

[bjs]

The millions of people horribly murdered and all the atrocities committed by the established church during the centuries of the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Witch Hunts deserve to be called something more than "bad things." Every Christian church in the world should be praying continuously night and day for forgiveness for these atrocities, yet Christians seldom mention it.

I disagree that Christians seldom mention the past crimes of the church. It is commonly discussed.

I also disagree that “Every Christian church in the world should be praying continuously night and day for forgiveness for these atrocities.� No Christian alive today took part in the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Witch Hunts. They are past mistakes that should be learned from, but modern Christians – and the vast majority of Christians throughout history – had no part in them. We should recognize the wrong things that Christians have done, but we also need to move on and recognize that we are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors.

So you do agree that God created evil, but somehow thought evil was worthwhile?

No, I said that God created creatures with the capacity for evil. That is different than creating evil itself.

I am a little confused as to why an all-powerful God could not have found some better way.

It is logically impossible for God to create a creature that is at the same time both morally free and not morally free. For us to have the ability to do something good we must at some point have had the real choice to do something bad.

[JohnPaul]

No Christian alive today took part in the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Witch Hunts. They are past mistakes that should be learned from, but modern Christians – and the vast majority of Christians throughout history – had no part in them. We should recognize the wrong things that Christians have done, but we also need to move on and recognize that we are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors.

!!!!!!!!!!! I certainly agree with that, but God does not. No Christian alive today listened to the serpent or ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree, but God punished the entire human race forever for a minor transgression by a naive couple in the Garden of Eden long ago. In your reasoning, God was obviously wrong, so Christians should be praying to tell God that he should move on!

John

[bjs]

!!!!!!!!!!! I certainly agree with that, but God does not. No Christian alive today listened to the serpent or ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree, but God punished the entire human race forever for a minor transgression by a naive couple in the Garden of Eden long ago. In your reasoning, God was obviously wrong, so Christians should be praying to tell God that he should move on!

John

I am confused by the reasoning here. Are you claiming since the Garden people have ceased rebelling against the Lord and that sin is no longer a factor – that God is holding on to this old sin from the Garden and people are no longer sinning?

If this is not the case you are making then please clarify what you are trying to say.

If this is the case that you are making then there is overwhelming evidence to prove it false.

[JohnPaul]

I am confused by the reasoning here. Are you claiming since the Garden people have ceased rebelling against the Lord and that sin is no longer a factor – that God is holding on to this old sin from the Garden and people are no longer sinning?

The point I was trying to make was in response to your earlier claim that Christians and the Christian church should not be held responsible today for the sins of their ancestors during the Crusades, Witch Hunts, etc. I responded by pointing out that God does hold people today responsible for the sins of their ancestors in the doctrine of Original Sin, which I understand to mean that the entire human race is still guilty and being punished today for the sins of Adam and Eve and so we all need to be "saved." We have been expelled from the Garden, etc. My point had nothing to do with whether people are still individually committing new sins today or not.

If God's idea of justice is to hold the entire human race today responsible for the sin of Adam and Eve (in the doctrine of Original Sin), then why is it not OK for us today to hold the Christian church today guilty and responsible for the sins of their ancestors in the Middle Ages? Fair is fair!

John