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Did the Abrahamic God Create Evil?

c0da

Active Member
I'm not very clued up on the issue.

But isn't it said, in religious and non-religious circles, that without evil, how would we know what good is?
 

Bangbang

Active Member
c0da2006 said:
I'm not very clued up on the issue.

But isn't it said, in religious and non-religious circles, that without evil, how would we know what good is?

Then was good and bad created at the same time?
 

Master Vigil

Well-Known Member
c0da2006 said:
But isn't it said, in religious and non-religious circles, that without evil, how would we know what good is?
But surely an omniscient, and omnipotent would be able to make it so that we would know good without evil. I mean, if not, then that limits god doesn't it? And a limited god surely can't be god.
 

St0ne

Active Member
He definately did, eigther directly or indirectly but thats inconsicentual in the end isn't it?
 

ashai

Active Member
Master Vigil said:
But surely an omniscient, and omnipotent would be able to make it so that we would know good without evil. I mean, if not, then that limits god doesn't it? And a limited god surely can't be god.

Ushta Master Vigil

Yes! An all powerful god could fix it so we could know good without experiencing evil. However, no:tsk: a limited god can be as much of a god as a limited one He just can't be the god of present Abrahamic theology. In fact a limited god to Zoroastrians is the only possible God:bounce

Ushta te
Ashai
 

Master Vigil

Well-Known Member
bangbang said:
Why not.....the Abrahamic God even has rukes to abide by according to his plan.
Ashai said:
Yes! An all powerful god could fix it so we could know good without experiencing evil. However, no:tsk: a limited god can be as much of a god as a limited one He just can't be the god of present Abrahamic theology. In fact a limited god to Zoroastrians is the only possible God:bounce
This is the problem with these kinds of questions. There are so many definitions, premises, etc... In the end, it all depends on your definition of god, evil, and the way you see the relationship between the two and the world.

Me personally, I don't believe in god, or that the concept of evil exists outside of our minds. So you can definitely see my difficulty in answering the original question.
 

Mister_T

Forum Relic
Premium Member
Evil is a choice is it not?
Yes sir. 2 words; Free Will
Why not.....the Abrahamic God even has rukes to abide by according to his plan.
I agree. God is perfect and can do anything he wants. Just because God says something is impossible for him to do, doesn't mean he is not able to do it, it means that it would go against his perfect nature. It's like when somone says that it is impossible for them to kill their child. That person is fully capable of doing it, but mentally it is impossible.
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
Good/evil coming from God is classic dualism.

God didn't create good...God IS good. And Genesis tells us that, when God had finished creating, God called it all, "good."

Evil came about by humanity's tuning away from God. Evil is a human construct, not a divine construct.
 

jewscout

Religious Zionist
sojourner said:
Evil came about by humanity's tuning away from God. Evil is a human construct, not a divine construct.

I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am HaShem, that doeth all these things.
Isaiah 45:7
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
jewscout said:
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am HaShem, that doeth all these things.
Isaiah 45:7

I form the light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 45:7 (NRSV)
 

jewscout

Religious Zionist
my above quote comes from the JPS 1917
this is the KJV
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].

and this from the Judiaca Press
Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the Lord, Who makes all these.

and 6 out of 9 of the christian versions in english listed at blueletterbible.com use the term "evil"
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
jewscout said:
my above quote comes from the JPS 1917
this is the KJV
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].

and this from the Judiaca Press
Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the Lord, Who makes all these.

and 6 out of 9 of the christian versions in english listed at blueletterbible.com use the term "evil"

Most reputable Bible scholars will say that the NRSV is the most accurate english translation to date, along with the New English, neither of which are listed in your citation...
 

jewscout

Religious Zionist
sojourner said:
Most reputable Bible scholars will say that the NRSV is the most accurate english translation to date, along with the New English, neither of which are listed in your citation...

that's funny because the hebrew word there means "evil"
עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע
"Oseh Shalom oovoray Ra" ...who makes peace and creates evil...
"Ra" is the hebrew word meaning Evil, as in Yetzer HaRa "The Evil inclination" or Lashon HaRa "Evil Speak" (gossip)

but then my hebrew's a bit rusty perhaps someone with a better fluency in the language can advise...
 

Endless

Active Member
I think again the question with that verse is not 'did God create evil' but how did God create evil. If God created humans and Satan - knowing that they would allow sin into the world and hence evil - did God not create evil - or maybe more technically correct - allow evil to be created by what he created.
Evil is sin basically - God will not sin, Sin is rebellion against God - therefore God would have had to rebel against himself in order to create evil, something he would not do.
Evil isn't a force that exists separately from everything else - evil comes from within a man - not from without. It comes from within the fallen angels - not from without.

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

So yes God did in a way create evil because he allowed freedom of choice - for a man to chose to rebel against himself, or for a man to follow himself. But specifically speaking it is us using our God given freedom to rebel against him, that results in the evil.
Hope that makes some kind of sense....
 
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