For so many years this question has been around my head and hearing so many answres from so many exceptional teachres this is the one that at last ease my mind. Thank you very much and so thankful to God beacuse of Dr. Reeves
as mentioned in the video, this question assumes that evil is a thing. However, God did not create evil, but rather, evil is the absence or corruption of good. In other words, evil is the result of The rebellion of fallen men and angels against the perfectly holy law of God. As a reformed Christian, I believe that God is completely sovereign and in control of all things, including our decisions. Therefore, in reference to the question of evil, I would respond by affirming that God created everything and ordained evil to exist for His own purposes, which are ultimately for His glory and the good of His people. We may not always understand why God allows evil to exist, but we trust that He is good and has an infallible plan that is working out for His glory and the ultimate good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). In this sense, The existence of evil can be seen as a means to the end that God has purposed from all eternity, rather than something that is opposed to His will. God has created everything in order to manifest His glory, and this includes using even the existence of evil to accomplish His purposes.
If God is in "control of ALL things", He is in control of evil, He is in control of Satan and his decisions, logically followed, Satan is not needed because God wills all evil that Satan does. Or am I misunderstanding something?
@@bolt.22 The Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and our responsibility. God is sovereign, sovereign even over sin and the sinner. But God is sovereign over sin and the sinner in such a way that the sinner himself always remains responsible before God for his sin. Yes, the Son of Man goes to the cross as it was determined by God: "But woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed" (Luke 22:22). To be sure, Christ is delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, but it is also true that "wicked hands" are responsible for His being crucified and slain (Acts 2:23). Nor is this ever a real problem for the sinner. In our everyday life we experience no tension between God's sovereignty and our own responsibility. Although we believe that all things are under the sovereign control of God, we know that when we do wrong, we are responsible for the wrong we have done. We feel the guilt and must also face the consequences. In a way that surpasses our ability to comprehend it, God is absolutely sovereign and man is responsible for his sin. In humility we should submit to what the Bible teaches, and we would do well to confess with article 13 of the belgic confession.
@@e.t.h.559 you say God is in control of our decisions, so any choice I make is not mine but God's. Correct? How can I be responsible for choices He forces me to do? Do I program a computer to crash then get mad at it because it didn't? Also, you never answered what exactly Satan's role is if God predestined all the evil that Satan would do? Why have Satan if God controls all evil?
So if darkness is the absence of light, evil the absence of good, doesn't Isaiah 45:7 mean that God created evil (darkness)? It confuses me to see reformers talk in circles about this subject when the answer is obvious.
Wow. The Light/Dark analogy was REALLY good. A created thing allows for the potential of differing states, aka darkness. But darkness itself is not a "thing." Very cool! This is why I'm comforted by my doubts. Because God is BIGGER than them!
Very informative. A note to RUclips however, some of the closed captioning is off. For example, the @ 3:12, what is spoken as "so insubstantial" is written as, "so in substantial."
If evil is not created, then something exists apart from God's sovereignty, and apparently, God could do nothing about it. Isaiah 45:6-7 (KJV 1900): That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, That there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. WCF 5:4
@@ThomasCranmer1959 wait!! you have got a point though... the scripture speaks itself. Theology and Doctrines? we will keep learning but we are saved by faith in Jesus alone that much is clear for now.
From John Frame's "The Doctrine of God," “While God is properly said to ordain, and thus be the ultimate cause of all things (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 11:36, James 4:13-15) -even evil- (cf. Revelation 17:17, 2 Samuel 12:11-12, 1 Kings 22:19-23 / 2 Chronicles 18:18-22) He is never the proximate, or efficient cause of evil, and scripture regards only the proximate or efficient cause of evil as the chargeable or blameworthy party.”
Frame is correct here. That's because in the Institutes Calvin says that God is the ultimate and remote cause of the fall and all of man's sins. Book III:23:3. Also, I highly recommend the two books by Calvin: A Defense of the Secret Providence of God; and A Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God. You can find this sold as one book: Calvin's Calvinism. In these two books Calvin debates an opponent named Pighius. Calvin distinguishes in those two books between the remote cause and the proximate causes of moral sins and evil. The primary cause of all evil and sin is God because God foreordained and predestined it all. The secondary or proximate causes are the sins of men and angels. The Westminster Confession of Faith also makes these distinctions, but most people do not understand the distinctions made by the WCF because they are unfamiliar with the two books I mentioned in Calvin's Calvinism.
Stunning video and GREAT Presentation. There's a theological proposition that explains "Where Did Evil Come From? God is Good, How Did Evil Enter the World?" It's called, "The Mystery of INIQUITY." Satan was never called, "Perfect." According to Ezekiel 28:15, he was "blameless in his ways." What that signifies is he exhibited no fault in his actions...UNTIL...Iniquity was found in his heart! The "Mystery of Iniquity" speaks to how corruption incubated in the heart of THIS rouge spirit until he gave birth to LAWLESS & SIN. Because SIN corrupts, and infects exponentially, Satan convinced 1/3rd of the angelic host to follow him in an insurrection against the Throne of God. For this reason, God was forced to send Michael and his angels to make war against Satan's forces. They were consequently defeated and FLUNG to the physical Earth. That's how evil entered the physical realm. I asked the question: "Why didn't God destroy Satan when He saw iniquity in his heart?" Couldn't He had prevented "evil" from entering the world? The answer was NO! Lawlessness (which is the result of SIN) can only be dealt with LEGALLY! There was no LAW that dealt with what was in Satan's heart! The LAW only condemns what one does...that's why God said, he was "blameless in his ways). Therefore, God had to get Satan under the LAW...for that reason He created Adam...We can talk ABOUT IT MORE...if you want the details of "WHY ARE WE HERE!"
I think we can do our best to question, explain and try to understand where evil originated, and there have been many thoughtful and noble attempts made, yet I don’t need to know until the Lord himself reveals it and I think this can’t be understood or confirmed by mortal minds. We’ll understand when we are in Heaven, but until then I think we as Christian’s should rest/trust that God is above all, creator of all and in control of all and some things are beyond our ability to grasp now. They’re another level outside our dimension and capability. Thank God He has mercifully revealed the REMEDY for overcoming evil to his children and that is his beautiful plan of salvation through Jesus Christs death, buried and resurrection. Where it may seem to some that he didn’t create evil/or did, or where he isn’t in control/or is, or where he must not care/ or does etc. We need to simply retain childlike faith that there’s more to the story than we can grasp. There is more to God and his greatness,wisdom, love, power, plans etc. His ways are higher than we can grasp. Higher than the heavens above the earth so much higher is our God’s greatness and power and insight and plans etc. (insert adjective)than ours. ❤
@@truthseeker5698 I’m well aware of the existence of evil and a demonic realm behind it, if that’s what you’re referring to. What is your point exactly?
(The most word for word style of translation commonly used is the NASB) “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” (Isa 45:7 NASB)
True, it does say that, so does other translations, and I think the KJV uses the word "evil". And being the word-for-word translated from the Hebrew text (which is what would've been used for this in the OT) you can understand it is a different reference than the question being answered in this video... from the word calamity (and others in other accurate translations) and the context of this passage in Isaiah.
The word 'ra means moral evil as well as calamities. But even calamities are not coincidental. They are sent by God. Genesis 6:5 uses the word 'ra for sin or wickedness. Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900) 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? Proverbs 16:4 (KJV 1900) 4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
He won't do that because he is using a rationalist argument from St. Augustine, who rejected that same argument toward the end of his life in his retraction. Augustine rejected free will.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 depends how you are using the word free will. All Christians should be rejecting libertarian free will because if you don't, you don't believe in a sovereign God and you deny original sin/sin nature.
@@retrograd332 Presbyterians and Calvinists generally accept the idea of free moral agency. But as you said, they reject libertarian free will. Libertarian free will not only does not solve the problem of evil but it also implies insanity. If there is nothing outside of us or in our hearts and minds to determine our choices we would indeed be insane. The criminal laws outwardly and inwardly predetermine most rational people not to rob the bank in town.
This is a question that has puzzled me, and the way I see it is, that God created people with free-will. Free-will is a choice between good and evil, between obeying God and disobeying Him. If there was no distinction between good and evil then there would be no free-will. Therefore evil is a necessary component of free-will. If God is omnipotent then why doesn't he eliminate evil? If he eliminated evil, he would be eliminating free-will. Something else occurs to me. God is eternal without beginning or end. Therefore God was not created. And man is made in image of God. And since man has the capacity for choosing evil, then God must have this capacity as well. Therefore in the eternal realm of God, evil must exist. Except that God, if like Jesus, never sinned. So evil is in the eternal realm but God never chooses evil. In fact maybe the definition of God makes no sense without the existence of evil. Because if God is Love, then Love makes no sense without the existence of Hate. But God didn't create Love, because God and Love are eternal. And therefore so is Hate. So arguably, in the same way that God was not created, neither was evil. It is eternal. And this idea is supported by the fact that "the lake of fire is described by Hippolytus unambiguously as the place of eternal torment for the sinners after the resurrection." (from internet)
Hawayu Ligonier Ministries *& I Appreciate Pst. Michael Reeves 4 Answering This Powerful, Blessful, Deep Question of "If God Created Everything, How Is It That God Didn't Create evil ?"4 What Pst. Michael Reeves Has Said Is Veryyyyyy, Veryyyyyy Ryt One 💯% 4 God Doesn't Create evil Althu God's Word Says That "I Form The Light & Create darkness: I Make Peace & Create evil: I The LORD Do All These Things" Written In Isaiah 45:7 Where Our Great Almighty God Doesn't Create evil 4 Our LORD Is The Light of The World As Written In John 8:12* & May Our Great Almighty God Bless Yu Pst. Michael Reeves & Ligonier Ministries So Veryyyyy, Veryyyyyy Much & Happy Easter 2 Yu Ligonier Ministries.🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️
So what was there to actually “know” from eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”? I like the concept that evil is only the absence of good, like darkness the absence of light. That is easy to understand. But then what “knowledge” did Adam and Eve actually acquire when they ate of the tree?
Obviously they learned that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil violated God's moral law and they became law breakers and sinners. Sin is any violation of the law of God in thought, word or deed. Evil is any violation of God's law.
@@cranmer1959 they were tempted. They couldn't distinguish between good or bad until eating the fruit. God knew they were tempted(after enquiring) and chose to punish them anyway. How were they supposed to obey without the knowledge to do so? This knowledge that could only be gained by disobeying and eating the fruit. If God is real, he's a psychopath.
@@TwistedViewer If you do not understand the logical difference between obedience and disobedience, then you would be either insane or an imbecile. Adam and Eve were created with the capacity to think logically. Since they knew the law of contradiction, i.e., "Thou shalt not...." it is ignorance on your part to suggest that they could not be held accountable for their disobedience. The tree itself had no magical powers to give them any additional knowledge. The test was one of obedience to the law of God. It is always wrong to disobey God because He can and does hold everyone accountable. There is no one above God to hold Him accountable for anything He does.
Evil is any violation of God's moral law in thought, word, or deed: Q. 149. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? A. No man is able either of himself,h or by any grace received in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God;i but doth daily break them in thought,k word, and deed.l Q. 24. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.v Westminster Larger Catechism Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition. Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851. Print.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900) 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
@@cranmer1959 the thing is, the Word evil in kjv can also be used for calamity. God isn't the author of evil but He can cause calamities (ex: hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.).
@@goosieschmoo8239 Hebrew makes no distinction between calamity and moral evil. The same word is used. 'ra. Translations are reflective of the opinions of the translators, not the actual intent of the original inspired Hebrew text. Besides, even if we admit that in Isaiah 45:7 it means only calamity, there are plenty of other texts that explicitly say that God causes men to sin. If God can cause the elect to do good, how is it that God cannot also cause men to sin? Adam's will was free from sin, yet God foreordained the fall. Adam's will not not free from God's predetermined purpose.
I think a couple of more interesting questions would be A) when did evil begin? and B) did evil begin with Lucifer? Lucifer is a fallen angel cast out of Heaven by God, right? When God cast Lucifer out of Heaven he was renamed Satan, correct? If God cast Lucifer out of Heaven than his acts of evil began before he was cast out of Heaven, correct? If so how was evil able to exist in Heaven, in the presence of God?
Well, you know, God was caught off guard. He couldn't do anything about the 1/3 of the angels who rebelled. Right? Obviously, this heaven is not the highest heaven because God shares His glory not even with the angels.
No one denies that evil men and angels choose to do evil. Obviously, they have volition. The question is whether those choices are predetermined. Why are sinners slaves to sin in the first place? Free will was lost after the fall of Adam because all of the human race is born with original sin and are slaves to it. Psalm 58:3. Another question? Was the fall foreordained by God or did it happen by accident?
@@cranmer1959 No the choices are not predetermined i dont think you understand the term? God does not predetermine human or angels of their actions. As JOhn macarthur said. The Bible tells us the truth: we were not only infected by sin, it owned us. Sin was our master and we had no choice but to serve. The human race is salve to sin.
@@cranmer1959God foreordained the fall but he did not cause it. They made a choice. But far from a free choice. It's not that complicated without totally dishonest strawmen and false dichotomies You just have the dumbest anti logic you are a pathological liar.
I like Ligonier's stuff but I have to disagree with this one. Scripture teaches that darkness is a thing and it is under the authority of God. It also teaches about evil and God has no issues claiming the authority of it's existence. My hope is not that there will be no evil but that God will conform me to His image through it. Trinitarian speak the Father has set His plan and my faith is in Jesus who died and rose again so that the Holy Spirit could work out my salvation for all eternity.
Hi Lucas, take a look at 'Confessions,' Book VII, where Augustine provides a general answer throughout the different chapters. Also in 'City of God,' Books XI (chapter 9) and XII (chapter 6) you can find some ideas about that.
Evil is the absence of God, like darkness is the absence of light and cold is the absence of heat. Three things that are nothing but the absence of what is good.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900) 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
"Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God willing to show his wrath and to make His power known endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" Romans 9:21-22. "By FAITH we understand" - not rationalization, ie., "Leaning unto our own understanding".
God did create evil, and He created wickedness. The question you should ask is WHY did God create evil? Once you can answer that then understanding that God created evil becomes clearer.
Amen! God creates it all. God sends lying spirits, hardens hearts. To say he didn’t create evil and hate is to say he also didn’t create Good and Love. God created everything for a purpose.
@@thenobleberean1940 To say that God is the author of evil goes against His character, for there is no darkness in God. God, however, is sovereign over evil.
Isaiah 45:7 has two applications in the Bible. The term can be used in the sense of moral evil, such as wickedness and sin (Matthew 12:35; Judges 3:12; Proverbs 8:13; 3 John 1:11), or it can refer to harmful natural events, calamity, misfortune, adversity, affliction, or disaster. It is in this second sense that Isaiah speaks, and his meaning is reflected in most modern Bible translations of Isaiah 45:7
I was not impressed by Reaves answer In fact much more detail in the comment section Reaves seemed to talk around the issue rather than meet it head on RC did a much better explanation on the topic
I am a Christian but will play devil's advocate here. So, you're basically saying that evil is just the absence of God, like darkness to light. Well, if God is so powerful and bright, why is there darkness (evil) at all?
He chooses to remove himself from certain places Duhhh. Obviously I don't think you are a Christian you aren't even connected to kindergarten level common sense. A cult claiming what you are not, more like it.
True, it does say that in the KJV (and others probably). But the translation in Hebrew and the context of this passage in Isaiah is a different meaning of the word. Other accurate translations uses different words in this verse.
@@Mojo32 You are wrong. I have JP Green’s literal translation of the Hebrew and the KJV is correct here. Look it up for yourself. God does create evil, and everything that has ever been created was created by God. Even the Hebrew clearly states from God, “I am Jehovah, and there is none else: forming light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil- I Jehovah do all these things. That is a literal translation from the Hebrew to the English and the KJV is perfectly correct. Look it up for yourself.
@@charleneriddle5995 If God spoke evil innto existens than Jesus wasnt innosent at the kross and ouer beliv in Him is inn vain. But we dont belive that, do we?
@@charleneriddle5995 If you say you are reading and understanding the original text, then why are you using the grossly mistranslated “Jehovah” for the name of God? You have lost your argument.
So God, who is an actual being of pure light, order and Law first created A dark, void of chaos. Gen 1:1,2 a juxtaposition and negation of himself from which He then formed everything? very interesting.
@@addlecrux5981yes for anyone with ears who can pass kindergarten Sunday school and doesn't live in a narcissistic blind sepf righteous fantasy world 😅😅😅
Excellent! I have read little of Augustine, but those were my same conclusions-literally. Evil is not a THING. It has no real existence. God creaated light-but he did not create daarkness, which is only the absence of light. Another thing of interest, is that the word Hebel, meaning “emptiness,” “breath,” “vanity,” is the same word that was Abel's name.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900) 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
In RC Sproul Jr's book _Almighty Over All_ he states, "I am not accusing God of sinning; I am suggesting that He created sin." (p. 54). RC Jr's thesis is summed up as follows: ● God's most prominent character attribute is that He is wrathful. ● God's wrath is "glorious" and "beautiful." ● Prior to creation God had nothing he could demonstrate the glory and beauty of his wrath on. ● God creates the world to have something he could pour out his wrath on. ● Problem... God creates the world good. Nothing there is worthy of pouring out his wrath on. ● God needs sin to take out his wrath on, but none exists anywhere. ● God creates sin. ● No one sins, not even Satan, because their inclinations are only for good. ● God changes the inclinations of man and even Satan to desire to do sin. ● Their inclinations to sin are so powerful they really have no choice in the matter. ● Satan falls into sin and later takes Adam and Eve with him. ● God gets to pour out his wrath on everyone and send them to eternal blazes. ● This gives God "glory." ● We should all "jump up and down rejoicing" when God sends sinners to hell. Only one blog seems to have ever had the courage to call out the son of Dr. RC Sproul for what is clearly a heretic's book. Google "RC Sproul Jr Accuses God Of Creating Sin, Weaponizes Calvinism"
The problem is not so much that Jr is wrong about God's creating sin. The problem is that his alleged sorites has several fallacious propositions. The first one is that God is essentially "wrathful". This is wrong because God's wrath is against sin and that God is not primarily "wrathful". God as a simple Being is all that He is and none of the attributes are above the others. Justice is what provokes God's anthropopathic response of "wrath". Wrath is not necessarily an inherent attribute but justice and holiness are attributes of God's essential being. The other blatantly wrong proposition is that God "needs sin to take out His wrath on..." First of all, God has no "needs" of any kind. He is complete in and of Himself. Secondly, wrath is an anthropopathism, not an attribute of deity. Anthropopathisms are merely human emotions attributed to God to make Him more understandable and relational to the human condition. Some theologians mistakely attribute the emotion of love to God as well. Since God has no body parts or passions, it follows that He also has no human emotions, including love and wrath. When 1 John 5:7-8 says that God is love, the word is not meant to say that God has romantic emotions toward humanity. It instead means that God's love is a volition to save His elect people individually. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Therefore, love is not an emotion but a volition or an act of the will. The same applies to Christian marriage. Romance and emotion are transitory in marriage. It is the volitional oath to the covenantal aspect of marriage that keeps a marriage intact. God's eternal covenant with the elect is not an emotion but an eternal volition to save His elect. I would have to read Jr's own words, since you merely summarized what you think he said. But your summary could be tendentious instead of fairly representing what Jr. actually said. I would suggest that you study the Westminster Standards more closely. Chapter V clearly states that God's providence extends to all the sins of men and angels without God's being the author of their sins. And in Book III:23:3 of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin clearly states that God is the remote author of the fall and all other sins: "3. God is just toward the reprobate eSo keeping silence, God can restrain his enemies. bBut lest we allow them to mock his holy name with impunity, out of his Word he supplies us with weapons against them. Accordingly, if anyone approaches us with such expressions as: “Why from the beginning did God predestine some to death who, since they did not yet exist, could not yet have deserved the judgment of death?”7 let us, in lieu of reply, ask them, in turn, what they think God owes to man if He would judge him according to His own nature. As all of us are vitiated by sin, we can only be odious to God, and that not from tyrannical cruelty but by the fairest reckoning of justice. But if all whom the Lord predestines to death are by condition of nature subject to the judgment of death, of what injustice toward themselves may they complain? Let all the sons of Adam come forward; let them quarrel and argue with their Creator that they were by his eternal providence bound over before their begetting to everlasting calamity. What clamor can they raise against this defense when God, on the contrary, will call them to their account before him? If all are drawn from a corrupt mass, no wonder they are subject to condemnation! Let them not accuse God of injustice if they are destined by his eternal judgment to death, to which they feel-whether they will or not-that they are led by their own nature of itself. eHow perverse is their disposition to protest is apparent from the fact that they deliberately suppress the cause of condemnation, which they are compelled to recognize in themselves, in order to free themselves by blaming God. But though I should confess a hundred times that God is the author of it-which is very true-yet they do not promptly cleanse away the guilt that, engraved upon their consciences, repeatedly meets their eyes." e edition of 1559 b edition of 1539 7 Augustine, Unfinished Treatise Against Julian I. xlviii; II. viii (MPL 45. 1069 f., 1145). e edition of 1559 Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics.
@@ItalicusHammer You have no clue about what Calvinism is if you disagree with the Westminster Standards of 1647. I directly cited the Westminster Confession and quoted from John Calvin himself.
@@ItalicusHammer See Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6 in the KJV. Both properly translate the Hebrew term ra' as evil. It can also be translated as "sin". See Genesis 6:5.
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice. To the greater glory of God.
The concepts of love and goodness can only exist if their opposite is possible. If everything was all-loving and all-good all of the time, then love and goodness become meaningless with no significance.
Its hard for me to read some of these blasphemous replies. Come on people. God is our Creator whether you like what He does or not but He sure didn’t create evil. So many things in the Bible are taken out of context because when people get to the hard part the "deep dive study" of the Bible is over with for you. Own this and stop blaming God!
@Arthur Cheng The biblical explanation is very simple: Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900): Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Isaiah 45:7 (KJV 1900): 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. Isaiah 14:24 (KJV 1900): The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; And as I have purposed, so shall it stand: Isaiah 14:27 (KJV 1900): For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Proverbs 16:4 (KJV 1900): The Lord hath made all things for himself: Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. There are plenty more verses. God is in complete providential control of all evil.
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice.
If God foreordained evil, then God is the ultimate author of evil. You have not solved the problem. The correct answer is: whatever God does is right, including when God foreordains and predestines evil. Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6; Proverbs 16:4.
Who's scoffing? I am disagreeing because Augustine's philosophy is not in our Reformed Confessional Standards. Worse, it is not in the Bible. Augustine was a rationalist.
God deserves credit for making the world. But also there's bible verses that suggest it is better to have never been born in it. But that isn't his fault! He created the laws of physics, but those same laws of physics leading to suffering is not his fault! He created every animal that exists and their biologically programmed behaviors, but there being animals that are carnivores mauling each other apart in a free for all bloodbath is not his fault! So basically god wants credit for making everything, but not any blame on why it sucks. Got it.
God created everything meaning everything that includes good and evil because they are something otherwise why would be nothing and we wouldn't know they exist free will is just an illusion as God created fate along with everything else, there for everything that you experience on this earth was created by God good, bad or neutral Satan never created evil neither doesn't he conduct such evil God did Satan simply tried to change that and put and end to suffering a big misunderstanding and he was punished for trying to do so and was sent to hell which was also created by God.
Seems pretty clear to me. God is perfect goodness. He created both angels and man with the choice to obey Him. When we decided to go against God, we turned away from good, meaning there was nowhere else to go apart from toward evil. So God didn't create evil. He gave us the choice to obey or not. Therefore, we created evil by refusing to follow good. We chose the evil way. God is perfect good, the opposite of which is complete evil. We travel toward that goal.
@Charlie J. Ray That's not what I said. Nothing takes God by surprise. He gave us the choice to love and obey Him because He didn't want to make robots but people who could choose to obey and love Him. He knew that choosing to go against Him would be evil. He gave Satan a wonderful position, but he rebelled. He gave Adam and Eve a wonderful garden paradise in which to live, but they rebelled. It's foolish to blame God for our arrogant selfishness.
@@chrislockett9933 It's also foolish to suggest that God can do nothing about evil. So how does libertarian free will get God off the hook? Also, just saying that you have a choice does not prove that the choice was not predetermined. Furthermore, how does God foreknow the future? By looking forward in time to learn what will happen? If so, then God cannot be omniscient or all knowing because in such a case God would need to learn new information about the future by peering ahead. God transcends time as an eternal being who has no past, present or future. If God foreknows that you will go to church next Sunday, is it possible that you won't go to church next Sunday? And I might add that I fully agree that it is foolish to blame God, but then I'm not the one blaming God. Nothing God does is wrong, including when God foreordained the fall of Adam and all the evil actions of men and angels. Robots are machines. The analogy fails on several points. First, humans have biological bodies and they have a genuine self awareness and sentience. Humans also have rational minds so that they can think logically and problem solve. Robots are simply a computer program without any self awareness whatsoever. Robots cannot sin or disobey God and humans obviously do both. Basically mere animals cannot sin and neither can a machine that has no sentience, rationality, or accountability to anything or anyone. If a man is predetermined to sin but still willingly sins, he is nevertheless without excuse. The same applies to anyone who breaks the criminal laws in ignorance. He or she is still accountable even if they are unaware that they broke the law.
@Charlie J. Ray Hi Charlie I agree with most of what you are saying. God knows exactly what is going to happen. But He didn't create evil. As I said, He gave us choice to obey Him. Adam chose not too, putting us all on a path away from goodness toward evil. God knew this and I believe forordained it, so He could display his lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness here on earth. This He did at the cross. He chose me before the foundation of the world. Certainly not because I deserve to be saved, but to display his glory in such an evil man as I. He didn't create evil to do this, He created choice, knowing that we would turn away from perfect goodness. The only direction possible is toward evil.
Christian isn't a thing. It's only an absence of critical thinking... Why can't people just be adults? Of course, God created evil. The same argument of absence could be made against everything. Describe anything without describing what it's like. That's why evil exists. Just grow up.
God didn't create evil. Since God created light as a result of creating light, the absence of it is darkness. God created peace, and the absence of peace is evil. This is a very simple concept. In many things we do or create, opposing things will occur. Humans are that opposing factor and we want to blame God because we are too prideful and arrogant. Again, we see humanity not owning up to the mess we make. We want to rewrite what God has laid out for us and it is "good" but "no one is good, no not one." We don't like that so, we arrogantly say God must have made evil. 🤦♂️😂 We are truely dumb sheep in desperate need of the "Good Shepherd." 👍🏻❤️💪🏼
Why God allowed the absence of light? If He only created light, then supposedly there is no room for something that is not light, right? But there is. And that absence creates evil. Why God create such room for light to be able to become absence?
Isaiah 45:7 KJV states, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil." Don’t listen to these dithering idiots. God’s mind is above human understanding
But you understand God amirite? You’re missing the point of that verse, which is not that God literally creates evil. It’s a Jewish form of writing. He uses evil to bring catastrophe, judgment, etc., but He isn’t the author of it as you heretically point out.
The definition of evil is “morally wrong or wicked.” (The 10 Commandments are His moral law.) That said, you are reading from the King James version. The ESV and Amplified versions use the words “disaster and calamity” respectively. These words have different meanings than the word evil does.
@@florida8953 I agree with you 100%.Darknes want to overcome the light but it cant. God uses the evil to bring forward everything that is good. He did not create the falling away from Him, but when it happend He knew what to do with it.
Isaiah 45:7 KJV states, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil." Make up your own mind…contradict the word of God if you like:)
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice.
For so many years this question has been around my head and hearing so many answres from so many exceptional teachres this is the one that at last ease my mind. Thank you very much and so thankful to God beacuse of Dr. Reeves
It’s the answer that I knew in my spirit but could not utter , praise the Lord!
Michael Reeves has the best voice
Praise the LORD🙌🙏🙌🏼♥️🇩🇴🌷
This was so good, thank you.
as mentioned in the video, this question assumes that evil is a thing. However, God did not create evil, but rather, evil is the absence or corruption of good. In other words, evil is the result of The rebellion of fallen men and angels against the perfectly holy law of God.
As a reformed Christian, I believe that God is completely sovereign and in control of all things, including our decisions. Therefore, in reference to the question of evil, I would respond by affirming that God created everything and ordained evil to exist for His own purposes, which are ultimately for His glory and the good of His people. We may not always understand why God allows evil to exist, but we trust that He is good and has an infallible plan that is working out for His glory and the ultimate good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). In this sense, The existence of evil can be seen as a means to the end that God has purposed from all eternity, rather than something that is opposed to His will. God has created everything in order to manifest His glory, and this includes using even the existence of evil to accomplish His purposes.
If God is in "control of ALL things", He is in control of evil, He is in control of Satan and his decisions, logically followed, Satan is not needed because God wills all evil that Satan does. Or am I misunderstanding something?
@@bolt.22 The Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and our responsibility.
God is sovereign, sovereign even over sin and the sinner. But God is sovereign over sin and the sinner in such a way that the sinner himself always remains responsible before God for his sin. Yes, the Son of Man goes to the cross as it was determined by God: "But woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed" (Luke 22:22). To be sure, Christ is delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, but it is also true that "wicked hands" are responsible for His being crucified and slain (Acts 2:23).
Nor is this ever a real problem for the sinner. In our everyday life we experience no tension between God's sovereignty and our own responsibility. Although we believe that all things are under the sovereign control of God, we know that when we do wrong, we are responsible for the wrong we have done. We feel the guilt and must also face the consequences. In a way that surpasses our ability to comprehend it, God is absolutely sovereign and man is responsible for his sin. In
humility we should submit to what the Bible teaches, and we would do well to confess with article 13 of the belgic confession.
Thank you. Didn't understand nothing he tried to explain. I understand everything you have stated. God bless you
@@truthseeker5698 👎🏻😞
@@e.t.h.559 you say God is in control of our decisions, so any choice I make is not mine but God's. Correct? How can I be responsible for choices He forces me to do? Do I program a computer to crash then get mad at it because it didn't?
Also, you never answered what exactly Satan's role is if God predestined all the evil that Satan would do? Why have Satan if God controls all evil?
So if darkness is the absence of light, evil the absence of good, doesn't Isaiah 45:7 mean that God created evil (darkness)?
It confuses me to see reformers talk in circles about this subject when the answer is obvious.
evil in the context of isaiah 45:7 is calamity. God created calamity , for example a hurricane or earthquake
He is preaching. If evil is not a thing, then neither is goodness.
Thank you.
Wow. The Light/Dark analogy was REALLY good. A created thing allows for the potential of differing states, aka darkness. But darkness itself is not a "thing." Very cool! This is why I'm comforted by my doubts. Because God is BIGGER than them!
Very informative. A note to RUclips however, some of the closed captioning is off. For example, the @ 3:12, what is spoken as "so insubstantial" is written as, "so in substantial."
Evil isn’t a created thing , evil is the absence of good
can't agree more 🤝💯❤
If evil is not created, then something exists apart from God's sovereignty, and apparently, God could do nothing about it.
Isaiah 45:6-7 (KJV 1900): That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west,
That there is none beside me.
I am the Lord, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:
I the Lord do all these things.
IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.
WCF 5:4
@@ThomasCranmer1959 wait!! you have got a point though... the scripture speaks itself. Theology and Doctrines? we will keep learning but we are saved by faith in Jesus alone that much is clear for now.
@@sudeep1000 False. Jesus said you must obey all the Scriptures.
Because evil really does not exist, it is the absence of good!
From John Frame's "The Doctrine of God,"
“While God is properly said to ordain, and thus be the ultimate cause of all things (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 11:36, James 4:13-15) -even evil- (cf. Revelation 17:17, 2 Samuel 12:11-12, 1 Kings 22:19-23 / 2 Chronicles 18:18-22) He is never the proximate, or efficient cause of evil, and scripture regards only the proximate or efficient cause of evil as the chargeable or blameworthy party.”
This was my textbook in seminary and I really appreciate frame's position on evil/soverignty.
Frame is correct here. That's because in the Institutes Calvin says that God is the ultimate and remote cause of the fall and all of man's sins. Book III:23:3. Also, I highly recommend the two books by Calvin: A Defense of the Secret Providence of God; and A Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God. You can find this sold as one book: Calvin's Calvinism. In these two books Calvin debates an opponent named Pighius. Calvin distinguishes in those two books between the remote cause and the proximate causes of moral sins and evil. The primary cause of all evil and sin is God because God foreordained and predestined it all. The secondary or proximate causes are the sins of men and angels. The Westminster Confession of Faith also makes these distinctions, but most people do not understand the distinctions made by the WCF because they are unfamiliar with the two books I mentioned in Calvin's Calvinism.
@@cranmer1959
Awesome! I love a good book recommendation. Thank you sir!
Hear Joe Boot in my mind saying "Direction, not form."
Stunning video and GREAT Presentation. There's a theological proposition that explains "Where Did Evil Come From? God is Good, How Did Evil Enter the World?" It's called, "The Mystery of INIQUITY." Satan was never called, "Perfect." According to Ezekiel 28:15, he was "blameless in his ways." What that signifies is he exhibited no fault in his actions...UNTIL...Iniquity was found in his heart!
The "Mystery of Iniquity" speaks to how corruption incubated in the heart of THIS rouge spirit until he gave birth to LAWLESS & SIN. Because SIN corrupts, and infects exponentially, Satan convinced 1/3rd of the angelic host to follow him in an insurrection against the Throne of God. For this reason, God was forced to send Michael and his angels to make war against Satan's forces. They were consequently defeated and FLUNG to the physical Earth. That's how evil entered the physical realm.
I asked the question: "Why didn't God destroy Satan when He saw iniquity in his heart?" Couldn't He had prevented "evil" from entering the world? The answer was NO! Lawlessness (which is the result of SIN) can only be dealt with LEGALLY! There was no LAW that dealt with what was in Satan's heart! The LAW only condemns what one does...that's why God said, he was "blameless in his ways). Therefore, God had to get Satan under the LAW...for that reason He created Adam...We can talk ABOUT IT MORE...if you want the details of "WHY ARE WE HERE!"
I think we can do our best to question, explain and try to understand where evil originated, and there have been many thoughtful and noble attempts made, yet I don’t need to know until the Lord himself reveals it and I think this can’t be understood or confirmed by mortal minds. We’ll understand when we are in Heaven, but until then I think we as Christian’s should rest/trust that God is above all, creator of all and in control of all and some things are beyond our ability to grasp now. They’re another level outside our dimension and capability. Thank God He has mercifully revealed the REMEDY for overcoming evil to his children and that is his beautiful plan of salvation through Jesus Christs death, buried and resurrection. Where it may seem to some that he didn’t create evil/or did, or where he isn’t in control/or is, or where he must not care/ or does etc. We need to simply retain childlike faith that there’s more to the story than we can grasp. There is more to God and his greatness,wisdom, love, power, plans etc. His ways are higher than we can grasp. Higher than the heavens above the earth so much higher is our God’s greatness and power and insight and plans etc. (insert adjective)than ours. ❤
@@truthseeker5698 I’m well aware of the existence of evil and a demonic realm behind it, if that’s what you’re referring to. What is your point exactly?
@@truthseeker5698 Thanks for the clarification. I was a little puzzled! 🤔
Please I have a question; the idea of hell fire, was it conceived before creation or after creation
You have light, you're gonna have a shadow. No one created it. It's just there as a consequence of the light.
(The most word for word style of translation commonly used is the NASB)
“I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.” (Isa 45:7 NASB)
True, it does say that, so does other translations, and I think the KJV uses the word "evil". And being the word-for-word translated from the Hebrew text (which is what would've been used for this in the OT) you can understand it is a different reference than the question being answered in this video... from the word calamity (and others in other accurate translations) and the context of this passage in Isaiah.
The word 'ra means moral evil as well as calamities. But even calamities are not coincidental. They are sent by God. Genesis 6:5 uses the word 'ra for sin or wickedness.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Proverbs 16:4 (KJV 1900)
4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
In Isiah 45:7 God says that He create evil, how should it be interpreted?
this is not the same evil as wickedness, this evil means calamity or destruction, like a hurricane
Great explanation!!! Would be great if you could comment on Isaiah 45:7 to bring it into context and understanding.
He won't do that because he is using a rationalist argument from St. Augustine, who rejected that same argument toward the end of his life in his retraction. Augustine rejected free will.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 depends how you are using the word free will. All Christians should be rejecting libertarian free will because if you don't, you don't believe in a sovereign God and you deny original sin/sin nature.
@@retrograd332 Free moral agency is a philosophical term. It does not mean that our choices are undetermined by anything one way or another.
@@retrograd332 Presbyterians and Calvinists generally accept the idea of free moral agency. But as you said, they reject libertarian free will. Libertarian free will not only does not solve the problem of evil but it also implies insanity. If there is nothing outside of us or in our hearts and minds to determine our choices we would indeed be insane. The criminal laws outwardly and inwardly predetermine most rational people not to rob the bank in town.
Then is evil a lack of good ?
Darkness is the absence of light then ?
Read Isaiah chapter 45, verse 7 … says I create evil: I the Lord do all these things. The summary is in chapter 54, verse 16 & 17
I God created good and evil! It says it in the Bible. How do you explain that away? But I like and can appreciate what you say here.
This is a question that has puzzled me, and the way I see it is, that God created people with free-will. Free-will is a choice between good and evil, between obeying God and disobeying Him. If there was no distinction between good and evil then there would be no free-will. Therefore evil is a necessary component of free-will. If God is omnipotent then why doesn't he eliminate evil? If he eliminated evil, he would be eliminating free-will.
Something else occurs to me. God is eternal without beginning or end. Therefore God was not created. And man is made in image of God. And since man has the capacity for choosing evil, then God must have this capacity as well. Therefore in the eternal realm of God, evil must exist. Except that God, if like Jesus, never sinned. So evil is in the eternal realm but God never chooses evil. In fact maybe the definition of God makes no sense without the existence of evil. Because if God is Love, then Love makes no sense without the existence of Hate. But God didn't create Love, because God and Love are eternal. And therefore so is Hate.
So arguably, in the same way that God was not created, neither was evil. It is eternal.
And this idea is supported by the fact that "the lake of fire is described by Hippolytus unambiguously as the place of eternal torment for the sinners after the resurrection." (from internet)
Then what of Satan and the others? How is there a supposed embodiment/things of evil? Which were of course created at some point
Hawayu Ligonier Ministries *& I Appreciate Pst. Michael Reeves 4 Answering This Powerful, Blessful, Deep Question of "If God Created Everything, How Is It That God Didn't Create evil ?"4 What Pst. Michael Reeves Has Said Is Veryyyyyy, Veryyyyyy Ryt One 💯% 4 God Doesn't Create evil Althu God's Word Says That "I Form The Light & Create darkness: I Make Peace & Create evil: I The LORD Do All These Things" Written In Isaiah 45:7 Where Our Great Almighty God Doesn't Create evil 4 Our LORD Is The Light of The World As Written In John 8:12* & May Our Great Almighty God Bless Yu Pst. Michael Reeves & Ligonier Ministries So Veryyyyy, Veryyyyyy Much & Happy Easter 2 Yu Ligonier Ministries.🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️
So what was there to actually “know” from eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”? I like the concept that evil is only the absence of good, like darkness the absence of light. That is easy to understand. But then what “knowledge” did Adam and Eve actually acquire when they ate of the tree?
Yes, what about the tree of good and evil?
Tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Obviously they learned that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil violated God's moral law and they became law breakers and sinners. Sin is any violation of the law of God in thought, word or deed. Evil is any violation of God's law.
@@cranmer1959 they were tempted. They couldn't distinguish between good or bad until eating the fruit. God knew they were tempted(after enquiring) and chose to punish them anyway. How were they supposed to obey without the knowledge to do so? This knowledge that could only be gained by disobeying and eating the fruit. If God is real, he's a psychopath.
@@TwistedViewer If you do not understand the logical difference between obedience and disobedience, then you would be either insane or an imbecile. Adam and Eve were created with the capacity to think logically. Since they knew the law of contradiction, i.e., "Thou shalt not...." it is ignorance on your part to suggest that they could not be held accountable for their disobedience. The tree itself had no magical powers to give them any additional knowledge. The test was one of obedience to the law of God. It is always wrong to disobey God because He can and does hold everyone accountable. There is no one above God to hold Him accountable for anything He does.
Evil (sin) is the absence of holiness.
Evil is any violation of God's moral law in thought, word, or deed:
Q. 149. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
A. No man is able either of himself,h or by any grace received in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God;i but doth daily break them in thought,k word, and deed.l
Q. 24. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.v
Westminster Larger Catechism
Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition. Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851. Print.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
@@cranmer1959 the thing is, the Word evil in kjv can also be used for calamity. God isn't the author of evil but He can cause calamities (ex: hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.).
@@goosieschmoo8239 Hebrew makes no distinction between calamity and moral evil. The same word is used. 'ra. Translations are reflective of the opinions of the translators, not the actual intent of the original inspired Hebrew text. Besides, even if we admit that in Isaiah 45:7 it means only calamity, there are plenty of other texts that explicitly say that God causes men to sin.
If God can cause the elect to do good, how is it that God cannot also cause men to sin? Adam's will was free from sin, yet God foreordained the fall. Adam's will not not free from God's predetermined purpose.
@@cranmer1959 what man meant for evil, God meant for good. Plus, God is holy, He cannot sin. Holiness is the lack of sin. Satan is the father of lies.
I think a couple of more interesting questions would be A) when did evil begin? and B) did evil begin with Lucifer?
Lucifer is a fallen angel cast out of Heaven by God, right? When God cast Lucifer out of Heaven he was renamed Satan, correct?
If God cast Lucifer out of Heaven than his acts of evil began before he was cast out of Heaven, correct? If so how was evil able to exist in Heaven, in the presence of God?
Well, you know, God was caught off guard. He couldn't do anything about the 1/3 of the angels who rebelled. Right?
Obviously, this heaven is not the highest heaven because God shares His glory not even with the angels.
The question still stands: Who create evel ?
Did you listen to the video?
@@izregistered yes, but I am seeking a convincing answer that makes me satisfied, Regards From Cairo, Egypt
Evil is the act of disobediences and the fallen angle chose to act on it.
No one denies that evil men and angels choose to do evil. Obviously, they have volition. The question is whether those choices are predetermined. Why are sinners slaves to sin in the first place? Free will was lost after the fall of Adam because all of the human race is born with original sin and are slaves to it. Psalm 58:3.
Another question? Was the fall foreordained by God or did it happen by accident?
@@cranmer1959 No the choices are not predetermined i dont think you understand the term? God does not predetermine human or angels of their actions.
As JOhn macarthur said.
The Bible tells us the truth: we were not only infected by sin, it owned us. Sin was our master and we had no choice but to serve.
The human race is salve to sin.
@@cranmer1959God foreordained the fall but he did not cause it. They made a choice. But far from a free choice. It's not that complicated without totally dishonest strawmen and false dichotomies
You just have the dumbest anti logic you are a pathological liar.
I like Ligonier's stuff but I have to disagree with this one. Scripture teaches that darkness is a thing and it is under the authority of God. It also teaches about evil and God has no issues claiming the authority of it's existence. My hope is not that there will be no evil but that God will conform me to His image through it. Trinitarian speak the Father has set His plan and my faith is in Jesus who died and rose again so that the Holy Spirit could work out my salvation for all eternity.
Por gentileza poderia indicar o livro que Agostinho trata esse tema ?
Hi Lucas, take a look at 'Confessions,' Book VII, where Augustine provides a general answer throughout the different chapters. Also in 'City of God,' Books XI (chapter 9) and XII (chapter 6) you can find some ideas about that.
Evil is the absence of God, like darkness is the absence of light and cold is the absence of heat. Three things that are nothing but the absence of what is good.
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Well, it could also be the other way around don't you think? Perhaps light is the absence of darkness etc.
"Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God willing to show his wrath and to make His power known endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" Romans 9:21-22. "By FAITH we understand" - not rationalization, ie., "Leaning unto our own understanding".
Exactly
God did create evil, and He created wickedness. The question you should ask is WHY did God create evil? Once you can answer that then understanding that God created evil becomes clearer.
You’re right and that’s why the god character set man up to fail from the very beginning.
Isaiah 45:7
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”
King James Version (KJV)
IF DARKNESS DOESN'T EXIST HOW DID "DARKNESS" COVER THE FACE THE DEEP?
Love isn't a thing either yet we attribute it to God so where does sin come from.
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Isaiah 45:7
Amen! God creates it all. God sends lying spirits, hardens hearts. To say he didn’t create evil and hate is to say he also didn’t create Good and Love. God created everything for a purpose.
Look at the original language
@@thenobleberean1940 To say that God is the author of evil goes against His character, for there is no darkness in God. God, however, is sovereign over evil.
Isaiah 45:7 has two applications in the Bible. The term can be used in the sense of moral evil, such as wickedness and sin (Matthew 12:35; Judges 3:12; Proverbs 8:13; 3 John 1:11), or it can refer to harmful natural events, calamity, misfortune, adversity, affliction, or disaster. It is in this second sense that Isaiah speaks, and his meaning is reflected in most modern Bible translations of Isaiah 45:7
@@robmarshall956 but is evil not evil
What difference does it make in what sense it is referred
Evil is evil is it not
I was not impressed by Reaves answer
In fact much more detail in the comment section
Reaves seemed to talk around the issue rather than meet it head on
RC did a much better explanation on the topic
I am a Christian but will play devil's advocate here. So, you're basically saying that evil is just the absence of God, like darkness to light. Well, if God is so powerful and bright, why is there darkness (evil) at all?
He chooses to remove himself from certain places
Duhhh. Obviously
I don't think you are a Christian you aren't even connected to kindergarten level common sense. A cult claiming what you are not, more like it.
👍👍👍
1 Samuel 2:6
“The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.”
King James Version (KJV)
God created things good, not perfect. But ordains evil for His good purpose in a sense. Great video
How is good not perfect when as yet there was no sin in the universe?
@@ThomasCranmer1959they were innocent not perfect
@@ItalicusHammer Adam and Eve were created as good with no sin or evil but with the capacity to choose to disobey God.
@@ItalicusHammer how can there be innocence without guilt
I really don't understand this
🤔….well…just…🤔…WoW!!! Thank you so much! 🙏 God Bless you 💕
Isn't evil just a point of view though
🤦
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. Isaiah 45:7
True, it does say that in the KJV (and others probably). But the translation in Hebrew and the context of this passage in Isaiah is a different meaning of the word. Other accurate translations uses different words in this verse.
@@Mojo32 You are wrong. I have JP Green’s literal translation of the Hebrew and the KJV is correct here. Look it up for yourself. God does create evil, and everything that has ever been created was created by God. Even the Hebrew clearly states from God, “I am Jehovah, and there is none else: forming light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil- I Jehovah do all these things. That is a literal translation from the Hebrew to the English and the KJV is perfectly correct. Look it up for yourself.
@@charleneriddle5995 If God spoke evil innto existens than Jesus wasnt innosent at the kross and ouer beliv in Him is inn vain. But we dont belive that, do we?
@@charleneriddle5995 If you say you are reading and understanding the original text, then why are you using the grossly mistranslated “Jehovah” for the name of God? You have lost your argument.
@@charleneriddle5995 😂 I have read it myself, a few times, and I did "look it up" again for your original post. Again, context ALWAYS MATTERS most.
So God, who is an actual being of pure light, order and Law first created A dark, void of chaos. Gen 1:1,2 a juxtaposition and negation of himself from which He then formed everything? very interesting.
Excellent explanation!
Not really
@@addlecrux5981yes for anyone with ears who can pass kindergarten Sunday school and doesn't live in a narcissistic blind sepf righteous fantasy world 😅😅😅
Excellent! I have read little of Augustine, but those were my same conclusions-literally. Evil is not a THING. It has no real existence. God creaated light-but he did not create daarkness, which is only the absence of light. Another thing of interest, is that the word Hebel, meaning “emptiness,” “breath,” “vanity,” is the same word that was Abel's name.
If evil is not real, why is there a hell for the wicked?
*Hevel
Isaiah 45:7
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
@@cranmer1959 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When DISASTER comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
In RC Sproul Jr's book _Almighty Over All_ he states, "I am not accusing God of sinning; I am suggesting that He created sin." (p. 54). RC Jr's thesis is summed up as follows:
● God's most prominent character attribute is that He is wrathful.
● God's wrath is "glorious" and "beautiful."
● Prior to creation God had nothing he could demonstrate the glory and beauty of his wrath on.
● God creates the world to have something he could pour out his wrath on.
● Problem... God creates the world good. Nothing there is worthy of pouring out his wrath on.
● God needs sin to take out his wrath on, but none exists anywhere.
● God creates sin.
● No one sins, not even Satan, because their inclinations are only for good.
● God changes the inclinations of man and even Satan to desire to do sin.
● Their inclinations to sin are so powerful they really have no choice in the matter.
● Satan falls into sin and later takes Adam and Eve with him.
● God gets to pour out his wrath on everyone and send them to eternal blazes.
● This gives God "glory."
● We should all "jump up and down rejoicing" when God sends sinners to hell.
Only one blog seems to have ever had the courage to call out the son of Dr. RC Sproul for what is clearly a heretic's book. Google "RC Sproul Jr Accuses God Of Creating Sin, Weaponizes Calvinism"
The problem is not so much that Jr is wrong about God's creating sin. The problem is that his alleged sorites has several fallacious propositions.
The first one is that God is essentially "wrathful". This is wrong because God's wrath is against sin and that God is not primarily "wrathful". God as a simple Being is all that He is and none of the attributes are above the others. Justice is what provokes God's anthropopathic response of "wrath". Wrath is not necessarily an inherent attribute but justice and holiness are attributes of God's essential being.
The other blatantly wrong proposition is that God "needs sin to take out His wrath on..." First of all, God has no "needs" of any kind. He is complete in and of Himself. Secondly, wrath is an anthropopathism, not an attribute of deity. Anthropopathisms are merely human emotions attributed to God to make Him more understandable and relational to the human condition.
Some theologians mistakely attribute the emotion of love to God as well. Since God has no body parts or passions, it follows that He also has no human emotions, including love and wrath. When 1 John 5:7-8 says that God is love, the word is not meant to say that God has romantic emotions toward humanity. It instead means that God's love is a volition to save His elect people individually. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Therefore, love is not an emotion but a volition or an act of the will. The same applies to Christian marriage. Romance and emotion are transitory in marriage. It is the volitional oath to the covenantal aspect of marriage that keeps a marriage intact. God's eternal covenant with the elect is not an emotion but an eternal volition to save His elect.
I would have to read Jr's own words, since you merely summarized what you think he said. But your summary could be tendentious instead of fairly representing what Jr. actually said.
I would suggest that you study the Westminster Standards more closely. Chapter V clearly states that God's providence extends to all the sins of men and angels without God's being the author of their sins. And in Book III:23:3 of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin clearly states that God is the remote author of the fall and all other sins:
"3. God is just toward the reprobate
eSo keeping silence, God can restrain his enemies. bBut lest we allow them to mock his holy name with impunity, out of his Word he supplies us with weapons against them. Accordingly, if anyone approaches us with such expressions as: “Why from the beginning did God predestine some to death who, since they did not yet exist, could not yet have deserved the judgment of death?”7 let us, in lieu of reply, ask them, in turn, what they think God owes to man if He would judge him according to His own nature. As all of us are vitiated by sin, we can only be odious to God, and that not from tyrannical cruelty but by the fairest reckoning of justice. But if all whom the Lord predestines to death are by condition of nature subject to the judgment of death, of what injustice toward themselves may they complain?
Let all the sons of Adam come forward; let them quarrel and argue with their Creator that they were by his eternal providence bound over before their begetting to everlasting calamity. What clamor can they raise against this defense when God, on the contrary, will call them to their account before him? If all are drawn from a corrupt mass, no wonder they are subject to condemnation! Let them not accuse God of injustice if they are destined by his eternal judgment to death, to which they feel-whether they will or not-that they are led by their own nature of itself. eHow perverse is their disposition to protest is apparent from the fact that they deliberately suppress the cause of condemnation, which they are compelled to recognize in themselves, in order to free themselves by blaming God. But though I should confess a hundred times that God is the author of it-which is very true-yet they do not promptly cleanse away the guilt that, engraved upon their consciences, repeatedly meets their eyes."
e edition of 1559
b edition of 1539
7 Augustine, Unfinished Treatise Against Julian I. xlviii; II. viii (MPL 45. 1069 f., 1145).
e edition of 1559
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics.
You don't have the 1st clue of what "Calvinism" is
@@ItalicusHammer You have no clue about what Calvinism is if you disagree with the Westminster Standards of 1647. I directly cited the Westminster Confession and quoted from John Calvin himself.
@@ItalicusHammer See Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6 in the KJV. Both properly translate the Hebrew term ra' as evil. It can also be translated as "sin". See Genesis 6:5.
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice. To the greater glory of God.
Yes but god created man
Agreed!
The concepts of love and goodness can only exist if their opposite is possible. If everything was all-loving and all-good all of the time, then love and goodness become meaningless with no significance.
Its hard for me to read some of these blasphemous replies. Come on people. God is our Creator whether you like what He does or not but He sure didn’t create evil. So many things in the Bible are taken out of context because when people get to the hard part the "deep dive study" of the Bible is over with for you. Own this and stop blaming God!
This answer is really clear.
Except it is not biblical. It is an appeal to the rationalist arguments of Augustine.
@@cranmer1959 Hi, what would you say is the biblical explanation? I could be wrong but I think it aligns with Augustine's argument.
@Arthur Cheng The biblical explanation is very simple:
Amos 3:6 (KJV 1900): Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
Isaiah 45:7 (KJV 1900): 7 I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:
I the Lord do all these things.
Isaiah 14:24 (KJV 1900): The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying,
Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass;
And as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isaiah 14:27 (KJV 1900): For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?
And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
Proverbs 16:4 (KJV 1900): The Lord hath made all things for himself:
Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
There are plenty more verses. God is in complete providential control of all evil.
God clearly stated he created good and evil.
Darkness is a thing It is there always before light. Good isn't a thing either you can't have a block of good either. What is this guy even saying
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice.
If God foreordained evil, then God is the ultimate author of evil. You have not solved the problem. The correct answer is: whatever God does is right, including when God foreordains and predestines evil. Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6; Proverbs 16:4.
Wonderful explanation! Thank you sir. Yawn to the scoffers. 🙏😊🙏
Who's scoffing? I am disagreeing because Augustine's philosophy is not in our Reformed Confessional Standards. Worse, it is not in the Bible. Augustine was a rationalist.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 Sorry you felt I even read your comment. 🙏♥️🙏
God deserves credit for making the world. But also there's bible verses that suggest it is better to have never been born in it. But that isn't his fault!
He created the laws of physics, but those same laws of physics leading to suffering is not his fault!
He created every animal that exists and their biologically programmed behaviors, but there being animals that are carnivores mauling each other apart in a free for all bloodbath is not his fault!
So basically god wants credit for making everything, but not any blame on why it sucks. Got it.
This man is talking his own knowledge,..go read the bible.. Isaiah 45
God created everything meaning everything that includes good and evil because they are something otherwise why would be nothing and we wouldn't know they exist free will is just an illusion as God created fate along with everything else, there for everything that you experience on this earth was created by God good, bad or neutral Satan never created evil neither doesn't he conduct such evil God did Satan simply tried to change that and put and end to suffering a big misunderstanding and he was punished for trying to do so and was sent to hell which was also created by God.
Easy question...Did God create the computer , no man did. God gave free volition to man and he used it to creat evil. God didn't create it.
God created evil. Genesis 1:1 alludes to it and Isaiah 45:7 proves it.
Seems pretty clear to me. God is perfect goodness. He created both angels and man with the choice to obey Him. When we decided to go against God, we turned away from good, meaning there was nowhere else to go apart from toward evil. So God didn't create evil. He gave us the choice to obey or not. Therefore, we created evil by refusing to follow good. We chose the evil way. God is perfect good, the opposite of which is complete evil. We travel toward that goal.
Poor God. He created all of this good stuff and evil just took Him by surprise.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 According to you, apparently.
@Charlie J. Ray That's not what I said. Nothing takes God by surprise. He gave us the choice to love and obey Him because He didn't want to make robots but people who could choose to obey and love Him. He knew that choosing to go against Him would be evil. He gave Satan a wonderful position, but he rebelled. He gave Adam and Eve a wonderful garden paradise in which to live, but they rebelled. It's foolish to blame God for our arrogant selfishness.
@@chrislockett9933 It's also foolish to suggest that God can do nothing about evil. So how does libertarian free will get God off the hook? Also, just saying that you have a choice does not prove that the choice was not predetermined. Furthermore, how does God foreknow the future? By looking forward in time to learn what will happen? If so, then God cannot be omniscient or all knowing because in such a case God would need to learn new information about the future by peering ahead. God transcends time as an eternal being who has no past, present or future. If God foreknows that you will go to church next Sunday, is it possible that you won't go to church next Sunday?
And I might add that I fully agree that it is foolish to blame God, but then I'm not the one blaming God. Nothing God does is wrong, including when God foreordained the fall of Adam and all the evil actions of men and angels.
Robots are machines. The analogy fails on several points. First, humans have biological bodies and they have a genuine self awareness and sentience. Humans also have rational minds so that they can think logically and problem solve. Robots are simply a computer program without any self awareness whatsoever. Robots cannot sin or disobey God and humans obviously do both. Basically mere animals cannot sin and neither can a machine that has no sentience, rationality, or accountability to anything or anyone. If a man is predetermined to sin but still willingly sins, he is nevertheless without excuse. The same applies to anyone who breaks the criminal laws in ignorance. He or she is still accountable even if they are unaware that they broke the law.
@Charlie J. Ray Hi Charlie
I agree with most of what you are saying. God knows exactly what is going to happen. But He didn't create evil. As I said, He gave us choice to obey Him. Adam chose not too,
putting us all on a path away from goodness toward evil. God knew this and I believe forordained it, so He could display his lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness here on earth. This He did at the cross. He chose me before the foundation of the world. Certainly not because I deserve to be saved, but to display his glory in such an evil man as I. He didn't create evil to do this, He created choice, knowing that we would turn away from perfect goodness. The only direction possible is toward evil.
So God didn't create evil , it is man who creates evil!
But god created man
Christian isn't a thing. It's only an absence of critical thinking...
Why can't people just be adults? Of course, God created evil. The same argument of absence could be made against everything. Describe anything without describing what it's like. That's why evil exists. Just grow up.
You couldn't pass first grade who do your think fooling 😅😅😅😅😅
You are incompetent
No one creates evil you don't comprehend anything being said duhhhhh🤣🤣🤣🤪🤪🤤
God didn't create evil. Since God created light as a result of creating light, the absence of it is darkness. God created peace, and the absence of peace is evil. This is a very simple concept. In many things we do or create, opposing things will occur. Humans are that opposing factor and we want to blame God because we are too prideful and arrogant. Again, we see humanity not owning up to the mess we make. We want to rewrite what God has laid out for us and it is "good" but "no one is good, no not one." We don't like that so, we arrogantly say God must have made evil. 🤦♂️😂 We are truely dumb sheep in desperate need of the "Good Shepherd." 👍🏻❤️💪🏼
Why God allowed the absence of light? If He only created light, then supposedly there is no room for something that is not light, right?
But there is. And that absence creates evil. Why God create such room for light to be able to become absence?
THE CONCEPT OF "EVIL" IS AN ILLUSION CREATED BY THE HUMAN AVATAR.....KNOWN AS THE HUMAN BEING.......
HUH? Try again.
god did create everything and evil isa 45 7
How is it even possible that He didn’t create evil when He created creation? There is no answer to this question and you we will never understand it.
Isaiah 45:7 KJV states, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil." Don’t listen to these dithering idiots. God’s mind is above human understanding
But you understand God amirite? You’re missing the point of that verse, which is not that God literally creates evil. It’s a Jewish form of writing. He uses evil to bring catastrophe, judgment, etc., but He isn’t the author of it as you heretically point out.
The definition of evil is “morally wrong or wicked.” (The 10 Commandments are His moral law.) That said, you are reading from the King James version. The ESV and Amplified versions use the words “disaster and calamity” respectively. These words have different meanings than the word evil does.
@@florida8953 I agree with you 100%.Darknes want to overcome the light but it cant. God uses the evil to bring forward everything that is good. He did not create the falling away from Him, but when it happend He knew what to do with it.
Isaiah 45:7 KJV states, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil."
Make up your own mind…contradict the word of God if you like:)
@@florida8953 God says he created evil. I’m not claiming to understand God…only claiming to love Hm
Isaiah 45:7 God literally says “I create evil”. This guy has no clue what he is talking about.
The sun creats shadow.
Too bad this guy doesn’t actually study to show himself approved. The Isaiah scripture is just one that can be used.
God did create evil
God did create evil. God created all things and allows all things to exist.
Evolution created living things, the rest was nature
In the same reason, God is not a thing either; it's just a lack of logic.
Theodicy - God didn't create evil, He ordained evil...as man (totally depraved) performs evil acts it contrasts and underlines God's perfect righteousness and justice.