ORIGIN OF EVIL

Why should anybody assume to resolve the problem of the origin of evil? Is the origin of evil a critical issue today? If it is a critical issue, then an attempt to find a reasonable explanation is in order.

It is an issue associated with the existence of God. Many reason that God created everything and so evil must have come from God. Why would God create evil to disrupt, corrupt, and destroy the happiness of man and the rest of creation? How could a God who is absolutely good justify creating evil? They conclude that they don’t want to believe in such a God. Therefore, how the origin of evil is understood becomes an obstacle to believing in the existence of God for a thinking person.

I never had an explanation for many years. I assumed that somehow evil came into existence in a manner that did not contradict the nature of the righteousness of God, or any of his other notable characteristics. Then I read this statement by Erich Sauer in The Dawn of World Redemption, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953, p. 49. “Man had not himself invented sin. His fall had not consisted in that he had acted from within, out of himself, purely by reason of inspiration completely his own, but in virtue of a temptation from without. Otherwise he would, of course, have become the self-originator of sin and thereby a devil.”

That statement generated the following explanation on:

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL

God, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient, the Eternal (no beginning or end), the Compassionate, the Merciful created the angels surrounding his throne. It is the first revealed act of God. Following that He created the heavens, the earth, and all life upon the earth including man. Upon the angels and man God bestowed freewill. Freewill, or anything goes without boundaries, entitles angels and man to freedom, as well as, God.

God exercised freewill in all his acts of creation. Nothing could restrain him for He is all-powerful. Nothing could frustrate him for He is all-knowing. Nothing could flee from him for He is all-present. God’s creation reflects his characteristics to the level of fullness that He desired. Freewill suggests unrestrained creativity and choices. God did not create zombies or robots who could only respond to his directions. Freewill is not free if there are any restrictions. Angels and man had no restrictions upon their freewill except their dependency upon God for existence. The angelic beings and man received freewill similar to the freewill of God.

Suppose that God wanted to create himself again. He wanted a being equal in every way to himself. Would it be possible? No! Whatever He would created would be dependent upon him for its existence. God cannot re-created himself.

But, suppose Lucifer and the angels were created just like God except for their dependancy upon him for their existence, their beginning. God created them giving them a beginning. He also created them to live forever. Consequently, he created them like himself in that they have no end. In all their god-like qualities they draw near to being a replica of their Creator. However, they are forever indebted to God for giving them these characteristics.

God created a beautiful cherub who was blameless until wickedness was found in him, according to Ezekiel 28:11-19. He was also the “model of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. Isaiah 14:12-23 calls this one who desired to become like the Most High the morning star and the son of the dawn. Both passages are understood as describing an earthly king and then going beyond that to an account of Lucifer’s, or Satan’s, creation and fall. When he rebelled, according to Revelations 12:7-9, some of the angels joined the mutiny. These created beings were exercising their God-given freewill by choosing to exalt themselves to the level of their creator, or higher. Lucifer was so near to being like God that he tried to usurp the throne of God thereby creating evil. When he made that choice, he recruited other angels to join him.

This may be more easily understood by reviewing the temptation and fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The tempter lured Adam and Eve to disobey God by promising that they would become “like God, knowing good and evil.” The beautiful fallen angel disguised as a serpent succeeded in getting created man to do the same thing he and his angels had previously tried. But, the created is never greater or equal to the creator. Not only had Lucifer tried to be greater or equal to God, his Creator, he succeeded in getting man to try the same thing. Becoming equal to God covers the temptations of mankind on earth. Every act contrary to God is a declaration that man knows better, or as much as God knows. Every act contrary to God exalts the perpetrator to challenge God’s sovereignty. Both angelic beings and man have the ability to chose loyalty to God or to usurp the throne of God.

When God moved, he acted according to his attributes and freely created the angels, the heavens, the earth and all life on earth. Did God exercise his freewill and create evil? What is evil?

Evil manifests itself in many ways i.e. murder, stealing, lying, disrespect, jealousy, envy, sexual immorality (adultery), hatred, strife, etc. These are the symptoms of evil in the world. God is good. Whatever is contrary to God’s goodness is evil. Evil is a contradiction to the attributes of God. Evil and good are mutually exclusive. However, God is all-powerful and uses good and evil to serve his purposes. Evil exists when God’s goodness is challenged. If God declared that it was good to eat strawberries, evil would say, “no, it is not!” Evil usurps God’s authority by opposing God.

Is evil the same as sin? Not exactly! There is the temptation to do evil, or is it a temptation to sin? Evil makes sinning possible, and sinning makes evil known. If evil did not exist, sinning would be unknown. However, sin is known and therefore evil is lurking in the shadows. Evil acts. Evil tempts. Evil takes on a mystical personification. Sin is sin. Sin doesn’t act, tempt or have an element of personification. Sin is the results. Sin is not shooting the arrow. It is missing the target. The target is missed because evil interfered with the shooter resulting in the sin. Where then and when did evil come into existence?

Creativity gave rise to evil. Not God’s creativity, but the creativity inherent in angels and man. The freewill granted to angels and man had the marks of Divine freewill, but was not the equivalent. Remember, that which is created is dependent upon its creator for its existence. That dependancy upon God by angels and man made their freewill less than the freewill of God.

Creativity is an exercise of freewill, the freedom of choice. God exercised these perfectly due to his attributes. Angels and man reflect the attributes of God but are dependent upon him for their existence. Therefore, they cannot fully realize the attributes of God. Although they have freedom of choice, they are limited in achieving whatever they choose. Likewise, their creativity is also limited. Lucifer created evil when he chose to usurp the throne of God. Then he poisoned mankind with it in the Garden of Eden.

Is God, who created angels and man with a freewill which they exercised creating evil, mean that God allowed evil.?

Freewill is free when those who exercise it are the only ones accountable for their deeds and choices. God is accountable for his choice in creation, but only accountable to himself. Adam did not want to be responsible for his choice. Eve did not want to be responsible for her choice. God held both accountable. The serpent, Satan, was also cursed for his deceit.

Satan and his angels tried to usurp the position of God, his throne, but did not succeed and neither did man. God held them accountable for their choices. Satan’s troupe was cast out of heaven and man was cast out of the Garden of Eden. Satan was humiliated before kings on earth–“Here is what happens to those who become proud ant strive to become equal to me.” Likewise, Adam and Eve were cast out, barred from returning to the Garden of Eden, and put under a curse as husbandman of the earth and as the companion for man and the mother of his sons and daughters. Furthermore, Satan and his followers, both angelic and human, face the ultimate destiny of the “lake of burning sulphur, the lake of fire,” according to Revelation 20:10,14-15.

However, there is a difference between angels and man. Although angels were given freewill, their fate is sealed. Angels loyal to God will remain in his presence through eternity. Those who rebel against God are cast out of his presence. The wrong choice seals their fate. They were created without fault, but when one rebelled, as did Satan, there is, was no turning back.

Adam and Eve were also created without sin. However, one man’s sin, Adam’s, afflicted all progeny and future generations of man. Descendants of Adam and Eve are all born with a rebellious, sinful nature.

God created a host of angels who could not reproduce. He denied them the opportunity to repent of a wrong choice. He created one man, Adam, and from his side (rib) he created one woman, Eve. They were told to multiply. However, their wrong choice contaminated their children and all future generations of man. Unlike, the angelic hosts, the generations of peoples who descended from Adam and Eve have been given the possibility of redemption.

Satan exercised his freewill and created evil. He carried that rebellion to earth, tempted Adam, and succeeded to get him to also rebel against God. For Satan and his angelic followers there is no possible salvation. For Adam and his descendants there is the possibility of redemption.