People have often questioned God why there is so much evil in the world. Some even doubt God's existence due to the presence of evil. They ask, "How can such a good God we claim to exist see so much evil and do nothing about it?" Well, let me put it bluntly - that question shows ignorance.
There are two beings namely Creator and creatures. Needless to say, every creature was created by the Creator and this includes plants, animals, and man. Evil is not a thing, hence, evil is not a creature. This leads me to the first conclusion: GOD DID NOT CREATE EVIL.
Now, if God did not create evil, how come we have evil in the world? You see, evil is not a thing but it is real just as blindness is not a thing but it is real. Evil is a wrong choice or the consequence of a wrong choice. Let me bring it home. When some politicians decide to loot funds (wrong choice) which would have been used to serve the people, that is evil. When the effect of that becomes lack of power and infrastructure which negatively impacts the economy and brings hardship (consequence), that is also evil. You can see that God is not really the cause. God has been gracious enough to bless us with resources that will make this country great but man's selfishness is stopping that from being actualized. The resources that God has blessed the world with can satisfy every man but those resources cannot satisfy man's greed. So, the second conclusion: EVIL ORIGINATES FROM MAN'S ACTIONS.
But someone can still ask, "Is God not still the origin of evil since evil comes from man whom he has created?" I answer that by giving an instance. If you have an adult as a son and despite the good upbringing and advice you have given him, he goes ahead to commit murder, it will be ridiculous for anyone to blame you for your son's murder just because he is your son. Your son has freewill and when he misuses it, he should be blamed and also pay for that not you. So, blaming God for evil is completely silly. If we can properly connect cause and effect, we would see that even war is the consequence of man's wrong choice.
Another question, "Why don't God just end evil now as in now now so that the world will enjoy peace?" But do you really understand what that means? God had the option of creating us in such a way that we would be more or less robots who would take orders and fulfill them without reasoning. If we were such creatures, we would not have the capacity to experience joy and would not have intelligence. Now that is not a creature in the image and likeness of God. God created us and gave us freewill so that our actions can be carried out voluntarily and not under compulsion just as God carries out his actions voluntarily and not under compulsion. Since God decided to create us the way he did, you can bet your life on it that it is better than creating us to be like robots because all God's actions are for the highest good.
I see evil coming to an end in three ways. First, by God taking away our freewill so that we take orders from him. But this will mean that we would not be like God and is a lesser good than the way we are. So, scratch that. Second, by God destroying the source of evil at the point when it originates. If you understand all I have been saying so far you would see that not a single man has a chance if this were to be the case. Evil begins not when the action is carried out but at the conception of the thought. So imagine God destroying any man that has conceived an evil thought. Except you and I have not sinned, both of us would have been gone by now and we can be sure our destination would not have been heaven because at that state of departure, we would be in sin. This should lead you to understand that when God allows you to exercise your freewill even when you commit evil without destroying you, he wants you to come back to your senses and in afterlife enjoy the place he has made for you. So do not interpret God's patience as weakness. God is only being patient with the evil we carry out for our own salvation.
Third and the best way, evil can come to an end when we make the right choices.
Last question, "Why will God even permit evil when the consequence is devastating?" I answer this with what happened with the early Christians. They were converting men to a new way of life which was something good. But they were being persecuted which was evil. One of the consequence of the persecution was that many fled Jerusalem to other parts of the world. Guess what happened? As they fled to other parts of the world, they took the gospel with them and made converts in the cities they came to. This was something good and we are Christians today because they did that. So, my last conclusion: GOD PERMITS EVIL BECAUSE HE HAS THE POWER TO BRING GOOD EVEN OUT OF IT.
I decided to put up this post because many people are having problems with the whole idea of evil being in the world. I hope it helps.

www.growingthroughlife.com

. . . . . . . BOOKED . . . . .

ojnnaco:
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BOOKED
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I dey follow u
Bumper to fender

Growing:
People have often questioned God why there is so much evil in the world. Some even doubt God's existence due to the presence of evil. They ask, "How can such a good God we claim to exist see so much evil and do nothing about it?" Well, let me put it bluntly - that question shows ignorance.
There are two beings namely Creator and creatures. Needless to say, every creature was created by the Creator and this includes plants, animals, and man. Evil is not a thing, hence, evil is not a creature. This leads me to the first conclusion: GOD DID NOT CREATE EVIL.
Now, if God did not create evil, how come we have evil in the world? You see, evil is not a thing but it is real just as blindness is not a thing but it is real. Evil is a wrong choice or the consequence of a wrong choice. Let me bring it home. When some politicians decide to loot funds (wrong choice) which would have been used to serve the people, that is evil. When the effect of that becomes lack of power and infrastructure which negatively impacts the economy and brings hardship (consequence), that is also evil. You can see that God is not really the cause. God has been gracious enough to bless us with resources that will make this country great but man's selfishness is stopping that from being actualized. The resources that God has blessed the world with can satisfy every man but those resources cannot satisfy man's greed. So, the second conclusion: EVIL ORIGINATES FROM MAN'S ACTIONS.
But someone can still ask, "Is God not still the origin of evil since evil comes from man whom he has created?" I answer that by giving an instance. If you have an adult as a son and despite the good upbringing and advice you have given him, he goes ahead to commit murder, it will be ridiculous for anyone to blame you for your son's murder just because he is your son. Your son has freewill and when he misuses it, he should be blamed and also pay for that not you. So, blaming God for evil is completely silly. If we can properly connect cause and effect, we would see that even war is the consequence of man's wrong choice.
Another question, "Why don't God just end evil now as in now now so that the world will enjoy peace?" But do you really understand what that means? God had the option of creating us in such a way that we would be more or less robots who would take orders and fulfill them without reasoning. If we were such creatures, we would not have the capacity to experience joy and would not have intelligence. Now that is not a creature in the image and likeness of God. God created us and gave us freewill so that our actions can be carried out voluntarily and not under compulsion just as God carries out his actions voluntarily and not under compulsion. Since God decided to create us the way he did, you can bet your life on it that it is better than creating us to be like robots because all God's actions are for the highest good.
I see evil coming to an end in three ways. First, by God taking away our freewill so that we take orders from him. But this will mean that we would not be like God and is a lesser good than the way we are. So, scratch that. Second, by God destroying the source of evil at the point when it originates. If you understand all I have been saying so far you would see that not a single man has a chance if this were to be the case. Evil begins not when the action is carried out but at the conception of the thought. So imagine God destroying any man that has conceived an evil thought. Except you and I have not sinned, both of us would have been gone by now and we can be sure our destination would not have been heaven because at that state of departure, we would be in sin. This should lead you to understand that when God allows you to exercise your freewill even when you commit evil without destroying you, he wants you to come back to your senses and in afterlife enjoy the place he has made for you. So do not interpret God's patience as weakness. God is only being patient with the evil we carry out for our own salvation.
Third and the best way, evil can come to an end when we make the right choices.
Last question, "Why will God even permit evil when the consequence is devastating?" I answer this with what happened with the early Christians. They were converting men to a new way of life which was something good. But they were being persecuted which was evil. One of the consequence of the persecution was that many fled Jerusalem to other parts of the world. Guess what happened? As they fled to other parts of the world, they took the gospel with them and made converts in the cities they came to. This was something good and we are Christians today because they did that. So, my last conclusion: GOD PERMITS EVIL BECAUSE HE HAS THE POWER TO BRING GOOD EVEN OUT OF IT.
I decided to put up this post because many people are having problems with the whole idea of evil being in the world. I hope it helps.

www.growingthroughlife.com

You made some good points but here is what God said in Isaiah 45;7

7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.


Lets not go about making excuses for God. He is the creator of us all and if he deemed it fit to have evil operate in the world then thats it. He is in charge of the universe and i bow to his wisdom. Period.

There are no excuses for God here. If you learn about interpreting the bible, then you should know what is called exegesis and hermeneutics and I will give you an example. Deuteronomy 22:8 says, “When you build a house, put a parapet around the roof; otherwise, if someone falls off, you will bring bloodguilt upon your house.” Exegesis enables us to realize that the buildings back then usually had a flat roof. A parapet, a low protective wall built on the edge of the roof, was therefore for the purpose of preventing a fall. Hermeneutics hence will tell us that we do not have to literally follow this text because the kind of roof we have in our time is not flat. Back then people do sleep on the roof, today who does that? This is just an instance to show that it is not every sentence of the bible that we should literally take as God’s command to us here and now. I know that the house you live in today does not have a parapet even though you can see that God commanded such in the bible. To know about what I am talking about, you can read my post on it: http://growingthroughlife.com/how-well-do-you-interpret-the-bible/.
So, applying what I have said, the Isaiah 45:7 you quoted does not literally mean God creates evil. Rather it means he permits it and he permits it for a greater good. Remember that the old testament was written in Hebrew and when you translate it to another language, the translation will never be 100% perfect.
Evil is a lack of good and to suppose that God who is perfect will literally create good blasphemes God himself because God is goodness in perfection with no iota of evil and therefore can never intentionally create evil. Evil is darkness, God is light.
The bible is not a book for anyone to take one line and read and just talk about it anyhow. It must be studied and reflected upon for proper understanding. As imperfect as we are, we are reasonable enough to condemn stealing. Are you saying God created stealing?
Evil is morally bad and to say God creates it makes God evil. God cannot do that. It is impossible for God to create evil considering God's nature. Evil is not a thing; it is not a creature, therefore, it was not created by God.

Growing:
There are no excuses for God here. If you learn about interpreting the bible, then you should know what is called exegesis and hermeneutics and I will give you an example. Deuteronomy 22:8 says, “When you build a house, put a parapet around the roof; otherwise, if someone falls off, you will bring bloodguilt upon your house.” Exegesis enables us to realize that the buildings back then usually had a flat roof. A parapet, a low protective wall built on the edge of the roof, was therefore for the purpose of preventing a fall. Hermeneutics hence will tell us that we do not have to literally follow this text because the kind of roof we have in our time is not flat. Back then people do sleep on the roof, today who does that? This is just an instance to show that it is not every sentence of the bible that we should literally take as God’s command to us here and now. I know that the house you live in today does not have a parapet even though you can see that God commanded such in the bible. To know about what I am talking about, you can read my post on it: http://growingthroughlife.com/how-well-do-you-interpret-the-bible/.
So, applying what I have said, the Isaiah 45:7 you quoted does not literally mean God creates evil. Rather it means he permits it and he permits it for a greater good. Remember that the old testament was written in Hebrew and when you translate it to another language, the translation will never be 100% perfect.
Evil is a lack of good and to suppose that God who is perfect will literally create good blasphemes God himself because God is goodness in perfection with no iota of evil and therefore can never intentionally create evil. Evil is darkness, God is light.
The bible is not a book for anyone to take one line and read and just talk about it anyhow. It must be studied and reflected upon for proper understanding. As imperfect as we are, we are reasonable enough to condemn stealing. Are you saying God created stealing?
Evil is morally bad and to say God creates it makes God evil. God cannot do that. It is impossible for God to create evil considering God's nature. Evil is not a thing; it is not a creature, therefore, it was not created by God.

The deuteronomy you quoted is a different thing from Isaiah. In Isaiah God was not describing any archaic thing or making any archaic statement there. That statement is as plain an as valid in our time. Lets not paint words here bro. Even if God created evil i dont have problem with God about it. He is wise and knows what he wants. Anything he wants is okay. Now in Job 2;10 see what is also written there-

10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?.

If you say God did not create evil because evil is not a thing, it equally means that God did not create good because good is not a thing too. Do you agree?

Goodness is not a creature. It is a quality or characteristic. But I put up the post not to argue. So, believe what you will. Peace.

Growing:
Goodness is not a creature. It is a quality or characteristic. But I put up the post not to argue. So, believe what you will. Peace.

You put up the post not to argue i agree but do you want people not to question your teachings? Does this show that you dont have enough biblical points to support your teaching?
Well, this has been the characteristics of most christians. They like to sweep things under the carpet and when you call them out to clear some grey areas with biblical support the next thing will be- believe what you like. Thats not the best bro. I think we have passed this stage in christianity.

kindly attend to this thread on predestination. I want to get more views about the biblical portions i quoted there. Thanks.
Here is the link https://www.nairaland.com/3274234/predestination-christians-kindly-contribute-subject

gunpoint:
I dey follow u Bumper to fender

I saw you with my side mirror . Lol