Did God Create Evil

[James_S_Saint]

There is no such thing as evil, only a lack of good (aka a lack of God)

Sorry but I have to disagree as pointed out on one of the other “evil” threads.

The lack of that which helps you in life (good) is very different from that which destroys your life (evil).

The word “evil” is the reverse spelling of the word “live” for a reason. The reverse of something is not merely the lack of that something.

A murderer is not merely the lack of a saint.

 

[djeter]

There is no such thing as evil, only a lack of good (aka a lack of God)

John, this adaption of Aquinas’ teaching causes the Church a great deal of misunderstanding and is one of the interpretations of evil that David Bentley Hart calls to task in the essay I previously recommended.

Here is another that deals more specifically with this off the cuff, simplistic view of evil:

"But as you can tell by Aidan Walker’s interpretation of Aquinas I’ve been presenting here, evil is a profound alteration of good. Evil, Thomas is telling us, is not a nothing, but a voracious ontological parasite that feeds off of the real in order to clothe its empty center with a shadowy, counterfeit substance with no originality of its own.

Further, there are three considerations that flow from Thomas’ account of evil as “privation of the good” that are crucial for our understanding of how joy relates to evil and how God’s theodicy, His response to the question of evil is, in fact, a deed: the Paschal Mystery of the incarnate Son."

The essay continues here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/03/evil-and-joy-ii-%e2%80%9cif-you-do-not-have-this-love-do-not-go-near-these-wounds%e2%80%9d/

My advice John, is get it right because the idea is very complex and for every apologist we have who can explain it the better makes us better as a Church. Conversely for everyone who mumbles “evil doesn’t exist” or is just a “lack of goodness”, the hurt and shock this causes those who confront real evil in our world is immeasurable.

In Christ,

dj

 

[jkiernan56]

John, this adaption of Aquinas’ teaching causes the Church a great deal of misunderstanding and is one of the interpretations of evil that David Bentley Hart calls to task in the essay I previously recommended.

Here is another that deals more specifically with this off the cuff, simplistic view of evil:

"But as you can tell by Aidan Walker’s interpretation of Aquinas I’ve been presenting here, evil is a profound alteration of good. Evil, Thomas is telling us, is not a nothing, but a voracious ontological parasite that feeds off of the real in order to clothe its empty center with a shadowy, counterfeit substance with no originality of its own.

Further, there are three considerations that flow from Thomas’ account of evil as “privation of the good” that are crucial for our understanding of how joy relates to evil and how God’s theodicy, His response to the question of evil is, in fact, a deed: the Paschal Mystery of the incarnate Son."

The essay continues here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/03/evil-and-joy-ii-%e2%80%9cif-you-do-not-have-this-love-do-not-go-near-these-wounds%e2%80%9d/

My advice John, is get it right because the idea is very complex and for every apologist we have who can explain it the better makes us better as a Church. Conversely for everyone who mumbles “evil doesn’t exist” or is just a “lack of goodness”, the hurt and shock this causes those who confront real evil in our world is immeasurable.

In Christ,

dj

I have attempted several times to illuminate how evil is a parasite of the good. Evil is diseased Goodness. Evil cannot exist without Goodness. The fallacy that evil is the lack of goodness is a misunderstanding of what Aquinas meant by “privation of the good”. In every act or occurence of evil, there is an associated Good. But this Goodness has been corrupted or diseased in some way or another. Evil always points to the Good of which it requires.

 

[djeter]

I have attempted several times to illuminate how evil is a parasite of the good. Evil is diseased Goodness. Evil cannot exist without Goodness. The fallacy that evil is the lack of goodness is a misunderstanding of what Aquinas meant by “privation of the good”. In every act or occurence of evil, there is an associated Good. But this Goodness has been corrupted or diseased in some way or another. Evil always points to the Good of which it requires.

We seem to be in agreement.

 

[jesshenry]

What about the reality of Hell. I wouldn’t say that God created Hell but if it is a physical place as some theologias believe could God have created it and then it became used as the consequence of Satan’s and our rejection of God? If hell is a state of being as other theologians say, then could we say that God did not create hell and that it is the consequence of our rejection of Him?

 

[fhansen]

What about the reality of Hell. I wouldn’t say that God created Hell but if it is a physical place as some theologias believe could God have created it and then it became used as the consequence of Satan’s and our rejection of God? If hell is a state of being as other theologians say, then could we say that God did not create hell and that it is the consequence of our rejection of Him?

Yes, I think it could be said that our final rejection of Him is hell. IOW, the total absence of God=hell.

 

[David_Castlen]

What about the reality of Hell. I wouldn’t say that God created Hell but if it is a physical place as some theologias believe could God have created it and then it became used as the consequence of Satan’s and our rejection of God? If hell is a state of being as other theologians say, then could we say that God did not create hell and that it is the consequence of our rejection of Him?

**God so loved us that he gave us hell. It is like this, I took my dear granddaughter to heaven, a Vivaldi concert The first five minutes she enjoyed; she found the next ten hell. I love her so much I took her from the concert to vew hell: Spoung Bob Square Pance.

This isn’t a complete human answer to the quesiton of hell, but it is (in my opinion) a great start.
**