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Pieman333272
Guest
Can we only appreciate or perceive good because of evil? Does evil require good?
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valentino
Guest
no."God created man and saw that it was good"Adam knew good in the garden.He was perfectly contented.
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TheTrueCentrist
Guest
But did evil exist before the fall? Certainly Adam would have been ignorant of it until the fall, but that doesn’t answer the question at what point did evil come into existence? Obviously God has always known what evil is, so he was in a position to judge his creation to be “good” in contrast. Adam and Eve didn’t look at creation and declare it good, they instead declared it “not as attractive as that apple.”
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Curious_Seed
Guest
Does good require evil?
Does God require Satan? - No.
Can we perceive good because of evil?
Can we perceive light because of dark? - No.
Does evil require good?
Does Satan require Jesus? - No.
The good that we do is not good because of the evil we could do or have done.
The evil that we do is not evil because of the good we could do or have done.
Neither good nor evil, nor the knowledge of good or evil, is in need of the other, for the existence of itself.
Someday, all Christians will know only good, with the eternal banishment of evil to hell.
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TEPO
Guest
No, we would be able to appreciate good whether or not there was evil, however since the presence of evil, certain scenarios can often cause an inner battle of the conscience -on whether we perceive an act as either good or evil. Also with the presence of evil, we’re able to clarify the boundries between good and evil.
So in other words, evil has the abillity to both cloud our perception of good while also posessing the ability to clarify our perception of good.
Weird, huh…? I guess we’re left with the choice on which way to lean. (Free will) Along with Gods Grace.
Yes, I believe it does… That is -if God is the Alpha and the Omega, who is ALL good. This is what I believe… It’s the way I choose to lean.
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Glorthac
Guest
St. Augustine said that the devil fell and then “God divided the light from the darkness” (good angels from the bad angels), so the devil’s fall happened on the 1st day.
But Adam was ignorant of that, and was still happy with creation, as the 2nd poster said. Therefore, we don’t need evil to love good.
As for the OP, evil does need good to exist. If God stopped sustaining the devil’s airy body, the devil would cease to exist. Evil needs good. Why doesn’t God stop sustaining the devil? God uses the devil to chasten us towards good. This is paralleled by Davids words “the righteous man will chasten me with mercy and reprove me, as for the oil of the sinner, let it not anoint my head.”
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TEPO
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So if evil is capable of both clouding and clarifying what is good – Then, that seems to mean to me that the Devil is not ALL evil… Yet God is ALL good.
So even the devil has a little good in him then. Just a tiny bit.
Therefore, Good > Evil.
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TEPO
Guest
Also, I don’t believe there is any indication that God has ever ended the existance of any soul -whether angel, saint or sinner… God does not kill because He is all good. He does divide though.
This makes more sense to me personally on why exactly He allows satan to exist, as opposed to the theory of using the devil to “chasten us towards good”. The chasten theory sounds too much to me like the ends justifying the means.
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veritas82
Guest
Interesting question I’ll put some reflections in the hope they may be of some help
If something is good then what do we call something less good? We may call it evil or at least a bit evil. Evil is a relative term. Good exists, but its contrast ‘evil’ - what is actually a lesser form of good - does not. Rather like light exists and dimmer light is light mixed with darkness, but darkness does not exist; it is just the absence of light.
God is good and the opposite, namely absolute nothingness is total absence of good - what a human calls evil. So creation is just good and evil is only a human relative term, not one applicable to God. Someone said good > evil, but actually the statement should just have been good
To perceive something as good then it must be contrasted with its opposite. There must be opposites otherwise everything would just be the same. Intelligence can’t be understood without ignorance. In fact a teacher must crave ignorance to be able to give knowledge (i.e. cure ignorance) and practice his profession, even though he only rewards knowledge. So yes good requires evil.
The wisdom of the devil is that he is the Universes hankie; he collects the rubbish of the universe so that he is blamed for evil and not God.
God knows best
I’ll put some reflections in the hope they may be of some helpIf something is good then what do we call something less good? We may call it evil or at least a bit evil. Evil is a relative term. Good exists, but its contrast ‘evil’ - what is actually a lesser form of good - does not. Rather like light exists and dimmer light is light mixed with darkness, but darkness does not exist; it is just the absence of light.
God is good and the opposite, namely absolute nothingness is total absence of good - what a human calls evil. So creation is just good and evil is only a human relative term, not one applicable to God. Someone said good > evil, but actually the statement should just have been good
To perceive something as good then it must be contrasted with its opposite. There must be opposites otherwise everything would just be the same. Intelligence can’t be understood without ignorance. In fact a teacher must crave ignorance to be able to give knowledge (i.e. cure ignorance) and practice his profession, even though he only rewards knowledge. So yes good requires evil.
The wisdom of the devil is that he is the Universes hankie; he collects the rubbish of the universe so that he is blamed for evil and not God.
God knows best
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StrawberryJam
Guest
Not so. God saw it was good, but changed his mind later on when he saw it was not good for Adam to be alone.
Adam was not perfectly contented with his creator’s idea of animals for a partner. He got lonesome according to the narrative.
That’s when God decided to pull out a rib to fix things.
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Wayward_Wind
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Before all creation, angels and man, there was only God, no? Infinite goodness at the alpha and infinite goodness at the omega.
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HickmanJosh
Guest
perhaps in order to have free will evil is necessary as an alternative to good, and the reason for its dysfunction is because we go into a state that is not what we were met for.
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grannymh
Guest
Adam followed God’s command to name the animals. God knew that it was important for Adam to have an helpmate. God also knew that an animal nature and a human nature wouldn’t click. So after Adam did his job of naming animals, God gave him a matching human being, Eve.
Blessings,
granny
Genesis 2: 18-25
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grannymh
Guest
If it is evil to turn one’s back on one’s Creator? If it is evil to stop living in the friendship of God? If pride is evil when one chooses himself over God? Then Adam knew what evil was because he freely chose to scorn his Creator. He freely chose to break the bond of friendship with God. He freely chose his own pride over obedience to his Creator.
Evil came into existence, the moment Adam sinned.
Blessings,
granny
Basic Catholic teaching **regarding Adam and God **is found in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, ISBN: 1-57455-109-4
Paragraphs 355-421.
The good news of Jesus Christ follows in Paragraph 422, etc.
One can put the word paragraph and its number in the Catechism’s search bar in link
www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
Entering topics is also very useful since the Catechism does expand on the basics and implications. . Do check out the references in the margins and in the Index.
When one enters a paragraph number, like “paragraph 355”, and then clicks on the opening line, CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 355 the following is under the paragraph:
»
»Table of Contents
»
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StrawberryJam
Guest
So men can not work and do a job while having a helpmate then.
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valentino
Guest
God knew what evil was.It was not doing His Will.I disagree.It wasnt the attractiveness of the apple which made Eve sin it was the sin of pride.She believed she could break God’s commandment.The moment Adam and Eve sinned they were ashamed.(they hid from God)
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StrawberryJam
Guest
Unconditional love from the start?
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grannymh
Guest
Yes, God loves us unconditionally from the start. But we need to return that love with trust and obedience in order to remain in God’s friendship. We don’t have to love God. We can scorn Him and leave.
Personally, I find the Catholic Church to be the best place for guidance regarding God. I find that its Sacraments are the best help ever for one who wavers. As for the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist – nothing can top that.
Blessings,
granny
THE HOLY EUCHARIST
****IS THE LIGHT, STRENGTH, AND LIFE OF OUR SOULS.
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StrawberryJam
Guest
Hello Granny,
Would you please reply to my post (may be number 15)
Where I reply to your comment with this:
So men can not work and do a job while having a helpmate then?
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grannymh
Guest
Good seeing you StrawberryJam,
Post 15 made me smile. I couldn’t add to it one way or another. I know one man who likes to work alone in a garden and another man who can’t do anything in the garden without his wife’s direction. Sometimes, I prefer to just listen to interesting replies.
Blessings,
granny
John 3: 16-17
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