How evil came into existence?

[Montalban]

I’m not sure I’m clear on this. Just because a demon performs evil works and leads men to desire evil things doesn’t seem to me to automatically mean their evil still isn’t anymore than the absence of something. A demon I would think is not an absence of “angel” but an angel lacking something.
Or quite opossibly I am misun derstanding what you are saying.

I never have been able to figure out if evil is a ‘force’, or a lack of a force.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

I’m not sure I’m clear on this. Just because a demon performs evil works and leads men to desire evil things doesn’t seem to me to automatically mean their evil still isn’t anymore than the absence of something. A demon I would think is not an absence of “angel” but an angel lacking something.
Or quite opossibly I am misun derstanding what you are saying.

They are still ontologically good, for God created them for that purpose (hence why they do not pass totally out of existence) but they lack grace.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

I never have been able to figure out if evil is a ‘force’, or a lack of a force.

Force out of control.

 

[Montalban]

Force out of control.

as in a form of chaos?

 

[deaconjim]

They are still ontologically good, for God created them for that purpose (hence why they do not pass totally out of existence) but they lack grace.

So then it is a lack of something, that is, grace. Not something, that is, “evil”, added.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

as in a form of chaos?

Dia-bolos (>devil) means “tear apart”

Btw symbol means “put together”

 

[orthodoxlurker]

They are still ontologically good, for God created them for that purpose (hence why they do not pass totally out of existence) but they lack grace.

As the Fathers say: it is the nature of angels not to fall, of demons to fall and not get up, of man to fall and get up.

It doesn’t seem consistent.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Evil came into the world as a result of freedom, because God is Love, and love outside of absolute freedom is not love.

My answer would be a paraphrase to this (and similar to what Fr. Corapi would say) in that love cannot exist without free will. Therefore evil was born of Satan’s misuse of his inherently good freedom. He used it to defy God.

 

[orthodoxlurker]

I’d say evil came into the world as the result of sin.

Death is evil.

It’s the sin that is evil. By our sins we participate and create evil. That’s the source of evil. It is us, sinners, who are the source of evil.

We need to repent and focus not to sin. We’ll be failing, but we need to try hard.

That’s why

Montalban:

I never have been able to figure out if evil is a ‘force’, or a lack of a force

evil is the force, and not just an absence.

 

[orthodoxlurker]

It doesn’t seem consistent.

Bro, I think you need to focus more on Fathers and Scripture and less on extremes of “lack” concept.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I never have been able to figure out if evil is a ‘force’, or a lack of a force.

Is a vacuum a force or a lack of force?