ANSWERS: 6
  • The passage you quote comes from the King James Bible which actually reads, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." However, this is not what the original Hebrew says. The word translated "evil" is the word "ra". It also means sorrow, calamity (your example), disaster, afflictions, and adversity. Therefore, the Scriptures do not teach that God was the originator of evil. God did not create evil and neither is He to blame for the evil in the universe. God made people in such a way that they could choose whether or not to obey Him. Evil is the direct choice of individuals. Murder, stealing, lying, and such cannot be blamed upon God. People choose to do these things and must be held accountable.
    • Beat Covid, Avoid Republicans
      Do you know why we have the King James Version? Ceremony, tradition. That's why. It makes no sense anymore. Normal people don't speak that way anymore. Try the NIV if you want to find out what it really says.
    • Army Veteran
      What difference does it make? You don't read it anyway.
    • Jenny The Great ⭐
      1465, everyone knows of free will as you are implying. Also, the Hebrew rendering of evil does not answer the question, and neither does your answer. Why did God create sorrow, calamity, disaster, afflictions and adversity? If you think God did not create such things, then you can't interpret Isaiah 45:7.
    • Jenny The Great ⭐
      Hulk, quote: "Ceremony, tradition.?" I would rather listen to your grandparents, since normal people, more than likely being mostly Millennials who recommend the NIV prefer to read modern language. Archaic English can be understood with dictionaries. So it's not a big deal. The King James Bible is the only accurate version. It focuses on sin, repentance and it is the only Bible that proves Jesus is God. Newer versions make Jesus a created being. I used to use the NIV nearly a decade ago, until I found myself cornered all the time with the Jehovah's Witnesses. I then started using the King James Version, and boy do they hate it when Christians quote the KJV. It is how I realized the KJV is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit.
    • Beat Covid, Avoid Republicans
      Thanks for that quote. I never knew it existed. It actually contradicts other verses that say all evil comes from Satan, not God. Also, the KJV is much too archaic for me to read. I'll stick the the NIV
    • Jenny The Great ⭐
      Hulk, I only quote the English Standard Version, the Amplified Bible and the King James Version, even though the KJV can be difficult to understand for those who have not grown in spirit. For that matter, the Holy Spirit gives knowledge and once it does, it will let you know that if you don't have a KJV, you do not have a Bible. Check out this link. You'll be shocked to know how many words and verses the NIV has removed from the scriptures. You might want to think twice before sticking with the NIV: https://wordproject.org/bibles/resources/why_kjv/omissions.htm
  • Your question is based on literal thinking. In Isaiah 45:7, God creates peace and creates evil in the sense that His righteousness has caused mankind to rebel against Him. Isaiah 45:8 "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the Earth open, and let them bring forth Salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it."
    • Army Veteran
      "His righteousness" *caused* nothing of the sort. Man makes his own choices. However, your statement does prove Newton's Third Law "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction", but implying that God created evil just to contradict righteousness goes against the "house divided" concept.
    • Jenny The Great ⭐
      The heck with Newton's Third Law. He's probably burning in hell so I couldn't care one bit of his opinions. It is the Bible that has all the answers. Quote: "Man makes his own choices." That's right, and all of mankind has sinned. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," As you see, God's righteousness brings out the contrary in mankind. *Facepalm*
  • Obviously, not necessarily. It's like asking, "If God created smallpox, aren't you also doing the Lord's will when you create biological weapons?" Or, perhaps a more clear analogy: "If your boss gives you orders, aren't you also doing your boss's will when you give your fellow employees orders?" The "boss" (or "leader" or "ruler" or "god") doing some particular thing does NOT indicate that others under the boss should also be doing that same thing. The "boss" (or whatever) has special privileges and/or duties and/or abilities and so-on that are (rather obviously) not necessarily to be imitated by underlings. - - - THAT BEING SAID, the Bible translation you are using more precisely translates that passage using the word "calamity", while the classic King James Version correctly - but less precisely - translates that passage using the word "evil".
  • Which god? Is it the same god-creature that people here blab about all the time, but they are never able to prove their god-creature real to anyone?? PS (for the questioner) - don't apply logic to Bible-garbage. Logic, intelligence, critical thought - those things hit Cult Belief and fall right off, because you cannot apply intelligence and logic to cult silliness, anymore than you can apply it to Alice in Wonderland, Hobbits or Mother Goose.
    • Army Veteran
      I've had an unholy desire to invite some atheists to a dinner and then serve the most fabulous gourmet dinner that has ever been concocted and, after dinner, ask them if they believe there was a cook.” – Ronald Reagan
    • OrangeDonRump
      One has nothing to do with the other. God-creatures are a mythical, imaginary creation of mankind, and nobody has ever proven otherwise throughout our history.
    • Army Veteran
      Not to your satisfaction, anyway - and no one ever will. You're into proving things prove how life originated out of nothing and how it is perpetuated. Explain how the same conditions that must be in place to conceive a life managed to do it before there was life in the first place - and why are the conditions that created life in the first place not vital to continue the process?
  • No, in fact the very opposite because of what evil is. In accordance to your reference of the bible, Evil is a result of distance from God, but in order for free will to exist, man has to have the ability to chose between God and goodness or separation from God and so the ability to commit evil, that's what separated man from the beast, God bestowed mans own free will. This choice was represented by the two trees, one of life, and one of death (knowledge of good and evil), in mans temptation and pride to be a god of his own, he chose to separate himself from God. As a result anything that is apart from Gods will, Gods purpose, Gods presence, has the absence of God. This was also reflected in the story of Genesis, when in the original creation there was no death, no murder, no want for anything, whereas after the fall, death came to exist in the world, and so affected the whole universe as a consciousness and fear was born, and the prey and predator mind-set created. Even the blame culture was born, first thing Adam says was "It's the woman that you gave me." And then she says "Nope, it was the serpent he beguiled me." Hence, no one takes responsibility, sounds like you, me, and everyone else at some point, yes? But God did create both, evil is a by-product of free will, but also evil or sin can lead a man to rock bottom, and so realising that he cannot rely on his own self will, or desires of the flesh nature, may seek salvation in the light. This demonstration of rebellion is reflected in the parables of the prodigal son, and the lost sheep.
  • In the book of JOB God and Satan get together to test Job's faith. It shows God and Satan working together. Obviously they aren't enemies. Its one of the many Bible mysteries.

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