God does evil, but He never sins

[-Cp]

People read Isaiah 45:7 where God says, “I
create evil,” and they can’t believe it. Why?
They assume evil to be sin. In order to define evil,
let’s examine two inspired contexts:

In Genesis 37:33, Jacob called the beast that he
thought had killed his son, “evil.”

What did Jacob associate with evilness? “An evil beast hath devoured him;
Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.”

An evil beast is one that breaks down, dismantles or
rends. This is opposed to a good beast, such as a lamb,
which just stands around looking cute. But is either a
lion or a lamb a sinner? Your new poodle Godzilla may
chew your slippers, and you may swat Godzilla’s rump
with a newspaper, but you don't send him to confession,
preach him repentance, or call the police. That's because
Godzilla hasn't sinned.

In Numbers 20:5, Israel said to Moses: “Why have ye
made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this
evil place? It is no place of seed or of figs, and neither is
there any water to drink.” Can a desert sin? Of course
not. The Israelites knew that evil meant, “to be shattered,”
and they did not confuse it with moral deficiency.

Evil is morally neutral, which is why God can both create it
and employ it without sinning. Why would God bring
shattering (evil) into our lives? So that He can heal us
and make us stronger (and wiser) for the experience.

[PostmodernProphet]

on what basis do you claim God does evil?


In order to define evil,
let’s examine two inspired contexts:


instead, why don't you look at the valid translation of Isaiah 45:7
the New King James Version uses a different word

7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.’

the New International Version translates it...

7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

both of those are far better than your ridiculous "contexts".....

you ignore the express purpose of Isaiah 45

9 "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say,
'He has no hands'?

10 Woe to him who says to his father,
'What have you begotten?'
or to his mother,
'What have you brought to birth?'

11 "This is what the LORD says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?

God gives us a passage which says "you have no right to criticize me" and you quote from it to criticize him?....

[-Cp]

on what basis do you claim God does evil?



instead, why don't you look at the valid translation of Isaiah 45:7
the New King James Version uses a different word


the New International Version translates it...


both of those are far better than your ridiculous "contexts".....

you ignore the express purpose of Isaiah 45


God gives us a passage which says "you have no right to criticize me" and you quote from it to criticize him?....

For this is what evil is: destruction, dismantling,
shattering. The Hebrew word is “ra,”
and it literally means, “to shatter.” The word, by
itself, has no moral bias. Evil is an indifferent
tool, capable of being bent toward either right
or wrong purposes.

[PostmodernProphet]

For this is what evil is: destruction, dismantling,
shattering. The Hebrew word is “ra,”
and it literally means, “to shatter.” The word, by
itself, has no moral bias. Evil is an indifferent
tool, capable of being bent toward either right
or wrong purposes.

instead of trying to remove the long standing moral implication of an English word and trying unsuccessfully to say that it is indifferent, how about simply not applying it to inappropriate contexts in the first place.....

[darin]

Lots of long-standing things mean shit when one thinks about them critically.

[-Cp]

instead of trying to remove the long standing moral implication of an English word and trying unsuccessfully to say that it is indifferent, how about simply not applying it to inappropriate contexts in the first place.....

Not changing anything... It is what it is.

[PostmodernProphet]

Not changing anything... It is what it is.

really?...

The word, by itself, has no moral bias.

you don't consider that a change?....I expect the average person, and the majority of those who aren't average, would agree that the word "evil" carries a moral bias.....

[-Cp]

really?...


you don't consider that a change?....I expect the average person, and the majority of those who aren't average, would agree that the word "evil" carries a moral bias.....

The "Average person" also used to believe the Earth was flat - didn't make it true.

[PostmodernProphet]

The "Average person" also used to believe the Earth was flat - didn't make it true.

?????.....we aren't talking science here, we're talking about how people understand the meaning of a word......you're starting to sound tropical (taking the liberty of using MY definition of the word 'tropical' rather than everyone else's)

[LiberalNation]

I think floodin the world and killin everyone if you take it literally is pretty evil. Not to mention what he did to one dude in a bet with the devil, kill his family, destroy is livelehood, disease him, all as a test of faith.

[PostmodernProphet]

I think floodin the world and killin everyone if you take it literally is pretty evil. Not to mention what he did to one dude in a bet with the devil, kill his family, destroy is livelehood, disease him, all as a test of faith.

ymmmm, your remembering the story wrong.....it was the devil that did those things, not God.....

[LiberalNation]

the history channel said god did em.

[LiberalNation]

he allowed it to happen anyway and that was not something a loving god would have done.

[chloe]

he allowed it to happen anyway and that was not something a loving god would have done.


Yeah if we are all God's children then it seems like he's an abusive parent. I would never treat my kids like that or let someone I know is evil do harm to my kids.

[-Cp]

he allowed it to happen anyway and that was not something a loving god would have done.

How does that make him an "unloving God"?

[PostmodernProphet]

the history channel said god did em.

I doubt very much that the History Channel said God killed Job's children....

[PostmodernProphet]

he allowed it to happen anyway and that was not something a loving god would have done.

interestingly enough, the book of Job was written specifically to answer that question.....why does a loving God allow evil to occur.....since most folks fail to read past the first chapter, they never learn the answer.....

why not go ahead and read it....
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+1&version=NIV

[-Cp]

interestingly enough, the book of Job was written specifically to answer that question.....why does a loving God allow evil to occur.....since most folks fail to read past the first chapter, they never learn the answer.....

why not go ahead and read it....
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+1&version=NIV

God creates evil:

Isaiah 45:7

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

[PostmodernProphet]

God creates evil:

Isaiah 45:7

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

the not incorrect translation of the original text....NIV translation...
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

even the corrected version of the King James version acknowledges the mistranslation, Cp.....New King James translation...
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.’

[-Cp]

the not incorrect translation of the original text....NIV translation...
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

even the corrected version of the King James version acknowledges the mistranslation, Cp.....New King James translation...
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.’

Disaster - things breaking - that is Evil..

For this is what evil is: destruction, dismantling,
shattering. The Hebrew word is “ra,”
and it literally means, “to shatter.” The word, by
itself, has no moral bias. Evil is an indifferent
tool, capable of being bent toward either right
or wrong purposes.

[HogTrash]

I always assumed that evil was not the act of doing something bad or wronging another, but the intention behind the act.

For instance, murder would be classified as an act of evil, while mercy killing might be considrered as an act of compassion.

[PostmodernProphet]

Disaster - things breaking - that is Evil..

For this is what evil is: destruction, dismantling,
shattering. The Hebrew word is “ra,”
and it literally means, “to shatter.” The word, by
itself, has no moral bias. Evil is an indifferent
tool, capable of being bent toward either right
or wrong purposes.

we've been through this before.....your error is that you try to apply the English connotation of the word to the Hebrew original......the Hebrew word is a verb....."evil" is never used as a verb in English.....God does not "evil" you, but he may shatter you or destroy you.....