"Is God the creator of evil?" (Alleged Contradiction #E2735)
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
Psalm 5:4
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
I John 4:8
And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
II Kings 6:33
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 45:7
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:10
Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
Lamentations 3:38-40
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Amos 3:6
Response
God never causes moral evil (i.e., sin). However, He does punish people for sin using pestilence, famine, war, and other “evils” (punishments).
For instance, in Psalm 5:4, evil is compared to “wickedness” (sin), and this verse implies that God never causes evil (moral corruption). However, in the other verses stating that God causes evil, it is speaking of pestilence and famine (II Kings 6:33), of physical destruction (Job 2:10), and of “punishment for…sins” (Lamentations 3:38-40). It is also contrasted with peace (Isaiah 45:7). In these cases, evil means “bad things,” not moral corruption.
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