iano writes:
It comes from an act of freewill - freewill being a creation of God.
God creates freewill
God instructs x not be done (because it is against his will)
x is done in spite of God instructing it not be done.
x is done because a freewill is free to do what God instructs not to be done.
x needn't necessarily be done - the will is free not to do x.
x = evil, evil being defined as that which opposes Gods will.
x isn't created by God directly, it's created by God indirectly, via something else which God creates, freewill
the buck for x (insofar as promised negative consequences are laid at someones feet) stop at the freewill who chose to do x.
God, as I say above, cannot be tied to the creation of evil directly. The buck stops with freewill.
Hold the phone! God did create evil, in the form of Satan, and he let that evil loose on the face of the Earth. He (Satan) was even there in the very beginning, tempting Eve to take the forbidden fruit.
So, to say that freewill is the end all and that God did not create "evil" is inaccurate. God has loaded the odds against us by not only demanding perfection, but by also introducing a variable that guarantees that sin will be committed.
Now, you can take the stance that God didn't create Satan and that Lucifer did, but personally I feel that this is a hand waving cop out. God is omniscient and knew full well what his creation (Lucifer) would do and what his impact on man would be.
Cheers
Edited by caldron68, : No reason given.
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