There are two different words for “evil” used in the pages of the Old Testament. What about Isaiah 45:7? Let’s take a closer look at this passage. Through the exercise of free will, man has broken his relationship with God. But this possibility also entails an element of risk. The possibility of love between man and God springs directly out of man’s freedom to choose.
Otherwise, there could be no such thing as relationship or love. He had to be a creature with a genuine will of his own. Man had to be an entity entirely separate from God. To begin with, it’s misleading to think of evil as a “thing.” Evil isn’t a “substance” that has a traceable “source.” Biblically speaking, evil is an aspect of relationship.Īs your question implies, the real issue is not “How could God create evil?” It’s “How could God create another self separate from and independent of His own Self?” This is the real miracle of Creation, especially the creation of mankind.
