tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886567613905490071.post4721116364116813757..comments2023-08-01T20:14:02.890-04:00Comments on Thunder Sounds: Where Did Evil Come From?SLWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04260137021205685080noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886567613905490071.post-82800323566444322962008-07-01T10:31:00.000-04:002008-07-01T10:31:00.000-04:00Yes, conceptually, the possibility did start with ...Yes, conceptually, the possibility did start with God. There is no other conclusion possible, unless there is a limitation to God's omniscience and power. An open theist may be able to embrace that thought, I cannot. I see everything that exists as ultimately existing within the framework of God's knowledge and subject to his power. <BR/><BR/>I do not see evil as it's own element, it's derivative. It does not exist apart from freedom, and it only exists outside of the will of God. Which is why, incidentally, eternal fire is the ultimate solution to expunging it from creation (see <A HREF="http://thundersounds.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-hell-with-it.html" REL="nofollow">this</A>). So God's responsibility is not for creating, or loosing some dark reality into the pristine creation, but in replicating his power of choice (which had to operate independently of him just to exist), which made evil possible. In my view, that course of action made evil inevitable, but that still does not make God the author of it directly.<BR/><BR/>Was he able to perceive the risk inherent in freedom, before he shared freedom with the angels and us? Absolutely. He knows our thoughts before we think them (Ps 139:1-4), and the lamb was slain from the creation of earth (Rev 13:8). The question that is interesting, imho, is what would make a holy God proceed in that circumstance? My answer would be love.SLWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04260137021205685080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886567613905490071.post-53324651754842211012008-06-27T21:59:00.000-04:002008-06-27T21:59:00.000-04:00Interesting way of looking at it. My question the...Interesting way of looking at it. My question then is (not because I disagree with you), God gave us freedom, so doesn't that mean the possibility of evil still originated with God? Like this syllogism:<BR/><BR/>God is good and created freedom<BR/>Freedom creates the possibility of evil<BR/>Therefore, God created the possibility of eviljanellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03562513623973041847noreply@blogger.com