Did God Create Evil?

So the other day I received a message from someone basically asking “If God is so great, why did he create things that cause pain, or horrific?….in other words, did God create evil?'” This question, and many like it, are often very difficult for most Christians to answer. So I thought this would be a great issue to start a series on, delving into this question and others. I will do my best to provide you with  answers that you can faithfully give to those who ask you.

So today will be part 1 of the series:

Did God Create Evil?

Why would God create things that cause pain, hurt and suffering in the world? Well, to simply put it, He didn’t. Now this is just my opinion, and I am not claiming it as the ultimate truth in the matter…but this is what God has shown me in my walk with Him. We can look at the Fruit of the Spirit (click here to view the article where we break them down in Detail) and know with certainty that this is the character of our God; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23). We can see that “horrific things” do not match any of these characteristics, and God cannot do anything out of His character. But with that so, why are there “Horrific things” in the world? I use the following, and simple, analogy I once heard to answer this:

What is darkness? All know of it, and most fear it to some extent….but what is it? Actually,if I’m not mistaken, if you use all scientific standards, darkness is not even real. It can not be touched, it can not be measured, it can not be created, no object can emit it, and nothing can contain it….but still, we see it…Why? Well, because it is the observable absence of light. No Light = darkness. Darkness is just the word used to describe this absence. We can observe this, but it is not something that is actually there.

In very much the same way, the “horrific things” on earth we see are not the product of God, but of absence of His true presence we caused by sinning. It is our fault these “horrific things” are on earth, not God’s.

If you have any further insight on this topic, it would be a blessing to us all if you leave  it as a comment. Thank you

Also if there is any difficult question  you have come across that you would like me to add to this series, please let me know.

I do hope this has been a blessing to you readers, and my prayer for you and myself is that we would each strive to get closer to our Lord and Savior with each passing day.

God Bless

-Colton Jansen