by Bethany Vanderzand

Created on: April 21, 2008

My thoughts on this matter are not based on world religious views of God's character and the nature of evil, but rather my personal and spiritual understandings. I do not claim these understandings to be divinely correct, for they are my own, and I am a lesser being to Truth.

In order to fully explore the idea of God "allowing for" evil, we must first define God and define evil.

Who is God? God is the creator of all things - of ALL things, meaning God also created evil, or He, at the very least, created the ability to produce evil. By that understanding, God does not merely allow for evil - for evil came from God. If evil did not originate from God, then God is not the creator of all and He is not all-powerful, for the power to create evil is thereby given to someone or something else. Who? The Devil? Man? God created both the devil and man, did He not? Therefore, God must have - even if indirectly - caused, produced, constructed, devised (et cetera) evil.

What is evil? Evil is generally difined as:

1) morally wrong or bad.
2) harmful; injurous.
3) characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering.
4) marked by anger, irritability, irascibility.
5) sin.

There is no set-in-stone world view of immorality or sin; that is to say, not eveyone on the planet categorizes immorality and sin the same way.
To most religious practitioners, going against the will of God is considered sinning. The Ten Commandments of the Bible (laws set by God, given to Moses during the Exodus) state "Thou shalt not kill". Does that mean killing animals for food is a sin? or killing another person in self-defense, to save your own life or that of a loved one? Is cutting down a living tree for fire wood or to build a home, sinning? Most people assume the Bible is talking about murder - killing for the simple sake of destruction. But the Ten Commandments do not specify. It is up to each of us to interpret these commandments as we see fit.

Immorality. Most Americans would agree that pedophilia (an adult fornicating with a child) is unquestionably immoral. Well, in American society, one is considered an adult once he has reached the age of eighteen - therefore, anyone under the age of eighteen is a child. The legal age for concenting to sex is (in most states) sixteen. So, an eighteen-year-old engaging in sexual activity with a fifteen-year-old is pedophilia and merits incarceration. Sorry, young lovers, you are being immoral.
However, in many cultures, girls are considered women (female adults) -

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