by Brigid Bishop

Created on: November 04, 2008   Last Updated: November 19, 2008

God is not responsible for either good or bad, God is responsible for "creating" opportunities for good and bad.

Mankind is responsible for using these opportunities in order to create that which is good or that which is bad or "evil".

God gave mankind the intellect to be able to create all types of things. Included in this gift of ingenuity was a free will, the ability to choose that which mankind would create.

Mankind developing tools for hunting, such as rocks, bows, arrows, spears and later guns could have remained a "good" thing, but mankind chose to utilize the weapons that he created not just for hunting and survival, but for murder and war.

Since God created the rock that a man uses to smash in a victim's head, is God responsible for the evil? No. The man who used the rock that God created is responsible for the evil intent of taking another human's life.

God is not responsible for the actions of man.

God is responsible for providing opportunities for both good and evil, but it is the human intellect that ultimately makes the choice and thus assumes responsibility for the creation of good and evil.

By the same token, is God responsible for the good in this world?

Many believe that this is so. Think of the people who have done much to make our world a better place. Not just those who have done so on a spiritual level, like Mother Theresa, but those who have created and invented over the centuries in order to make life more comfortable for mankind.

How about Edison, Bell, Franklin, men of the mind, intellectuals who invented and created in order to provide a better way of living for their fellow human beings? Did God create this good? No. These men created this good by utilizing their God-gifted intellect, yes, but they chose to use that intellect for good rather than evil and creating things that would help humanity rather than harm it.

Men who created nuclear warfare or chemical weaponry, are they manifesting evil with God's gifts? Or are they creating a system to protect mankind from what they may percieve as evil. Only God can truly be the judge of that. In the end, we will only know whether these men can be construed as using the talents they were graced with once those that are the decision makers choose how to use these weapons, good or evil, it is not God who will create or decide, it is mankind.

God is not responsible for good, nor is he responsible for evil. God is responsible for giving mankind limitless opportunities to choose that which is good or that which is evil. What will mankind choose?

Learn more about this author, Brigid Bishop.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.