by Erik Bonthron

Created on: July 15, 2010

     Good and evil are just labels that we use to judge actions and or thoughts. For those of us who are religious then all things are created by God. In this sense though we should look at the meanings of Evil and of Good for that matter. What is good or right to one group of people is not so for another group. As long as we are discussing these terms in a group of like minded individuals then we have a structure of agreement and common ground.

     When we cross out of a single culture conversation and enter into a multicultural one. The definitions can quickly become blurred. For example Polygamy: Mormons ( a christian sect ) Muslims and other cultures find this acceptable, yet ask a Catholic or any other main stream Christian and they will tell you it is a sin !

     Now when we label an act or deed evil we do it from our own perspective. We can not tell what god thinks or how he labels things. If it is sinful then it is sinful. Depending on your religious views sins come in many different shapes and sizes. Evil in my opinion is not to do the will of God or to purposefully take away from his glory. God did not create us to defy his will. He created us from his love and allowed us to act and think freely. I imagine that being all powerful and omniscient he knew long before we did what the end would be. God created man and imbued within him free will. Free will is not evil, it can lead to evil things but free will is not in and of itself evil.

     By saying that God created evil seems to me an easy way of making an excuse that "I did what I did because that was how god created me." We were created to raise of voices and hearts in praise of our creator. That some of have been and will continue to be corrupted by sin and Satan is not that same as saying that god created evil. Remember those who are truly religious that Satan's sin was Vanity and refusal to bow to man as god had ordered. That act of defiance was a sin.

     In conclusion it is fair to attribute God with creating Free Will. One can argue that by doing so he know where it would lead. Evil though is created by individuals abusing that gift of free will.

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