(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Did God Create Evil or Did Man?


            Ever since the beginning of time our reality has been based on the conflict between good and evil. From the story of Adam and Eve to modern day and everything done by the human race has been a battle between these two. Many theologians and scholars have tried to argue the creation of evil. They question if God created it or if man and his perversion of the good created it. Or even if it goes back farther than that, to the angels and Lucifer. Still many have reached the conclusion that evil is man's perversion of God's great gift of free will. However, I do not agree. I believe that evil is inherent in man. I believe that God, whether directly or indirectly, created evil. Many philosophers and theologians have had similar ideas. Even those that would disagree with my view have said things that will back up my argument. St. Augustine was one of the great theologians in church history. He had the idea that man was inherently and totally good until the fall. After the fall, man was both good and evil. A dualistic thought, but nonetheless a very Christian statement because we now had the ability to sin. From that point on, man was not prone to evil, but was born with evil in him. This is what drives us to sin in the first place. How could we perverse a good without having that perverseness, evil, in us already? Augustine himself identifies with this in his famous story of the theft of the pears. When he stole those pears he didn't have "any desire to enjoy the things [he] stole, but only the stealing of them and the sin." What he's saying is that there was no reason for him to steal the pears, no need or desire. It was simply the fact that it was evil and sinful that drove him to commit his pointless theft. He realized that there was a side of him that was naturally drawn to the enjoyment of evil. He realized that he had evil in him. And that part of him is what delighted in sin. Augustine admitted that it could not have been a perversion of a good because if that were so, and he was naturally all good, then he would have felt remorse.


Essays Related to Did God Create Evil or Did Man?


Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question