Does God Create Evil?

A place to begin

The age-old question of whether a benevolent God could be responsible for the existence of evil has puzzled minds for centuries. In a poignant anecdote, a university professor challenges his students' faith by positing that if God created everything, including evil, then God himself must be evil. This provocative notion sends shockwaves through the classroom until a brave student steps forward to challenge the professor's premise. What unfolds is a profound dialogue that transcends mere academic debate and delves into the very essence of good and evil. Through this discourse, we are invited to reconsider our understanding of evil and its relationship to the divine.

The dialogue went something like this:

“Was everything that exists created by God?” The professor asked.

One student bravely answered: “Yes.”

“So, did God create everything?” - the professor asked.

“Yes, sir,” replied the student.

The professor then argued: “If God created everything, then God created evil, since it exists. And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil.”

The student became silent after hearing such an answer. The professor was very pleased with himself. He boasted to students for proving once again that faith in God is a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said: “Can I ask you a question, professor?”

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student got up and asked: “Professor, is cold a thing?”

“What kind of question? Of course, it exists. Have you ever been cold?”

Students laughed at the young man.

The young man answered: “Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is actually the absence of heat. A person or object can be studied on whether it has or transmits energy.”

Absolute zero (-460 degrees Fahrenheit) is a complete absence of heat. All matter becomes inert and unable to react at this temperature. Cold does not exist. We created this word to describe what we feel in the absence of heat.

The student continued: “Professor, does darkness exist?”

“Of course, it exists.”

Reading with care

“You're wrong again, sir. Darkness also does not exist. Darkness is actually the absence of light. We can study the light but not the darkness. We can use Newton's prism to spread white light across multiple colors and explore the different wavelengths of each color. You can't measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into the world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you tell how dark a certain space is? You measure how much light is presented. Isn't it so?

Darkness is a term man uses to describe what happens in the absence of light.”

In the end, the young man asked the professor: “Sir, does evil exist?”

This time, the professor answered:

“Of course, as I said before. We see him every day. Cruelty, numerous crimes, and violence throughout the world. These examples are nothing but a manifestation of evil.”

To this, the student answered: “Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist for itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is like darkness and cold—a man-made word to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not faith or love, which exists as light and warmth. Evil is the result of the absence of Divine love in the human heart. It’s the cold that comes when there is no heat or the kind of darkness that comes when there’s no light.”

In this illuminating exchange, the student, unbeknownst to many, was none other than Albert Einstein.

Let us heed the wisdom revealed in this dialogue and turn our hearts from the darkness of sin to the radiant love and light of God. John 1:5 reminds us, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Carrying this into life

May we, like rays of light piercing through the darkness, illuminate the world with acts of compassion and kindness. Let us pray fervently for the entire world to be bathed in the warmth of Divine love, casting out the shadows of evil and ushering in a new dawn of redemption and grace.