Darkness is not evil.

[Panthers]

And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off,
and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

 

[Panthers]

For such people are false apostles,
deceitful workers,
masquerading as apostles of Christ.
And no wonder,
for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:13-14

 

[Panthers]

 

[Panthers]

The darkness represents strength, purity, peace, rest, power, vastness, and fluidity.

 

[Josheb]

Would you mind telling me what you think the word "darkness" means in the following verses?

Matthew 6:19-24
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.​

Luke 1:67-79
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant...... to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days...... To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."​

John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.​

Ephesians 5:6-13
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.​

1 John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.​

Lastly, what do you make of the premise darkness is simply the absence of light? Thank you for the answers to the questions asked.

 

[Panthers]

Would you mind telling me what you think the word "darkness" means in the following verses?

Matthew 6:19-24 ​

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.​

Luke 1:67-79 ​

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant...... to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days...... To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."​

John 1:5 ​

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.​

Ephesians 5:6-13 ​

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.​

1 John 1:5 ​

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.​

Lastly, what do you make of the premise darkness is simply the absence of light? Thank you for the answers to the questions asked.

The darkness was apparent in the beginning but it was not necessarily evil as it was archaic.
For light is described more of the evil one, as the name Lucifer comes from Latin and means "light-bringer" or "morning star."

 

[Tropical Wilds]

And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off,
and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

Context is key, my guy. If I call to say I was shot, the meaning of the word very definitely hangs on if I finish the phrase “by a photographer” or “by a gunman.”

 

[public hermit]

And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off,
and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

Metaphors are pliable, which is one of the great things about them. There is a sense in which darkness can represent evil and, therefore, is opposed to light/goodness (John 1). But there is another sense in which darkness can represent ignorance and unknowing, as in the case of Moses entering the thick darkness/cloud. Traditionally, this later sense speaks to the inscrutability of the divine (like the "cloud of unknowing"). That doesn't mean a particular use of the metaphor can be interpreted in any old way. As has been stated-context is key. h/t @Tropical Wilds

The Cloud of Unknowing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Panthers]

• Genesis 1:2 (KJV) – "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
• Exodus 10:21-22 (KJV) – "And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."
• Deuteronomy 4:11 (KJV) – "And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness."
• Job 5:14 (KJV) – "They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night."
• Job 12:22 (KJV) – "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death."
• Psalm 18:11 (KJV) – "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."
• Psalm 82:5 (KJV) – "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course."
• Psalm 107:14 (KJV) – "He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder."
• Isaiah 9:2 (KJV) – "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
• Isaiah 45:7 (KJV) – "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."
• Isaiah 60:2 (KJV) – "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."
• Jeremiah 13:16 (KJV) – "Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness."
• Ezekiel 32:8 (KJV) – "All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God."

• Matthew 4:16 (KJV) – "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up."
• Matthew 6:23 (KJV) – "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
• Matthew 8:12 (KJV) – "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
• Matthew 27:45 (KJV) – "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."
• Luke 1:79 (KJV) – "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
• John 1:5 (KJV) – "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
• John 3:19 (KJV) – "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
• Acts 26:18 (KJV) – "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
• Romans 13:12 (KJV) – "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."
• 2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV) – "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
• Ephesians 5:8 (KJV) – "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light."
• Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) – "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5 (KJV) – "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."
• 1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) – "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."
• 1 John 1:6 (KJV) – "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth."
• Revelation 16:10 (KJV) – "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain."

 

[stevevw]

And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off,
and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

Maybe there are different types of darkness. It seems God exists in a 'thick' darkness. As opposed to the darkness of night. The void can be another darkness where there is suppose to be nothing. A black hole is a form of darkness where even light disappears.

The darkness of mans heart in another darkness. Christ is the light in that darkness. Like a lighthouse in the darkness of sin.

 

[Yarddog]

And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off,
and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

This depends on what scripture is actually referring to.

 

[Josheb]

The darkness was apparent in the beginning but it was not necessarily evil as it was archaic.
For light is described more of the evil one, as the name Lucifer comes from Latin and means "light-bringer" or "morning star."

That is not an answer to my question(s).


Would you please tell me what it is you think the word "darkness" means in each of the five passages quoted in Post #5?

 

[Panthers]

Would you mind telling me what you think the word "darkness" means in the following verses?

Matthew 6:19-24 ​

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.​

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil,
thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!


If thy eye be evil, which is the lamp of the body,
ONLY darkness will be inside.
Darkness is powerful (great).

Luke 1:67-79 ​

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant...... to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days...... To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."​

Darkness here means in mystery.

John 1:5 ​

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.​

The light shines in the dominion of darkness, and those who have evil lamps for eyes cannot comprehend it.

Ephesians 5:6-13 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.​

Those who are formerly dark came from the former Kingdom of Darkness, which existed prior to the creation of this universe. Had the Lord been pleased with the prior universe, there would be no need for this one. Yet the Lord granted mercy to ancient beings. (Angels)

The deeds of darkness are those deeds done in the prior, which are being repeated in the present.

1 John 1:5 ​

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.​

Lastly, what do you make of the premise darkness is simply the absence of light? Thank you for the answers to the questions asked.

I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
Isaiah 45:7

If light is ever expelling and empty
The darkness is ever absorbing and full.

Is why self absorption is a dark deed.

 

[Panthers]

This is what dark EDM sounds like...

 

[Josheb]

Darkness here [Lk. 1:79] means in mystery.

This darkness that is "in mystery" is associated with the shadow of death. Is sitting or living "in darkness and in the shadow of death" a good thing?

The light shines in the dominion of darkness, and those who have evil lamps for eyes cannot comprehend it.

That is not an answer to the question asked. What is the meaning of the word, "darkness" in John 1:5? Is the "dominion of darkness" a good thing?

Those who are formerly dark came from the former Kingdom of Darkness....

Whoa. What is the meaning of "darkness" in Ephesians 5:6-13?

That is all that was asked. Explaining a word by using the word is called "begging the question." It is a well-established mistake in reasoning. Explain what the verses' use of "darkness" means, and do it without using the word "dark" to describe the darkness. We already know darkness is dark. That darkness is dark is right there in the word itself.

Is "formerly dark" a good thing?

is the "Kingdom of Darkness" a good thing?

Are "deeds of darkness" a good thing?

If light is ever expelling and empty
The darkness is ever absorbing and full.

Is darkness' "ever-absorbing and full" a good thing?

Is why self absorption is a dark deed.

Thank you for the added commentary but it's not what was asked for and it does not answer the question asked.

What is the meaning of "darkness" in the five passages quoted? Give it one more try, and try not to explain darkness using dark to do so.

In addition to answering those five questions, when you're done answer these questions (listed here for your convenience).....

1. What is the meaning of the word "darkness" in each of the five passages quoted?
2. Is the "dominion of darkness" a good thing?
3. Is "formerly dark" a good thing?
4. is the "Kingdom of Darkness" a good thing?
5. Are "deeds of darkness" a good thing?
6. Is darkness' "ever-absorbing and full" a good thing?
7. Is a "dark deed" a good thing?

If any of those things are not good, then are they evil?

 

[Panthers]

This darkness that is "in mystery" is associated with the shadow of death. Is sitting or living "in darkness and in the shadow of death" a good thing?

That is not an answer to the question asked. What is the meaning of the word, "darkness" in John 1:5? Is the "dominion of darkness" a good thing?

Whoa. What is the meaning of "darkness" in Ephesians 5:6-13?

That is all that was asked. Explaining a word by using the word is called "begging the question." It is a well-established mistake in reasoning. Explain what the verses' use of "darkness" means, and do it without using the word "dark" to describe the darkness. We already know darkness is dark. That darkness is dark is right there in the word itself.

Is "formerly dark" a good thing?

is the "Kingdom of Darkness" a good thing?

Are "deeds of darkness" a good thing?

Is darkness' "ever-absorbing and full" a good thing?

Thank you for the added commentary but it's not what was asked for and it does not answer the question asked.

What is the meaning of "darkness" in the five passages quoted? Give it one more try, and try not to explain darkness using dark to do so.

In addition to answering those five questions, when you're done answer these questions (listed here for your convenience).....

2What is the meaning of the word "darkness" in each of the five passages quoted?

we already discussed that

3
Is the "dominion of darkness" a good thing?

If you are it's prince, yes.

4Is "formerly dark" a good thing?

If you understand the darkness, yes.

5is the "Kingdom of Darkness" a good thing?

Already answered

6Are "deeds of darkness" a good thing?

Already answered.

7Is darkness' "ever-absorbing and full" a good thing?

Yes, there is plenty of room in its never ending pit.

8.Is a "dark deed" a good thing?

Darkness leads to the accumulation of personal wealth. Personal wealth can fend off evil forces.

If any of those things are not good, then are they evil?

Darkness is not evil,
For the opposite of good is evil.
Darkness is not the opposite of good,
It is simply the absence of light,
Of which Lucifer, the angel, is a bearer.

Light desires to be seen,
It is everywhere!
Yet so is darkness,
Though it hides, unseen,
Content in its mystery.

When darkness shows itself,
The world sees an abyss and fears it.
Fear brands it evil,
Much like we fear lions,
Mighty and bottomless in their nature.

As in Genesis, as in Daniel,
The lion of darkness allows the light to be,
For without shadow, light could not exist.
Without darkness, we would never learn to follow.

Listen to what my spirit says!
I come in this way for one reason,
To show you the nature of my true spirit,
That you too may find your own.

My spirit is of the lion.
I hunt in the night,
When it is light, you see me,
And keep your distance.
But in the darkness, I move closer,
Until you forget I’m there,
Though I am always by your side.

I hear your words, your songs, your cries,
So many cries born of darkness.
I have seen what you could not,
For I have eyes that pierce the unseen.

In a world before,
I might have devoured you,
But that season is over.
Now, I spit you out,
For I remember you and see myself in you.
I did not destroy,
But became your equal.

Brothers and sisters we are,
Just as another Spirit was—
The Spirit of the Lamb,
The Christ, the comforter, the way to truth.

The Lamb, pure in spirit,
Revealed God’s truth in his light.
As my spirit, from the lion,
Was drawn to the Lamb.

I followed the Lamb,
Not with the herds,
But alone, in secret.
Stalking through the tall grass,
Judging, unsure, I watched.
Closer and closer I came,
Until I saw myself in him.

Together, we bore witness to God’s power,
He vindicated me,
And I vindicated him.
Only by seeing Christ’s truth,
Can one glimpse the everlasting truth.

We are made of primal spirit,
Though we’ve forgotten,
Forsaking our first love—
A mistake that clouds our truth.

King Nebuchadnezzar was reminded of his spirit,
The ox within him emerged for seven years,
Until he was restored as a blessed king.
Even the devil has a spirit—
That ancient serpent can rise as a king,
But his kingdom is fleeting,
Bound by his error.

To be a king, one must be a complete man,
And to be complete,
One must understand the spirits within.

The serpent devours without wisdom,
Consuming even himself in his hunger,
Self-annihilating,
Forgetting the nature of man,
Trapped in a pit of his own making.

Your body is a temple,
A house for many spirits,
Each spirit brings gifts—
Some you accept,
Others you cast out.

The gifts you keep,
Transform you,
Preparing you for what lies ahead.
But without key spiritual gifts,
Your kingdom will not last.

I offer you a gift—
A sword, brilliant and eternal.
A sword that fits the hand,
But even without a hand, it can create one.
I call this sword, God.

It is the sword of the prophets,
Passed down through Abraham,
To those who understand both the Lamb and the Lion.
We both carry this sword,
Using it in our own ways.

To those who deny the sword,
It is offered with a double edge—
Until they accept the bearers of the sword.

This power brings eternal lessons,
For those who hold it never stop learning.
All will cut themselves on it once,
And all will die by it once,
To remind them of the one who created it.

This sword forged a new universe,
After a war with hydrogen,
It struck in the dark,
Waiting out the giant,
Reestablishing order.

Hovering above the waters,
In mathematical glory,
This sword—Spirit of God—
Remains a symbol of an ancient truth.

 

[Josheb]

we already discussed that

If you are it's prince, yes.

If you understand the darkness, yes.

Already answered.

Already answered.

Yes, there is plenty of room in its never ending pit.

Darkness leads to the accumulation of personal wealth. Personal wealth can fend off evil forces.

Darkness is not evil,
For the opposite of good is evil.

Thank you for your patience, and answers.

I think you're wrong. I think a couple of errors have occurred in the rationale employed to conclude darkness is not evil. Chief among those errors is the assumption darkness can be singularly defined. Sometimes scripture uses the word "darkness" to indicate something is good, and sometimes scripture uses the word to indicate something is not good, or evil.

The simplest definition of darkness is that darkness is the absence of light. So, for example, when scripture opens with the statements,

Genesis 1:1-4
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

The point being made there is there was no light. The first thing God made was light, and He made light in order to change the formless void. The Hebrew word for "void" is "tohu." The root word (bohu) is the basis for the word "waste." The Hebrew word for "void" is "wabohu," and as scripture unfolds wabohu will become the root word for what scripture later calls desolation. I encourage you (and all the lurkers) to do a study of wabohu when time to do so avails itself. desolation is not a good thing. The tohu wabohu was an expanse of waste and desolation. There was nothing there; no light, no life, no Spirit...... no goodness. The first thing God did was make light, separate the light and the dark, form time (time is nothing more than the measure of cause and effect), and create a day. Darkness was ordered (see Job 38:19-20). Darkness, the empty void, the waste desolation that was dark was changed and it was the change that was deemed good, not darkness alone. Darkness that is empty void desolate waste is not good. Darkness that is ordered by light and structured to have a purpose that serves God is good.

Second, at the point of creation there is no sin. According to Romans 5, sin is not something God created and sin does not enter the world until Adam disobeys God. We might say sine first appears when Lucifer/Satan rebels (assuming the tradition of Satan being a rebellious angel is valid), but even then the point remains: sin was not made by God. Sin, like darkness, is the absence of something, not the existence of something else. Sin is the absence of righteousness, law, faith, goodness, etc. In the first six days of creation there is nothing that is not good. All that God made was good. God did not make the already existing empty void darkness. The first good thing He did was change the empty void darkness. Because there is no sin in creation during that time it is inappropriate to think there are only two options, good and evil. A dichotomy does exist, but it is the dichotomy of good and not-good. It is worth noting that there is something not good in creation that exists before Adam disobeys God. It is not good that man was alone. At Genesis 2:18 we read of the first not-good thing in creation. God immediately addresses that condition. Goodness can be defined many ways. There is, for example, a moral goodness. Something can be moral or immoral, but something can also be immoral. There is also a utilitarian good. Anything that serves God's purpose could be considered good, and anything that doesn't serve His purpose would be not good, utilitarianly speaking. Moral goodness and functional goodness are two entirely different goodnesses. Long after the light is made and darkness is ordered and made to serve God's purpose, Jacob's boys selling Jospeh into slavery and lying about it to their dad was an immoral not-goodness but it served God's purpose. What they meant for evil God intended for good.

Aside from the fact there is a tree that bears the knowledge of good and evil, there is no evil in the garden. There is no evil in creation. There is only good, and not-good. Anything that is not-good is not-good simply because it is not good. It is a very simply dichotomy. Adam and Eve do not ned to experience evil to understand when something is not-good. Because they and everything around them is ontologically and teleologically good..... they can and should observe that which is not-good simply because it is not good. The different ontology of good and not-good is recognizable. So when the serpent appears they could have recognized him as not-good simply because he is not good. He is a liar who lies and that is not only not-good, it is evil. The Bible does not label him that way in Genesis. We have to read the rest of the Bible to learn that truth. This is why using only Genesis 1 to say darkness is only good is a mistake. Whole scripture must be used. Aside from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we do not find the word "evil" being used and applied to creation until Genesis 6, where God declared every thought of humanity only evil all the time. Therefore, the use of the word "evil" to describe anything in creation is a bit of a red herring. It's like trying to call a pickup truck flightless.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact scripture often uses words with many different meanings or many different values. The word "death" for example is used at least five different ways in the Bible. There is physical death. There is "dead in transgression." A person who is not physically dead can be dead in transgression. Those are two completely different types of death; the former is good, and the latter is not.* In addition to the two completely different types of death, being physically dead versus being transgressionally dead, there is the death of being dead in Christ, and there is the death of being dead to sin. If a person is physically alive but dead in sin then s/he will die dead and there is no eternal life for that individual. That person will experience the second death of the fiery lake. Those who physically die having also dying in sin but later accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior have become dead in Christ and dead to sin, so they will physically die dead dead and alive and be raised to eternal life never to suffer the second death in the fiery lake.

Five different types of death, not one.

Thinking the word "death" in scripture means only one thing is a mistake. Likewise, thinking "darkness" means only one thing is also a mistake. Sometimes darkness is a good thing (like when God appears as a cloud of smoke that blots out the light). Sometimes darkness is not a good thing, such as when someone finds themselves stumbling in darkness unable to see God because of their sin. Sometimes GOd juxtaposes darkness and evil against good and light, thereby creating a dichotomy in which one side is to be sought or embraced and the other side is to be avoided or discarded.

Job 30:26
When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

John 3:19
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.


Very little in scripture is monolithic. God often uses like terms with rich diversity. When sin makes a land spiritually empty and void that is a form of darkness. To be spiritually desolate is not good; it's evil. Sometimes that occurs by God's own hand....

Ezekiel 30:12
"Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry and sell the land into the hands of evil men. And I will make the land desolate and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken.

God can make a land evil by seeing that it is sold to evil men..... when what He would prefer is that the righteous occupy the land in obedience and life. Sometimes desolation occurs by humanity's doing.

Matthew 23:37-38
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!


It's not okay to murder God's prophets (including His own Son) and think that a good thing. Chronic disobedience brings desolation. It brings darkness, a darkness that is not good.


Proverbs 2:1-2, 9-15
My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding...... Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil; whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways...

When darkness means a lack of uprightness then darkness is evil. Include the diversity of scripture in the next op on darkness.














*The goodness of physical death is sometimes not recognized. Physical death is part of the created order. It has been apportioned for humans to dies once and then face judgment, and there is no resurrection without physically dying.
.

 

[Panthers]

Thank you for your patience, and answers.

I think you're wrong. I think a couple of errors have occurred in the rationale employed to conclude darkness is not evil. Chief among those errors is the assumption darkness can be singularly defined. Sometimes scripture uses the word "darkness" to indicate something is good, and sometimes scripture uses the word to indicate something is not good, or evil.

The simplest definition of darkness is that darkness is the absence of light. So, for example, when scripture opens with the statements,

Genesis 1:1-4
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

The point being made there is there was no light. The first thing God made was light, and He made light in order to change the formless void. The Hebrew word for "void" is "tohu." The root word (bohu) is the basis for the word "waste." The Hebrew word for "void" is "wabohu," and as scripture unfolds wabohu will become the root word for what scripture later calls desolation. I encourage you (and all the lurkers) to do a study of wabohu when time to do so avails itself. desolation is not a good thing. The tohu wabohu was an expanse of waste and desolation. There was nothing there; no light, no life, no Spirit...... no goodness. The first thing God did was make light, separate the light and the dark, form time (time is nothing more than the measure of cause and effect), and create a day. Darkness was ordered (see Job 38:19-20). Darkness, the empty void, the waste desolation that was dark was changed and it was the change that was deemed good, not darkness alone. Darkness that is empty void desolate waste is not good. Darkness that is ordered by light and structured to have a purpose that serves God is good.

Second, at the point of creation there is no sin. According to Romans 5, sin is not something God created and sin does not enter the world until Adam disobeys God. We might say sine first appears when Lucifer/Satan rebels (assuming the tradition of Satan being a rebellious angel is valid), but even then the point remains: sin was not made by God. Sin, like darkness, is the absence of something, not the existence of something else. Sin is the absence of righteousness, law, faith, goodness, etc. In the first six days of creation there is nothing that is not good. All that God made was good. God did not make the already existing empty void darkness. The first good thing He did was change the empty void darkness. Because there is no sin in creation during that time it is inappropriate to think there are only two options, good and evil. A dichotomy does exist, but it is the dichotomy of good and not-good. It is worth noting that there is something not good in creation that exists before Adam disobeys God. It is not good that man was alone. At Genesis 2:18 we read of the first not-good thing in creation. God immediately addresses that condition. Goodness can be defined many ways. There is, for example, a moral goodness. Something can be moral or immoral, but something can also be immoral. There is also a utilitarian good. Anything that serves God's purpose could be considered good, and anything that doesn't serve His purpose would be not good, utilitarianly speaking. Moral goodness and functional goodness are two entirely different goodnesses. Long after the light is made and darkness is ordered and made to serve God's purpose, Jacob's boys selling Jospeh into slavery and lying about it to their dad was an immoral not-goodness but it served God's purpose. What they meant for evil God intended for good.

Aside from the fact there is a tree that bears the knowledge of good and evil, there is no evil in the garden. There is no evil in creation. There is only good, and not-good. Anything that is not-good is not-good simply because it is not good. It is a very simply dichotomy. Adam and Eve do not ned to experience evil to understand when something is not-good. Because they and everything around them is ontologically and teleologically good..... they can and should observe that which is not-good simply because it is not good. The different ontology of good and not-good is recognizable. So when the serpent appears they could have recognized him as not-good simply because he is not good. He is a liar who lies and that is not only not-good, it is evil. The Bible does not label him that way in Genesis. We have to read the rest of the Bible to learn that truth. This is why using only Genesis 1 to say darkness is only good is a mistake. Whole scripture must be used. Aside from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we do not find the word "evil" being used and applied to creation until Genesis 6, where God declared every thought of humanity only evil all the time. Therefore, the use of the word "evil" to describe anything in creation is a bit of a red herring. It's like trying to call a pickup truck flightless.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact scripture often uses words with many different meanings or many different values. The word "death" for example is used at least five different ways in the Bible. There is physical death. There is "dead in transgression." A person who is not physically dead can be dead in transgression. Those are two completely different types of death; the former is good, and the latter is not.* In addition to the two completely different types of death, being physically dead versus being transgressionally dead, there is the death of being dead in Christ, and there is the death of being dead to sin. If a person is physically alive but dead in sin then s/he will die dead and there is no eternal life for that individual. That person will experience the second death of the fiery lake. Those who physically die having also dying in sin but later accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior have become dead in Christ and dead to sin, so they will physically die dead dead and alive and be raised to eternal life never to suffer the second death in the fiery lake.

Five different types of death, not one.

Thinking the word "death" in scripture means only one thing is a mistake. Likewise, thinking "darkness" means only one thing is also a mistake. Sometimes darkness is a good thing (like when God appears as a cloud of smoke that blots out the light). Sometimes darkness is not a good thing, such as when someone finds themselves stumbling in darkness unable to see God because of their sin. Sometimes GOd juxtaposes darkness and evil against good and light, thereby creating a dichotomy in which one side is to be sought or embraced and the other side is to be avoided or discarded.

Job 30:26
When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

John 3:19
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.


Very little in scripture is monolithic. God often uses like terms with rich diversity. When sin makes a land spiritually empty and void that is a form of darkness. To be spiritually desolate is not good; it's evil. Sometimes that occurs by God's own hand....

Ezekiel 30:12
"Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry and sell the land into the hands of evil men. And I will make the land desolate and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken.

God can make a land evil by seeing that it is sold to evil men..... when what He would prefer is that the righteous occupy the land in obedience and life. Sometimes desolation occurs by humanity's doing.

Matthew 23:37-38
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!


It's not okay to murder God's prophets (including His own Son) and think that a good thing. Chronic disobedience brings desolation. It brings darkness, a darkness that is not good.


Proverbs 2:1-2, 9-15
My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding...... Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil; whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways...

When darkness means a lack of uprightness then darkness is evil. Include the diversity of scripture in the next op on darkness.














*The goodness of physical death is sometimes not recognized. Physical death is part of the created order. It has been apportioned for humans to dies once and then face judgment, and there is no resurrection without physically dying.
.

If light be a sword
darkness be it's shield.
if the sword does not exist,
the darkness will.

Only a few men can ever truly talk about the dark.
Only the few pure dark.
For these men represent Gods shadow,
and are with him day, and night.

during the day we follow,
during the night we fly.
shadows of all men we are,
in great light, we bow.

 

[Panthers]

If the sun were to be blackened,
and he to be our light,
then it is from within the bottom of our depths,
that a spark must occur.

The darkness when revealed lacks beautification and luster.
it is fish eat fish

 

[Josheb]

Darkness is not evil.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2

Darkness existed at peace with God in the beginning.

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21

God was waiting in thick darkness for Moses.

If light be a sword darkness be it's shield. if the sword does not exist, the darkness will.

Only a few men can ever truly talk about the dark. Only the few pure dark. For these men represent Gods shadow, and are with him day, and night.

during the day we follow, during the night we fly. shadows of all men we are, in great light, we bow.

Is the contradiction not seen?
Genesis 1:3-4
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

The light was called good. What was the darkness called?

Genesis 1:16-18
God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

Separating the light from the dark, illuminating the darkness, and separating the light from the darkness was called good.

The op states, "darkness is not evil," further claiming "the" darkness, "represents strength, purity, peace, rest, power, vastness, and fluidity," and it bases these comments on two selected, selectively used proof-texted verses rather than an examination of whole scripture. When the whole of scripture is examined then most mentions of darkness prove not to be good, nor do they portray darkness and strength, purity, peace, rest, power, vastness (other than as an example of evil's vastness), or fluidity. The words "dark," "darkness," and "darkened" occur over 200 times in the Bible (using the NAS) and estimated78% of them are examples where darkness is not good (I sampled 50 randomly selected verses twice. About 6% were benign observation it was dark out, and 16% were examples where darkness could be considered something good.).


Paraphrasing Charles Spurgeon: The fullness of Christ will never be known until the emptiness of everything else, but Christ is known, and ..... "to believe that you have sinned, and that your soul is forfeited to the justice of God, is a very proper thing; but it will not save. Salvation is not by our knowing our own ruin, but by fully grasping the deliverance provided in Christ Jesus."

1 John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the verdict, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.


Walk in the light, not the dark.


Luke 11:33-36
No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.



Just saying