Why did God create evil?

my belief, at this stage in my life, is that
God is just. there cannot be good unless there is something to compare that good to.
i think the answer to the question 'why' is simply choice.
perhaps eating the fruit off the tree of good and evil wasn't a sin in itself, but choosing to do so was. without choice we become clones. we choose life now and we live out the consequence of that choice.
my understanding is that God created a being that would 'choose' to love him.

so my answer is 'choice.

Nimbo said:

What was His purpose in doing so? I am looking for answers from facts, evidence, and logic and reason. I have heard this question many times: Why did God create Satan and evil,

I will answer here, but I suspect that others have already done so, and probably better than I can. I do not have time right now to read thru all the postings.

God did not create evil. He created Man and the angels and gave them free will. That is, He gave them the right to make their own choices. He knew that they would make certain choices but gave them the right in spite of that.


and why did He allow Lucipher (Satan) to betray Him in heaven?

God loves mankind and wants us to love and obey him in return. He allowed Lucifer to mislead Adam and Eve because it was a test to see if they would obey God's rule. Namely, not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

They failed the test (obviously). Had they eaten of the tree of life instead they would have passed the test and we would be living in Paradise.


And why did He cast Satan down to Earth where He also created Adam afterward?

As I understand it, Satan has not been cast down to earth yet. The bible states that he (satan) stands in the presence of God, accusing the saints on a continuing basis.

Satan will be cast down to earth with all his fallen angels at about the mid-point of the tribulation. At which point he will indwell the Anti-Christ.

And if He knew humans were going to sin, then why did God react to the eating of the fruit from the tree with such anger and wrath?

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God is a God of love, mercy and compassion. Yes, He knew that Adam would commit the sin. God had laid out the rules, and the penalty for violating the rules. BTW: As I recall, God only made one rule. Not to "eat the apple".

God also arranged to pay that penalty for mankind on the basis of "once for all", in the person of Jesus Christ.

God wants us to love him and obey him and knowing from before the beginning that "man" would fail, He provided the answer to our failure from before the foundation of the earth was laid.

I hope this helps you understand and apologize if I have done nothing more than repeat what others have already said.

Fred

Nimbo said:

What was His purpose in doing so? I am looking for answers from facts, evidence, and logic and reason. I have heard this question many times:

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and let me Guess, all the previous answers were not to your liking? (Or else you would not be asking this question yet again)

Why did God create Satan

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Satan?


Do you mean Lucifer?


“Satan” in Hebrew just means Antagonist. Which, (Wow), Explains why He (God) made him (Satan), don't it? (At least a very Surface reason at least, to fully explain this would require a great lasting novel, but there is a Book that explains it all, called, Umm the “Bible” I think.)

and evil,

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You just slam a lot of questions in a short space don't you?


Depends on what you mean by Evil (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Evil) I guess.


So tell me, What is “Evil”?

and why did He allow Lucipher (Satan) to betray Him in heaven?

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Huh?


So Lucifer could become Satan. (It's quite simple when you look at it)

And why did He cast Satan down to Earth where He also created Adam afterward?

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Well that is a bit foggy, but to explain this would once again require a novel on my part. And just for a little FYI: The garden of Eden was not “The whole of the Earth” ya know. He could have casted Satan down into what is today Nevada (Which would explain some things)

Because He did create Adam in a place where Satan was roaming,

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Are you sure it was not “Satan decided to Rome where God Created Humans? You have a few misguided assumptions there, after all, the “World” is a quite a bit space for just (2) humans.

did He not expect humans to sin?

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This is a Trick Question!


So I am going to have to say I have no idea what “God” expected, see that is funny part about the whole “He's God!” issue

And if He knew humans were going to sin, then why did God react to the eating of the fruit from the tree with such anger and wrath?

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And yet Parents Get Mad at Children, and Owners Get Mad at their Pets, and The list goes on and on and on....


I guess, if you looked at little at Gods “Creations” (That would be Us Humans) you might get an Idea. Then again, depends on the “Creations” you looked at however (there are some poor samplings), there seems to be a lot of us you know. (Some might argue too many)


Anyway.


Not sure if I gave you an answer, But I am sure that Many before me Have.


Bless them All for the Answers they have Given


In Service to Our Lord


Key

“God created the possibility of evil; people actualized that potentiality. The source of evil is not God's power but mankind's freedom. Even an all-powerful God could not have created a world in which people had genuine freedom and yet there was no potentiality for sin, because our freedom includes the possibility of sin within its own meaning.”
–Peter Kreeft

“Supposing you eliminated suffering, what a dreadful place the world would be! I would almost rather eliminate happiness. The world would be the most ghastly place because everything that corrects the tendency of this unspeakable little creature, man, to feel over-important and over-pleased with himself would disappear. He's bad enough now, but he would be absolutely intolerable if he never suffered.”
–Malcolm Muggeridge

##

The most common question that people have about God is related to what we call the problem of evil. The questions being asked are, “If God exists and is all powerful and all loving, why does He allow evil?”; “If God is the creator of everything, and evil is something, then how can you say that God is not the one responsible for the existence of evil?”; “How can you say that God is not directly responsible for the origin of evil, when God says in Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things”? How would you respond to questions like these?

.. read more here

May you find the answers that you're looking for. Know that you'll have to wait with some though.
Jesus said that if we don't even understand the earthly things, how then can we understand the heavenly things?

Key said:

He could have casted Satan down into what is today Nevada (Which would explain some things)

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Too funny and would definitely make some sense!

euphoria said:

God did not create evil. The Bible doesn't even say this. God created all things, but he stated it was all good. There was no evil in the beginning. Evil is a device of those opposed to God's will.

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This is a very good point and quite true. God did not create evil.

All of the Angels were created just like us. When God first created the Angels and Adam and Eve they truely had free will. Now the Angels were created first and Satan had already rebelled when God created earth and Adam and Eve. Because God created the Angels with free will, they truely had the ability to decide whether or not they would follow God and be obedient to Him. But Satan wanted his own kingdom and he led the rebellion of all his followers (demons) and God cast them out of heaven. At that time God then took away this free will to decide things on their own for the Angels who were ture and faithful to Him. So when Satan temped Adam and Eve they also had free will. The rest is history for now we all live under the stain of sin. Once Adam and Eve had fallen into sin, free will was also taken away for us, for now our natural state is only to hate God and disobey Him. It is only by God's plan of salvation and the work of The Holy Spirit that anyone has the gift to believe in Jesus as their Savior. The following scripture confirms this.

Eph 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Eph 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Eph 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Eph 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jim47 said:

This is a very good point and quite true. God did not create evil.

All of the Angels were created just like us. When God first created the Angels and Adam and Eve they truely had free will. Now the Angels were created first and Satan had already rebelled when God created earth and Adam and Eve. Because God created the Angels with free will, they truely had the ability to decide whether or not they would follow God and be obedient to Him. But Satan wanted his own kingdom and he led the rebellion of all his followers (demons) and God cast them out of heaven. At that time God then took away this free will to decide things on their own for the Angels who were ture and faithful to Him. So when Satan temped Adam and Eve they also had free will. The rest is history for now we all live under the stain of sin. Once Adam and Eve had fallen into sin, free will was also taken away for us, for now our natural state is only to hate God and disobey Him. It is only by God's plan of salvation and the work of The Holy Spirit that anyone has the gift to believe in Jesus as their Savior. The following scripture confirms this.

Eph 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Eph 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Eph 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Eph 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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We dont have free will....at all......? well..........we can hardly 'choose' salvation then can we.........?? All those who are saved have no say in the matter, if there's no free will there's no choice either.........
this is the first time I've heard of humans having no free will at all..............

We dont have free will....at all......? well..........we can hardly 'choose' salvation then can we.........?? All those who are saved have no say in the matter, if there's no free will there's no choice either.........
this is the first time I've heard of humans having no free will at all..............

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We can choose the color of our shoes or where we want to eat dinner tonight...but spiritually our will is bound to sin. You could also say we're spiritually dead and like Lazarus, don't have a choice. Jesus told Lazarus to get up and it's sort of the same thing when God converts us, it's not a choice but a command whereby something in us reacts. We can reject, but we cannot choose or decide as faith is a gift that comes from God.

Eph 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Eph 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Eph 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Eph 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

No One Is Righteous

And

Ro 3:9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better ? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
Ro 3:10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
Ro 3:11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
Ro 3:12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
Ro 3:13 "Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
Ro 3:14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
Ro 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Ro 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
Ro 3:17 and the way of peace they do not know."
Ro 3:18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Ro 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Ro 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Here is a state ment that Jesus made in choosing us.



Jn 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.


And more scripture that shows we were enemies of God


Ro 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ro 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

LilLamb219 said:

We can choose the color of our shoes or where we want to eat dinner tonight...but spiritually our will is bound to sin. You could also say we're spiritually dead and like Lazarus, don't have a choice. Jesus told Lazarus to get up and it's sort of the same thing when God converts us, it's not a choice but a command whereby something in us reacts. We can reject, but we cannot choose or decide as faith is a gift that comes from God.

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Rejecting something still exercises free will, its still a choice, if we have no choice then we dont have free will, the two are intertwined......its just bizarre to hear arguments about having no free will when so many people say that we have to 'choose' salvation or perish.........it doesnt make sense.........
What does make sense is that God will ultimately bring everyone to salvation regardless of their free will/lack thereof or whatever.......its certainly less confusing than the conflictions that arise on here at any rate.......

to reply from the origianal post:

God did not create evil. He created and gave everything and everyone FREE WILL. And those people chose to be evil. Satan was an angel in the holy host before earthwas made and he tried to take over and God casted him away into hell and he started evil by choosing to be evil.