what is evil?

WHAT IS EVIL?

 

I just heard something on Huntley Street program today, April 1, 2010 by John Stackhouse, who is a professor of theology at Regent College out in Vancouver B.C. that really "rattled my cage", as the saying goes! He stated that there is no such thing as "evil", that it is not a noun, but an adjective! This was news to me, because I have always used it as a noun. You probably learned the difference between these two words way back in elementary school, and don't need me to remind you that an adjective can never take the place of a noun, but only add to its meaning. We have often heard the question, "why would God ever create evil?", as if it was His fault. The fact of the matter is that He never created evil, only beings with a free will that are capable of making decisions. When one of these beings makes a bad choice that results in an evil decision, then that person is guilty of making that evil choice but is not an evil person because of it.

 

As I understand scripture, the first person to ever use his free will to oppose the perfect will of our Creator God was Lucifer. He was a created invisible being in the angelic class of servants God created to help Him look after the universe. The scripture identifies three angels as "archangels", Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer, who were each given a certain number of ordinary angels to oversee in carrying out their duties. In (Isa 14:12-23), and (Ezek 28:11-19) we can read about how Lucifer, through pride and rebellion, used his will to oppose the perfect will of God, and as a result was cast out of heaven and down to earth. There he deceived Adam and Eve, who had been placed in charge of this planet by their Creator, with only one restriction to keep, which they disobeyed and brought "sin" into the human race, (Rom 5:12) As a result of this one sin of disobedience to a direct command of God, Adam brought the whole of creation under bondage to sin and Satan. That is when God set in motion His plan of redemption, which included His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, taking on human form by way of the incarnation, and dying on a cross on Calvary. We remember this sacrifice on Good Friday each year, and His victorious "Resurrection" three days later! God proved His sovereign power over death by raising Jesus from the tomb, and now the good news is that all who put their faith in what He accomplished by His death and resurrection, can receive eternal life, and be adopted into God's "Forever Family"! This is the answer for evil choices that result in separation from God. Remember "evil" is an adjective and not a noun!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer