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Does God Create Evil?

Does God Create Evil?

I received an email asking how we understand Isaiah 45:7:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” And wondered if God creates evil. KJV (emphasis mine)

The listener wondered if this means that God creates evil.

In the preface to The Remedy I point out that all Bible translations have been done since Constantine converted, from which time the idea that God’s law functions no differently that human law — imperial rules that require enforcement — became accepted orthodoxy in Christianity. This means that when translators translate, they do so through the filters of their preconceived biases, in this case, that God is a supreme dictator who makes things happen the way He wants. Thus, the reason the translation reads the way it does in almost every standard translation.

However, this is not the only possible legitimate translation. Henry Wright, in his book, A More Excellent Way, clarifies this verse:

Some say God created evil because of Isaiah 45:7

I form the light, and create the darkness. I make peace and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Isaiah 45:7

In the Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew word for create, under #1254 is bara. It is the same word used when God created. But the second meaning for the Hebrew word create is “to break down, tear down, cut down like wood.”

Now let’s read the Scripture again with the Strong’s definition in it.

I form the light, and I tear down and destroy darkness. I make peace and tear down and cut down like wood everything that is evil. I am the author of the destruction of evil” – A More Excellent Way To Be in Health by Henry W. Wright, p. 130. (emphasis mine)

So the translators have to decide which option is the most accurate, and they make their choice based on their beliefs and preconceived ideas. My view is that God is Creator, and His laws are the laws upon which life are built, not imperial rules like humans make. Thus, the traditional translations introduce a false arbitrariness based on a false law construct. Further, the Old Testament is even more subject to this distortion, because so much of the Hebrew is “unknown” and people have to “read in” what they “think” it means.  This false legal bias is what The Remedy seeks to eliminate and bring people back to the truth about our Creator God of Love and His design law for life.

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Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

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I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

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