(The following is an edited response to an inquiry on the topic. As with some of the other blog entries, it assumes familiarity with my major writings.)

We talked a while back about God being the author of evil in the sense that God is the cause of all things. Yet evil is a privation and not really an essence, is it not? I ask because the Bible Answer Man was arguing with a man, and he said, "Evil is not an ontological essence in and of itself. It is a deprivation, or lack of good."

We must first clearly define the problem or question. Let me see if I understand what you are getting at. You seem to imply that since evil is a privation, that since it is not a "thing" in itself, then this is inconsistent with God being the cause or author of all things. I am not certain that this is your point, but it appears to be, so I will proceed with the assumption that this is your point. If it is not, you can reply to clarify.

Now, we might say that evil does not have an ontological status like good, since God himself is Goodness, and there is no counterpart Evil. If this is what we mean, then it is biblical and true; otherwise, we would be affirming dualism, or the view that Good and Evil are two equal or almost equal self-existent eternal powers that fight against each other. From this perspective, it is correct to deny Evil an ontological status in itself.

However, this is not inconsistent with my position. In fact, it is consistent only with mine. That only Good has ontological status means that Good must be the cause of all things, and therefore it must be "good" that there is Evil (although evil is not good in itself). This is just another way of saying that God was good and righteous when he actively decreed that there should be evil, and then proceeded to actively carry out this decree.

As I have shown in my books and articles, there is no biblical or rational problem with this; on the other hand, any other view would have a hard time explaining evil, and thus must relegate it to "mystery," or end in dualism.

Recommended:

Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Ephesians
Vincent Cheung, Ultimate Questions
Vincent Cheung, On Good and Evil
Vincent Cheung, "The Problem of Evil"
Vincent Cheung, "The Doctrine of Hell"

Gordon Clark, God and Evil

Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will

Posted in Theology | Permanent Link