Did God Create Evil?

What a loaded question!  Did God create evil?  There is a verse in the Bible that is often used by those who claim to not believe in God (so-called "Atheists") to try to bring doubt to the Christian view that God is perfect, totally good, and without sin.  This verse is Isaiah 45:7:

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

WOW!  This verse, alone, certainly seems to say that God is "confessing" to creating "evil". There are several "explanations" often given to try to deal with this seemingly difficult verse.  Unfortunately, when dealing with people who reject the truth, who are the modern-day fulfillment of 2 Kings 17:14 - 

Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. 

no explanation will do.  Indeed, their hope and desire is to plant seeds of doubt in the heart of the believer, and to place stumbling blocks before those who are lost, that they might not respond to God's drawing.  But this verse demands and answer.  Many of God's people face questions from both those who are genuinely seeking answers, as well as those who are mocking.  How do you answer?  What is this verse really saying?

It will help if we go back to what the Bible says about God's character in relation to evil and sin.  Psalms 5:4 says For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.  This verse would seem to indicate that God not only does not take pleasure in wickedness, but that evil cannot exist in the same place/context as God.  Some might question this and say that God could, in theory, create evil, but then separate Himself from that evil.  The problem with that theory is that the Bible also makes it clear that God is unchanging (immutable).  In Malachi 3:6, God states that "I am the LORD, I change not..." In Psalm 102:27, the psalmist writes (addressing God): "But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end."  Further, Hebrews 13:8 clearly states, in describing Jesus Christ (who, according to John 1:1, IS God): "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."  I could go on, but there is no need - the pattern is clear - God is unchanging, thus He could not create evil and then remove Himself from it. 

"The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works".  If God created "evil" as the naysayers claim, then how could that align with this verse from Psalm 145:17?  It clearly states that ALL His works are Holy and righteous (good)!

James 1:13 states that "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."  Since Paul penned in his First Letter to the Corinthian Church (14:33),  "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace", it would seem that we can safely say that evil was not "created" by God.  The only thing God cannot do, is act in conflict with His character.  

There are a few lines of thought.  The most prevalent is that it is a matter of translation.  The Hebrew word רעה (likely won't appear correctly if you do not have a Hebrew font installed) - transliterated raw-aw' can be translated several ways:

• bad (noun)
• evil (natural or moral)
• adversity
• affliction
• calamity
• distress
• grief

In our King James Bible, this word occurs 663 times.  Out of those many instances, 232 of the time the word is translated as wicked, bad, hurt, ill, sorrow, mischief, displeased, adversity, affliction, trouble, calamity, grievous, misery, trouble, and harm.  The other 431 times, it is translated as "evil".  Those who look at the translation of this term point to many other translations that use "calamity", "disaster", "sorrow",  and even "doom".  While this may very well be the case - and would be supported by the fact that God is indeed a righteous God who brings judgment (generally in the form of those above descriptive words) on those who are disobedient and rebellious, for many, word games just won't cut it.

Another, and what I believe far simpler explanation might be to simply look at this verse of Isaiah through the lens of Hebrew poetry, as well as the context.  If you back up and start at verse 5, you then get a more clear picture:

 "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, Though thou hast not known me: 

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the set, that there is none beside me.  I am the LORD and there is none else. 

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil:  I the LROD do all these things."

God is spelling out His relationship to creation, to the natural world.  But in this natural world, created by

God, evil here is "natural" evil.  In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, what was over the face of the earth?  Darkness.  But then God created light, and darkness fled (and continues to do that).  Where there is no light, what do you have?  Darkness.  The absence of peace is - natural evil.  

David, in Psalm 65:7, says of God "which stilleth (literally quiety or still) the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult (disturbance/multitudes/noise) of the people.

I once heard someone say, and I wish I could recall who it was so that I could give due credit, that evil is the absence of God.  I have further heard an extension of that to say that what makes Hell, well - "Hell" is the absence of God.

I like to keep things as simple as possible.  While there may be legitimate reasons for translating the Hebrew in Isaiah 45:7 in terms other than "evil" - and that "calamity" might very well be a better understanding of the word in this verse.  It is far simpler to just see what the context says.  The verse is a short compare and contrast sort of passage.  With light, you recognize darkness.  With peace, you can readily see evil.  

I welcome comments and feedback.  What view do you take of this passage?