I am curious what everyone's definitions are for "good" and "evil." In another thread it kind of came up that these 2 ideas aren't as concrete and universal as we think. So what is good and what is evil?
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What is Good and what is Evil?
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Good question. Another one to go with it is, can you have good without evil, or evil without good?
I would say that each one would have to hold the definition of the other with in it.
I would say that each one would have to hold the definition of the other with in it.
Perhaps it is only that without knowing both, neither can be fully appreciated or understood. My mom liked to use this analogy. How could you describe ice cream to a native living primitively in a tropical climate? With no word for cold, much less frozen and no experience of such a thing could they comprehend from your description what ice cream is?
Adam and Eve prior to eating that fruit only had partial comprehension of good, because there was no contrast
I saw this online and thought it kind of fit here.
That is a good thought. If darkness/evil is just the lack of God/Light then really we are just seeing carrying amounts of God's character or presence in situations or our lives. In that case we are saying we would like to see more without ever having to see less. That makes sense. So the poetic side could say that to appreciate the light you must be acquainted with the dark. Jesus question about the 2 men forgiven of their debt, one of ten and one of a hundred proves this thought. The man with the larger debt will be the more thankful. The one most familiar with the darkness will most appreciate the light.
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Right.
And to go along with this, why did the 18 people get crushed by the tower? Serious question about light and darkness in peoples lives.
The problem with this is that evil is not the absence of YHWH. The Hebrew concept of evil (ra) is NOT a moral force in opposition to YHWH, and totally removed from the substance of His character. It is NOT something human or otherwise in rebellion, but rather is a tight spot, hard times or perhaps testing and refining. Proverbs says "The way of the transgressor is hard" the corrective ministrations of our heavenly father should not be credited to any other source. The curses of Deut. 28 are basically chastisement from YHWH and those experiencing them according to the Bible are His people, those He is dealing with as sons.
The royal youths used to have whipping boys. It seems to me people created satan from misused scripture verses lumped together, so they could create YHWH in the image they wanted Him to be, and satan is the reverse of a whipping boy, he is the one credited with giving the whippings so that people can think delusional thoughts about YHWH being all nice and gentle.
Some of the experiences that have built my faith the most were times when what seemed like chaos and harmful happenstance was actually the hand of YHWH keeping us safe, and providing the best outcome.
Ra is not a direct translation to evil in English. Rasha is a much closer match and is most translated to wicked in the Bible and most certainly means rebellion or immoral. Im starting to think Ra is the most misunderstood word in Hebrew. God definitely chastises no doubt and that is left out of a lot of pulpits today as people like Grace without truth which leans itself to liberalism. But then again Chastisement isn't again'st God's nature. He chastises those he loves. God is a loving father trying to get us to do right so that we don't end up at the whims of the enemy. God can deliver the whipping or being away from God can deliver a whipping from Satan. The parable of the prodigal son is the best way I think to explain it. The prodigal son was a "son" so he was saved. He wanted to love the way he wanted so he took his "blessing" from the father and left. Now if he did the things he did in the far off country at home, the father would have been the one to discipline him. Take him behind the tool shed so to speak. Instead he was in a far off country away from the father. Because of this he was from under the father's protections and substance. This Satan was able to whip him so to speak. The father even told the brother of the prodigal that the prodigal was dead while he was away. He was at the whims of the enemy. To say every bad thing that happens to you is God's will is just as wrong as saying everybad thing is the Enemy's will. God didn't want thousands of Jews to die in the Holocaust or thousands of unborn babies here in America. To say that was his will is to error badly. But to say every little thing that happens to you during your day is the enemy is equally wrong.
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This just came to me but one of the main meanings for Rasha or "wicked" is unGodly. In Hebrew wicked=unGodly, against God, or not God Like.
Yep. YHWH has given man his moral standard and also the ability to go against it. That is why the curses are promised.
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How do you know that the father of the prodical son didn't knew what was going to happen to his son, the curses he would receive by his actions, therefore letting the son punish himself. So technically, it could be said that the father "took the son behind the woodshed" even while he was in a far off country. By giving the son his inheritance beforehand, it could be said that the father knew what was going to happen and let it happen, therefore punishing the son from a distance.
Glad you realize this is allegory.
I believe this was actually about the two houses of Israel. The one squandered his inheritance with harlots then later, realizing that the servants in his father's house had it better, he purposed to return and be a servant. He was welcomed back with open arms and the brother who had been faithful (Judah....well, sort of. YHWH said Judah actually did worse) was envious.
The gentiles that were prophesied to come from Ephraim when Jacob blessed him DID come back in, becoming heirs of salvation with those of Judah that converted. Without work.....or works, because Yeshua had completed that work on our behalf.
The reason it is said that the son was dead is it connects to Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones.
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Interesting thought.
Good is God’s Will. Evil is not God’s Will.
Exactly my thoughts. Summed up perfectly.
But the result of this is that evil doesn’t exist as a tangible thing. It wasn’t created. It is not able to be defined or quantified. It only has meaning in reference to something else.
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If evil is not God's will how does it happen?
I have a hard time embracing this idea. It feels pretty tangible when one is faced with immense evil.
Through the exercise of other creatures which have been given free-will.
Just because God gave free-will to others does not mean He authorizes its miss use!
God does not desire us or angels even animals to be robots.
He is to powerful and intelligent for that to be of interest or a challenge to Him at all.
Even we are quickly bored by a robot.
If I give you a hammer it does not mean that I approve your misuse of it.