Did God create evil?

I received this recently:

Did God create evil?

Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil?

A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

The student became quiet and did not respond to the professor's hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The other students snickered at the young man's question.The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality is the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it.

How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil.

Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

I'm not asking that you send this to ten people so that you will get some great reward. This isn't a chain blog. Neither am I saying that you should embrace religion, if it's not your way. But, just because you do not follow or practice a particular organized religion, doesn't mean that you shouldn't follow some of their teachings. Most of the major religions preach things like being kind to others, be charitable, be good to not only your family and friends, but to strangers too.

No, my friends. I'm only posting this anecdote to illustrate that evil exists in the absence of good, not the other way around. George W has it wrong. There are no evil-doers in this world, just people that fail to do what's right.

Consider this. In Kandahar, Afghanistan, Canadian soldiers 'adopted' a little Afghani boy who had been turned away from three other medical facilities in the area (see picture). Desperate, his grandfather brought him to the Canadian's camp. The boy's problem? He had a large, cancerous facial tumour that was beyond successful treatment. The response? Canadian doctors gave him medicine to make him more comfortable. One of the soldier's church congregation back home raised money so that the boy could be sent to a Pakistani hospital to live out his final days in relative comfort. The grandfather was grateful. Where was the father during all of this? Oblivious to his son's situation because of an opium addiction. The Canadian reaction? This boy needed help and should not suffer from his father's failings. No judgements. Just make a difference in a little boy's life, however long that may be.

How can you make a difference? You say that you can't afford to give money, or you don't have the time. How much does it cost to donate a couple of cans a food during a food drive? What's the matter? Can't go without buying that Starbucks vente Cafe Americano for one morning? If you can go without three or four in one month, give to your favourite charity. If you have the time, volunteer somewhere -- a hospital, a senior's home, a day care centre. Even if you can't do any of these things, open the door for someone - man or woman, handicapped or able. And when someone does it for you, say 'thank you.' Initiate a good deed. And when you're the recipient of a good deed, pay it forward.

I've only scratched the surface of the problem. This post can be applied to anything. Sit back for a few moments and consider what I've written. Then maybe, just maybe, there will be less evil in the world because there is more good.

Wings Over The World

photo credit: www.ctv.ca