Origin of Evil:
Creation and Providence

Christian theology acknowledges God as the sovereign over all things, but on the other hand, the world that God created is real, and contains things that operate as secondary causes. Nature is not merely an embodiment of God. Hence, if some creature were to commit evil, it would be a moral but not a logicalcontradiction to the sovereignty of God.

In the doctrine of Providence, the emphasis of Christian theology is on the presence of God in the world, i.e. God's immanence. In particular, it emphasizes the working out of God's will in human history. This creates complex interactions between God, angels, God's prophets and leaders, God's people, and God's enemies. This story is told in the Bible. Throughout, it gives examples of situations where individuals obeyed or disobeyed God, and the consequences of these decisions influenced subsequent history. God's will prevailed in the long run, but without negating the significance of individual decisions.

Since we are creatures, we can only comprehend the Creation from our creaturely vantage point in time, and our moral vantage point as sinners. In dealing with such a profound subject as God's relationship with the creation, "we see through a glass darkly" (I Cor. 13:12).

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