Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mejicovs@eniac.seas.upenn.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Question? Message-ID: Date: 9 Jun 91 19:24:35 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Pennsylvania Lines: 37 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article ogorman@unix1.tcd.ie writes: >hi. >a question. >if god is the first cause, and if our conception with regard to his >character is correct (i.e. that he is omnipotent, omniscient, and good) >and if we believe that god is love, then since satan (the devil, >whatever you like) was brought into existence by god he must have been >good. totally good since god could not create evil. if so then how could >he be corrupted? indeed how could evil exist if god did not create it? My beliefs run as follows - G-d, as the creator, must in some way express every attribute in creation, otherwise where would it come from? This does not mean that G-d is, by any means, evil or unloving. What it *does* mean is that G-d does not fit into our conventional framework of classifying actions. G-d is the essence of creation, and as such, exhibits attributes of both mercy and justice. Why is it so hard to also characterize him as containing both evil and good - as long as we recognize that he is not specifically either of these - that he is merely the primal essence out of which they were created? >thanks for your time, > ollie g That didn't take *too* much time :-)... James mejicovs@eniac.seas.upenn.edu