Why Did God Create Evil? A Thought-Provoking Classroom Debate

In an intriguing discussion within the walls of a university, a professor posed a challenging question to his students, stirring a profound debate on the nature of existence and divinity. The question was simple yet profound: “Everything that exists was created by God, correct?” A student confidently responded, “Yes, created by God.”

However, the professor pushed further, asking, “Did God create everything?” The student reaffirmed, “Yes, sir.” The stage was set for a deeper exploration when the professor provocatively suggested, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since it exists. And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil.” The room fell silent as the implications of this statement sank in. The professor, somewhat self-satisfied, claimed this as evidence that faith in God is merely a myth.

This assertion, however, was not left unchallenged. Another student entered the fray with a desire to question the professor’s logic. With permission granted, this young thinker proposed an analogy, starting with, “Professor, is cold a thing?” The professor’s affirmative response led the student to reveal a scientific truth: cold, as we perceive it, does not inherently exist; it is merely the absence of heat. This principle is supported by the physical laws that govern our universe, where absolute zero marks the complete absence of thermal energy.

Building on this concept, the student then questioned the existence of darkness. Despite the professor’s belief in its existence, the student illuminated the reality that darkness is nothing more than the absence of light, a concept validated by the study of light physics and the impossibility of measuring darkness directly.

The climax of this intellectual exchange arrived when the student applied these analogies to the concept of evil, challenging the professor’s earlier assertion. The student proposed that evil, like cold and darkness, does not exist in and of itself; it is simply the absence of God. He explained that evil is a term used to describe the lack of divine love in the human heart, akin to the cold that ensues in the absence of heat and the darkness that prevails without light.

This philosophical dialogue between the student and the professor offers a compelling perspective on the nature of evil and its origins. It challenges us to reconsider the ways in which we perceive the world and the metaphysical concepts that define our moral and spiritual beliefs. The debate serves as a reminder of the complexities surrounding the concepts of good and evil, and the role of divine presence in the human experience.