The Problem of Inherent Evil in Creation Theology
The problem of inherent evil in creation theology grapples with the apparent contradiction between a good God creating a world that contains evil and suffering. The biblical account of creation in Genesis presents a world initially declared "very good" by God [4]. This declaration follows the creation of all things, including humanity, which was made in God's image [2, 5].
The opening verses of Genesis describe God as the sole, omnipotent creator who brings order out of chaos through His powerful word [1, 3]. The world was created, ordered, and populated by the one true God, distinct from the deities of surrounding nations [2]. God's creative acts are consistently affirmed as good throughout Genesis 1, culminating in the assessment that "it was very good" after the creation of human beings [4]. This initial state of creation, therefore, does not suggest an inherent evil within its fabric.
However, the presence of evil and suffering in the world is undeniable. Christian theology addresses this through the doctrine of the Fall, which posits that evil entered creation through the disobedience of humanity, not through God's original design. John Calvin, in his commentary on Genesis, emphasizes that Adam was not created into the "multiplied miseries" that afflict his posterity, but rather "fell into them by his own fault" [8]. This perspective attributes the origin of evil to human sin, distinguishing it from God's perfect creation.
The consequences of the Fall are seen as pervasive, affecting all humanity. The psalmist's lament, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity," is interpreted by some as referring to original sin and corruption derived through natural generation, rather than any sinfulness infused by God [6]. Similarly, the observation that "man is born unto trouble" is understood to signify that affliction and trouble spring from the "birth sin of man," or original sin, which is traced back to the first parent [9]. This theological framework suggests that evil is not an intrinsic part of God's creation but a subsequent corruption.
Despite the introduction of sin, God's ongoing relationship with creation is also emphasized. Even after humanity's corruption, God desired that there should be a "society of men to inhabit the earth" [7]. This indicates a continued divine purpose for creation, even in its fallen state. The problem of inherent evil is thus resolved not by positing a flawed creation, but by understanding evil as a deviation from God's original, good design, brought about by human choice.
Sources
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 1 (introduction): Genesis 1:1 THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2) In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pro 8:22-23. God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, "Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead--Father, So”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:1: 1:1–2:3 These verses introduce the Pentateuch (Genesis—Deuteronomy) and teach Israel that the world was created, ordered, and populated by the one true God and not by the gods of surrounding nations. • God blessed three specific things: animal life (1:22-25), human life (1:27), and the Sabbath day (2:3). This trilogy of blessings highlights the Creator’s plan: Humankind was made in God’s image to enjoy sovereign dominion over the creatures of the earth and to participate in God’s Sabbath rest. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth: This statem”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:3: 1:3-13 In the first three days, God formed the chaos into a habitable world. 1:3 Then God said: Nothing in ch 1 is created apart from God’s powerful word (cp. Ps 33:6, 9). • “Let there be . . .” and there was: God’s command enacted his will to create the world. God is not a part of creation or limited by it; he is the supreme ruler over everything (cp. Neh 9:6).”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:31: 1:31 The Creator declares his work good seven times in ch 1; following the creation of human beings, God declares it all very good.”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 11:7: 11:7 man is made in God’s image: See Gen 1:26-27.”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 51:5: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,.... This cannot be understood of any personal iniquity of his immediate parents; since this respects his wonderful formation in the womb, in which both he and they were wholly passive, as the word here used is of that form; and is the amazing work of God himself, so much admired by the psalmist, Psa 139:13; and cannot design any sinfulness then infused into him by his Maker, seeing God cannot be the author of sin; but of original sin and corruption, derived to him by natural generation: and the sense is, that as soon as ever the mass ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 12.12: bring down destruction upon the world. Nay, God seems to contradict himself by having previously declared that the world must be destroyed, because its iniquity was desperate. But here it behaves us more deeply to consider his design; for it was the will of God that there should be some society of men to inhabit the earth. If, however, they were to be dealt with according to their deserts, there would be a necessity for a daily deluge. Wherefore, he declares, that in inflicting punishment upon the second world, he will so do it, ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 7.7: corruption of human nature; to teach us that Adam was not created to those multiplied miseries under which all his posterity suffer, but that he fell into them by his own fault. In reflecting on the number and nature of those evils to which they are obnoxious, men will often be unable to restrain themselves from raging and murmuring against God, whom they rashly censure for the just punishment of their sin. These are their well-known complaints that God has acted more mercifully to swine and dogs than to them. Whence is this, but t”
- Job (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Job 5:7: Yet man is born unto trouble,.... Or but (b), after the negative follows the positive part of the assertion; before we have what is denied as the cause of affliction, here what it is affirmed to be, or what it is to be ascribed unto, even to the appointment of God for sin: to be born to it is to be appointed to it, as all men are appointed to death, and to everything previous and that leads on to it; and it signifies that affliction or trouble springs from the birth sin of man, from original sin, the sin of the first parent, and of his nature; as all sins arise from hence”