That God is not the author of evil

See also: Commented translation of the work of St. Basil the Great “On the fact that God is not the author of evil” Vasily Zhemchuzhnikov 1. The many ways of teaching are shown to us through the sacred psalmist David by the Spirit working within him. In one case, the prophet describes his own suffering and how courageously he endured what happened to him; by his own example he gives us a wonderful lesson in patience, as if saying: Lord! How my persecutors have multiplied! (Ps. 3:2). In another case, he describes the goodness of God and the speed of His help, which is given to those who truly seek Him: When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me (Ps. 4:2). Equivalent to the prophet who says: While still speaking to you, he will say: Here I am (Is. 58:9), which means: I have not yet finished, but God has already heard. Directing prayers and requests to God, he teaches us how sinners should propitiate God: Lord! Do not rebuke me in Your wrath, and do not punish me in Your anger (Ps. 6:2). And in the twelfth psalm it indicates the duration of the test: How long, O Lord, will you forget me to the end? (Ps. 12:2). And this entire psalm teaches us not to lose heart in sorrows, but to expect the goodness of God, and to know that He gives us sorrows according to the economy, and trials are sent in accordance with the faith that is in everyone. And after it is said: How long, Lord, will you forget me to the end? and as long as you turn Your face away from me (Ps. 12:2), he immediately mentions the evil of the atheists, who, when they are given a small offense in life, they cannot bear the severity of the circumstances, and immediately admit doubts: is there a God who cares about everyone, observes what is happening to them, in order to give everyone their due? In addition, they often notice that their troubles are getting worse. From this, the evil teaching is strengthened in them, and in their hearts they realize that “there is no God”: The fool said in his heart: there is no God (Ps. 13:1). He who allows this into his mind madly falls into all sorts of sins. And if there is no guardian, if there is no one who rewards everyone according to the dignity of his deeds, what then will prevent him from oppressing the poor, killing orphans, destroying widows and foreigners, deciding to do all sorts of ungodly deeds, being desecrated by dirty and vile passions and bestial lusts? Therefore, after the assumption that there is no God, it follows: They have become corrupted and become vile in their deeds (Ps. 13:1). After all, it is impossible to turn away from the right path unless the soul becomes sick of forgetting God. 2. Why did the pagans fall into darkness of mind and do unworthy things (Rom. 1:28)? Is it because they said: “there is no God”? For what reason did they fall into shameful passions: their women replaced natural use with unnatural... and men did shame on men (Rom. 1:26, 27)? Is it because: the glory of the incorruptible God was changed into the image of animals, four-legged animals and reptiles (Rom. 1:23)? So, he who says that “there is no God” (Ps. 13:1) is insane, since he really is devoid of intelligence and common sense. But close to this and in no way inferior to recklessness, he says that God is the author of evil. I believe that their sin is equal, because each of them equally denies goodness, one saying that He does not exist at all, and the other believing that He is not good. After all, if He is the cause of evil, then He is clearly not good. Therefore, in both cases there is a denial of God. So, what, they say, is the cause of disease, where do untimely deaths, destruction of cities, shipwrecks, wars, plague come from? All this evil, they say, was created by God. So who else but God can we blame for what is happening? So, since here we have touched upon a well-known issue, having approached a certain beginning recognized by all, we will try to explain this problem in the most thorough manner, clearly and without confusion. 3. First of all, we should remember the following: we are the creation of a good God, and He, providing for us in both great and small, does not allow us to endure anything without His will, and if we suffer, then without any harm, and only in the case when nothing better can be imagined. Deaths occur according to the will of God. And death is not evil at all, except if someone talks about the death of a sinner, because for him, leaving this world is the beginning of hellish torment. In turn, the evil that people experience in hell has a cause not in God, but in ourselves, since the beginning and root of sin lies in us and in our free will. And those who abstain from evil do not experience anything terrible. And about those seduced by sin, there is nothing left to say except that they themselves became the author of their suffering. Therefore, one evil exists only in our sensation, and the other by its own nature. This natural evil depends on us: injustice, disorder, unreason, cowardice, envy, murder, poisoning, dishonesty and other passions related to these, desecrating the soul, created in the image of its Creator, and darkening its beauty. We also call evil what we feel is painful and painful: bodily illnesses and ulcers, lack of necessities, punishment, loss of things, loss of relatives. Each of these disasters is brought upon us by the wise and good Lord for our benefit. He deprives wealth from those who misuse it, thereby destroying their ability to commit iniquity. The disease is sent to those for whom it is more beneficial to be chained hand and foot than to have no obstacle to sin. Death is sent when the limits of life have been reached, which were established from the beginning for everyone by the righteous judgment of God, who foresees in advance what is beneficial for each of us. Famines, droughts and floods are some common disasters of cities and nations, and punish excessive evil. Just as a doctor, despite the suffering and pain caused to the body (he fights the disease, not the patient), is a benefactor, so is the Good God, who through certain punishments arranges the salvation of everyone. You don’t reproach a doctor who either cuts, or burns, or even completely cuts off any part of the body, but you give him money, call him a savior, because he prevented the disease in a small part of the body, so that the disease did not spread throughout the whole body. When you see a city with its inhabitants collapsing, or a ship full of people sinking at sea, and you dare to direct a blasphemous tongue at the true Doctor and Savior, then you should know that when the medicine is prescribed correctly, it corresponds to the disease. And when the disease turns out to be stronger than the treatment, then it becomes necessary to cut off the unfit so that the spreading disease does not spread to vital organs. And just as in cutting off and cauterizing the culprit is not the doctor, but the disease, so in the destruction of cities it is not God who is to blame, but many sinners. 4. And if God is not the cause of misfortune, then why does it say: I form light and create darkness, I make peace and bring about disasters (Isaiah 45:7)? And one more thing: disaster came from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem (Mic. 1:12); and Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord did not create? ( Amos 3:6 ). And in the great song of Moses: See now, [see] that it is I, I, and there is no God besides Me: I kill and I give life, I smite and I heal (Deut. 32:39). But for those who understand the meaning of Scripture, none of this serves to accuse God of being the cause and creator of evil. God, saying: I form light and create darkness (Isa. 45:7), introduces Himself as the creator of creation, and not the creator of any evil. But so that you do not imagine that one is the creator of light, and the other of darkness, He called Himself the Creator and Artist of what seems to be the opposite, so that you do not think that one created fire, and the other water, one air, and the other earth, although it seems that they are somehow opposite to each other due to the contradiction of properties. For this reason, some have deviated into polytheism. God creates peace and arranges misfortunes, and especially creates peace in you, so that through good teaching he can pacify your mind and limit the passions that rebel in your soul. And he arranges misfortunes, that is, he changes them and leads to the better, so that they cease to be evil and acquire the nature of good. Create in me a pure heart, O God (Ps. 50:12). Do not create now, but renew that which has grown old from evil and “so that out of the two you can create one new man” (Eph. 2:15). And “to create” does not mean from nothingness, but to change existing ones. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). And Moses says: Is not this your Father, who purchased you, created you, and created you? (Deut. 32:6). Obviously, the word “created” placed after “created” tells us about improvement, which is why many words are used to denote creation. Therefore, the “Creator of the World” creates the world in such a way that it creates from evil, that is, it remakes and leads to improvement. In addition, if the word “peace” is understood as safety from wars, and evil refers to the difficulties related to the warring parties - campaigns in other countries, hardships, sleepless nights, battles, exhaustion, injuries, murders, sieges of cities, sale into slavery, punishment, the pitiful appearance of prisoners and, in general, any misfortune that accompanies wars, then this happens according to the righteous judgment of God and with those who are worthy of the punishment that comes from wars. Or would you wish that Sodom had not been burned for those wicked acts? So that Jerusalem would not be destroyed and the church would not be destroyed for the terrible madness of the Jews against the Lord? However, how else could this justice happen if not through the hands of the Romans, into whom the Jews betrayed our Lord, the destroyers of their own lives? Therefore, sometimes it is fair that the evil of war overtakes those worthy of it. And the words: I kill and give life (Deut. 32:39) understand, if you want, in the literal sense. After all, fear teaches the simple, I strike and I heal (Deut. 32:39). And this is useful even when understood in its own meaning, because wounding gives rise to fear, and healing turns to love. One can also find a higher meaning in what is said: “I kill” by sin; “and I give life”, righteousness. Therefore, as much as our outer man decays... so much the inner man is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). It is not that he destroys one and gives life to another, but by killing the same he gives life and by striking he heals, as it is said in the parable: you will strike him with a rod and deliver his soul from death (Proverbs 23:14). Consequently, the flesh is struck in order that the soul may be healed, but sin is put to death in order that righteousness may be quickened. And the words: Trouble came down from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem (Mic. 1:12) have a similar explanation. What disaster? The noise of chariots and horsemen! (Mic. 1:13). And when you hear the words: Does there ever be a disaster in a city that the Lord did not create? ( Amos 3:6 ). Understand by this that disaster comes upon sinners to correct their sins: I punished you, I made you hungry... (Deut. 8:3) to do you good (Deut. 8:16), stopping unrighteousness before it became immeasurable, just as a dam holds back a stream. 5. Therefore, disasters of cities and nations, droughts, barrenness of the earth and more serious events that happen in everyone’s life limit the spread of evil. So such evil, which eliminates the appearance of true evil, comes from God. Bodily suffering and other hardships also stop sin. So, God stops evil, and evil does not come from God, just as a doctor eliminates a disease, and does not contribute to the disease of the body. The destruction of cities, earthquakes, floods, the death of troops, shipwrecks and all contagious diseases originating from the earth, from the sea, from the air, from fire, or from some other cause, occur to admonish the survivors, when God admonishes, punishing the sins of the people with universal punishment. So, true evil is sin, which first of all deserves to be called evil, and depends on our free choice, because it depends on us to abstain from evil or to be sinners. And if we talk about the rest, one, like a battle, contributes to the manifestation of courage, just as Job lost his children and all his wealth and was struck by an ulcer in the twinkling of an eye, and the other contributes to healing from sins, like David, who endured shame in the house as a just punishment for an unlawful passion. And we also see another type of danger, allowed by the righteous judgment of God, which makes those prone to sin prudent. Thus, Dathan and Aviron were thrown underground into the opening pits and cracks. However, they did not change for the better from this punishment (could this be the case for those cast into hell?), but by their example they lead to the edification of others. So Pharaoh was drowned in the sea with his entire army. The inhabitants of Palestine were also destroyed. And although the apostle once said: vessels of wrath, ready for destruction (Rom. 9:22), let us not consider Pharaoh to be some kind of bad vessel (then the accusation will easily be transferred to the Creator), but when you hear about these vessels, remember that each of us was created for something useful. And just as in a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver, but also of clay and wood (2 Tim. 2:20), so it depends on the free choice of each person what material is appropriate for him. A golden vessel is pure in character and not evil, a silver one is less than the first in dignity, an earthen one thinks about earthly things and is ready to be broken, and a wooden one is easily contaminated by sin and becomes material for eternal fire. Likewise, the vessel of wrath contains all the devil’s deeds and, due to its inherent destructive stench, cannot be more useful, but deserves only destruction and destruction. Therefore, although he should have been crushed, the reasonable and wise Ruler of souls determined for him to be known and heard by everyone, in order to benefit others by the suffering he brought, although he himself remains unhealed from excessive evil. The Creator's long-suffering and delay in punishment, increasing his anger, hardened him, so that when his depravity reached its extreme limits, the righteousness of Divine judgment would appear on him. Therefore, constantly increasing punishments, starting with small ones, the Creator still did not soften his disobedience; on the contrary, he saw his disregard for reconciliation with God, and his obstinacy in the evil that came upon him. And even in that case, he did not put him to death when he drowned himself, in the pride of his heart daring to follow the path of the righteous and considering that for him, as for the people of God, the Red Sea would be passable. Having learned all this from God and been able to distinguish the types of evil: what is evil in essence, that is, sin, the end of which is destruction, and what is that which, due to a painful sensation, seems evil, but has the power of good, that is, disasters that come to stop sin and the fruits of which are the eternal salvation of souls, stop complaining about the divine economy. Do not in any way consider God to be the cause of the existence of evil, and do not imagine that evil has its own existence. Because evil does not exist as something living, and we cannot imagine its existence as real. After all, evil is the absence of good. The eye is created, and deprivation of the eye leads to blindness. Consequently, if the eye by its nature were not subject to destruction, then blindness would not appear. Likewise, evil does not have its own existence, but comes from mutilation of the soul. Evil is not without beginning, as the wicked say, who equate it in honor with good nature, as if both had no beginning and existed before creation, but evil was not created. If everything is from God, how can evil come from good? After all, ugliness does not come from beauty, and evil does not come from virtue. Read the story of the creation of the world and you will see that everything there... is good and very good (Gen. 1:31). Therefore, evil was not created along with good. But even the spiritual world was created by a Creator who was not involved in evil. In fact, if corporeal creations did not have any evil in them at the time of their creation, then how could intelligible creations, distinguished by the highest purity and holiness, have a common nature with evil? But still, evil exists and its action proves that it is very widespread in all life. Therefore, the question arises: “What is the beginning of being of that which has a beginning and is not created?” 6. Let those who study this ask: where do diseases come from? Where does the deformity come from? For example: disease has a beginning, but is not a creation of God. And so animals are created and structured as befits their nature, that is, they are equipped with all the necessary members, and they get sick if they distort what is by nature. They lose their health either due to their vicious lifestyle or due to some other reason that causes illness. So, God created the body, and not illness, the soul, and not sin, and the soul already became involved in evil when it transgressed what was inherent in it by nature. What good did she have in the first place? – The care of God, the union with Him out of love, having fallen away from which, the soul was struck by various diseases. But why is she inclined to evil at all? – Because of the free will inherent in all rational nature. She is not subject to any coercion and has freedom of choice given by the Creator, since she was created in the image of God. She thinks about the good and has the experience of communion with it, has the power and strength, strengthened in the contemplation and enjoyment of the intelligible good, to preserve her life in accordance with nature. But she can also shy away from good. This happens when, sated with good things, weighed down by a certain drowsiness and moving away from heavenly things, the soul mixes with the flesh by tasting shameful pleasures. 7. Adam was once on top, not by location, but by his intention. As soon as he received the soul and looked at heaven, he rejoiced unspeakably at what he contemplated, but most of all he loved the Benefactor, who gave the pleasure of eternal life and the peace of heavenly joy, gave power, the same as the angels, and the life characteristic of the archangels, allowed him to hear the voice of God. With all this, being under the protection of God and enjoying his blessings, he soon became satiated with everything, and as if proud from satiety, he preferred to mental beauty what seems pleasant to carnal eyes, and preferred the fullness of the stomach to spiritual pleasure. Soon he found himself outside of heaven, outside of a blissful life, because he became evil not out of need, but out of recklessness. Therefore, just as he sinned because of a bad intention, so he died because of sin. For the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). After all, as far as he moved away from life, he came closer to death, since God is life, and the deprivation of life is death. Therefore, Adam, through distance from God, prepared death for himself, as it is written: behold, those who remove themselves from You will perish (Ps. 73:27). Thus, it was not God who created death, but we ourselves brought it upon ourselves through evil will. But no, God did not prevent this destruction for the reasons stated earlier, so that this disease would not persist forever, just as a leaky earthen vessel should not be fired until the defect is corrected. But they ask: “Why have we not received sinlessness by nature, so that even if we wished, we could not sin?” Because you also consider servants to be faithful not when they are bound, but when you see that they voluntarily perform their duties. Likewise, God is pleased not with what is done under compulsion, but with what is done out of virtue. Because virtue comes from free intention, not compulsion, and such intention depends on us. And what depends on us is freedom of choice. Therefore, he who blames the Creator for the fact that He made us not sinless by nature, thereby prefers the unreasonable nature to the rational, motionless and not striving nature, which has freedom of choice and activity. This was said as a retreat, so that you, having fallen into the abyss of reasoning when deprived of what you want, would remain faithful and not retreat from God. So, let’s stop teaching the Wise One, let’s stop looking for something better, for what He created. Although the evidence of God’s management is beyond our reach and hidden from us, let our souls contain the same position: that no evil comes from the Good. 8. In this regard, I recall the following question about the concept of the devil: “Where does the devil come from if evil is not from God?” What can we say to this? The fact that to answer this question, it is enough for us to reason about what is said and the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsinfulness in people. Indeed, why is man a sinner? By your own personal choice. Why is the devil angry? For the same reason, he had the independence of the same life, and had the opportunity to either remain with God or fall away from goodness. Gabriel is an angel who constantly stands before God (Luke 1:19). Satan is an angel who has completely fallen from his own rank. One is kept high by freedom of choice, while the other is brought down by complete freedom of mind. Just as one could retreat, so the other could not be corrupted. But one was saved by the boundless love of God, while the other’s falling away from God brought contempt. This falling away from God is evil. A slight opening of the eye turns us either to the sun or to the shadow of our body. And for the one who looks up, enlightenment is prepared for him, and for the one who deviates into the shadows, darkness is inevitable. Likewise, the devil is evil because he is corrupted by personal choice, and not because his nature is opposite to good. “Why is he hostile against us?” Because he, being the container of all evil, perceived the passion of envy and envied our honor. He could not bear our passionless life in Paradise. By tricks and tricks he deceived a person through the desire to become like God, in such a deceptive way he enticed him, and by showing the tree he promised that by tasting the fruit a person would become like God. As it is said: if you eat... you will be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5). Therefore, the devil was not created as our enemy, but because of envy he was brought into enmity with us. Seeing that he himself had been cast down from the Angels, he could not watch how a man made of earth, through perfection, was elevated to angelic dignity. 9 . After the devil became an enemy, God protected us with resistance against him, and decided that the beast should be in obedience. Turning to him with a command: I will put enmity between you... and between your seed (Gen. 3:15). After all, rapprochement with evil is truly destructive, since usually this friendship occurs through an increase in similarity from the emergence of rapprochement. Hence it is correctly said: bad communities corrupt good morals (1 Cor. 15:33). Just as in countries stricken by disease, in which from a breath of air a hidden illness manifests itself on the inhabitants, so from proximity to vice, souls become infected with considerable evil, although outwardly this harm cannot be felt. Therefore, enmity with the serpent is irreconcilable. If a weapon is worthy of such hatred, then to what extent should we antagonize the one who became this weapon? They say: “Why was there a tree in paradise that the devil successfully used against us? After all, if there had not been this tempting bait, how would he have led us to death through disobedience?” To test our obedience, a commandment is necessary. For this purpose, there was a tree that bore fruit at the right time, so that in avoiding sweet things, we would show the beauty of abstinence and truly be honored with glory for perseverance. Eating the fruit led not only to disobedience of the commandment, but also to the knowledge of nakedness. As it is written: They ate and the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked (Gen. 3:6–7). It was not necessary to know this nakedness so that a person’s mind would not worry about the lack of replenishment of his clothes, would not think about hiding his nakedness, and so that in general caring for the body would not distract from attentive striving towards God. Why didn’t he immediately create clothes? Because neither natural nor artificial ones suit them. Natural clothing is characteristic of the dumb: feathers, wool, rough skin, which can protect from cold and endure heat. In this, animals are in no way superior to one another, since they all have the same nature in dignity. And to the extent that a person loves God, it corresponds to being the owner of a gift of a different order. Activities from development begin to dominate a person, which should especially be avoided as harmful to a person. Therefore, the Lord, calling us to heavenly life, drives away care in our souls, saying: do not worry about your soul, what you will eat...nor about your body, what you will wear (Matthew 6:25). Therefore, man did not need either natural or artificial clothing. But on the contrary, man was prepared for perfection in virtue, in order to manifest in the glory of God certain radiant garments prepared and to adorn man like the angels, more excellent than the various colors and brighter than the brilliance of the stars. For this reason, they were not immediately given clothes, but as a reward intended for a person for virtue, but the devil, out of malice, got ahead of him and did not allow this to happen. Thus, the devil became our adversary, and from his harm we once fell. According to the economy of the Lord, we have a struggle with him, so that through obedience we will defeat him and triumph over the enemy. And if he had not become the devil, he would have remained in the rank of angels, in which he was appointed Chief of Officials from the beginning! But since he became an apostate, an enemy of God and an enemy of man, created in the image of God (therefore, he is a misanthrope, as a result of which he is a fighter against God, and hates us as the creation of the Master and as the likeness of God), then the wise and prudent Steward of humanity uses his anger to train our souls. Like a doctor redirecting the venom of a snake into life-saving medicine. So, who was the devil? What rank? And in what dignity? And why is it called Satan at all? So, he is Satan because he opposes good. We learn this meaning of the word from the Jews in the book of Kings: And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Ader, king of Syria (1 Kings 11:14). He is the devil because he is our helper and accuser of sin, he rejoices at our fall and makes a mockery of our deeds. Its nature is unfruitful, as the Apostle said: our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the spirits of evil (Eph. 6:12). The dignity of his headship: to the rulers, to the authorities, to the rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12). And the place of his dominance - abiding in the air, as it is said: according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who is now working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). He is called the prince of peace because he is the ruler of the land around him. What the Lord Himself says: Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out (John 12:31). And again: the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me (John 14:30). 10. When they talk about the army of the devil, that these are spirits of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12), then you should know that Scripture usually calls the air heaven, for example: birds of the air (Matthew 6:26) or ascending to the heavens (Ps. 107:26), that is, rising high in the air. Therefore, the Lord also saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18), that is, overthrown from his power and falling down to be trampled upon by those who believed in Christ. Since the Lord gave his disciples the power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). So, since his evil dominion has been overthrown and the earth has been purified by the saving sufferings of the One who pacifies “both in heaven and on earth” (Col. 1:16), the Kingdom of Heaven is henceforth proclaimed. John the Baptist says: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2), and the Lord preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom everywhere (Matthew 4:23); and even earlier the Angels exclaimed: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace (Luke 2:14). And those who rejoice at the entry of our Lord into Jerusalem exclaim: peace in heaven and glory in the highest! (Luke 19:38). And there are also many victorious exclamations, testifying to the final destruction of the enemy, like some kind of battle, because before no war has left us unattended, no one resists any struggle and no one deviates us from a blessed life, just as because of the evil intent of the serpent, who at the beginning of life prevented us from being involved in the constant enjoyment of the tree of life, for which purpose God placed a flaming sword to guard the path to tree of life (Gen.3:24). A life into which we will freely enter and be blessed in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever! Amen.