Is God ultimately responsible for evil?

[keita]

krazeeboi said:

Oh yes, we embrace the paradoxes around here!

Amen! And embrace them, yea, love them, we must... if our understanding is ever to increase.

One thing that I told her is that I don't believe that God is any less loving or gracious or kind or merciful because He is ultimately responsible for evil.

See now, reconciling things like that is, or can be, a real toughie ... especially when we (for whatever reason(s)) haven't yet or fully, moved from milk to meat.

Another thing I think that's behind her mindset is that she subconsciously thinks that God owes it to everyone to be gracious and kind and patient and merciful. That attitude really irks me, because the only thing God owes me is to hurl me into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Even at the young age of 27, if a bomb were to hit the building I'm in and take me out of here, I realize that God didn't even owe me the 27 years He's so graciously given me. And most of all, He didn't owe it to me to save me, and for me, THAT'S MORE THAN ENOUGH!

As I've heard it stated, God isn't obligated to give equally (to every person) that which He is not obligated to give at all. And because He has chosen to give that which He was not obligated to give, that makes Him infinitely loving, gracious, kind, and merciful.

Now why is that so hard for everyone to grasp??? ;D

LOL! I don't know about "everyone", but my inability to grasp ususally has a lot to do with what I refuse to let go of...

Even if God does indeed love every person and all people the same, (which, for real, and scripturally speaking, is a warm and fuzzy concept that is seriously debatable), that would and does not negate the truth of His "choosiness". In the entirety of scripture, God is, in fact, very, VERY "choosy"!

But then, God's "choosiness" is also and exactly what gives meaning to, and even deepens, the awesomeness of our "chosenness" . ;D

[krazeeboi]

Even if God does indeed love every person and all people the same, (which, for real, and scripturally speaking, is a warm and fuzzy concept that is seriously debatable), that would and does not negate the truth of His "choosiness". In the entirety of scripture, God is, in fact, very, VERY "choosy"!

Which is pretty much the whole point of Romans 9.

But then, God's "choosiness" is also and exactly what gives meaning to, and even deepens, the awesomeness of our "chosenness" .

As scripture puts it, "We love him because he first loved us."