Topic: Evil, Holy Orders, Sin

Date originally posted: March 22, 2002

Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question

Moderator who originally posted this source: B. Egan

Question: Okay I have three questions...One is just a theological question~    1.If God created everything in the world didn't God create evil? I am not trying to say that He isn't a perfect person or all good but I think he knew that it was necessary for mankind to survive. I realize that Genesis states that, God created everything and it was good, but that in no way tells us that he didn't create evil. If we take the rest of Genesis into account the ~good~ would have been Eden and that was truly all good. When the fall came about God knew that sin would be a required part in life.    2. What information can you give me about Holy Orders? I have to complete a report on Ordination and I was wondering what knowledge you could shed on the subject. Second is another theological question~    3. I was curious to ask this because we are talking about sin in a chapter of our religion book. I know that since Vatican II the only Unforgivable Sin is that which includes Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Now how are we able to presume, as the Catholic Church, that we know that they will not be forgiven? Since we have no idea what this person is thinking before they die and we could take into account that the Lord is always forgiving then how could any sin, no matter how horrible, could not be forgiven. Sorry to take up your time~Tyler

Answer:

Let me address your two theological questions first.

 Did God create evil?  No!  As you stated, all that God created was good.  Evil is the absence of good.  So where did evil come from?  Sin.  And where did sin come from?  Free will.  God created human beings with the ability to choose freely.  The story of Adam and Eve illustrates how humans used their free will and made the poor choice of turning away from God.  But why then does God permit there to be evil in the world?  For that answer, let's turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

 "But why did God not prevent the first man from sinning?  St. Leo the Great responds, 'Christ's inexpressible grace gave us blessings better than those the demon's envy had taken away.'  And St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, 'There is nothing to prevent human nature's being raised up to something greater, even after sin; God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good.  Thus St. Paul says, 'Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more'; and the Exultet sings, 'O happy fault,...which gained for us so great a Redeemer!'" (n. 412). 

Your second theological question was an interesting one.  How can there be an unforgiveable sin if God is all merciful?  The Catechism in fact addresses this very issue (it's a good place to look up all sorts of theological questions!). 

"'Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin' (Mt 12:32; Mk 3:29; Lk 12:10).  There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.  Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss" (n. 1864). 

We normally say that if a person is truly sorry for his/her sin, he/she is forgiven.  Likewise if he/she is not sorry for the sin, it is not forgiven.  Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, as stated above, is in fact refusing to repent and rejecting forgiveness.  Now, you question the state of mind of someone who blasphemes and then dies.  You are quite right that no one, other than the Lord, knows what that person is thinking.  Could God forgive that person?  Who am I to say no?  Note the last line of note 1864.  "Such hardness of heart CAN lead to final impenitence and eternal loss."  It seems to me that the Church is leaving some room there for God to act (and perhaps forgive) as God sees fit. 

And finally, your question about ordination...a rather open-ended one, I might add.  As a former teacher I am reluctant to do the work of any capable student.  A great deal of knowledge is gained from doing good old research!  Where to start?  The Catholic Encyclopedia, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the documents of Vatican II would be helpful.  And there is always the web...but you won't get your paper from me!  Good luck with your research!