OpenTheo

Can You Really Say Evil Is Just a Privation of Good?

#STRask — Stand to Reason

Can You Really Say Evil Is Just a Privation of Good?

April 21, 2025
#STRask
#STRaskStand to Reason

Questions about whether one can legitimately say evil is a privation of good, how the Bible can say sin and death entered the world at the fall if angels rebelled before man, and why God would judge Israel with a famine so great they would eat the flesh of their children.  

* Saying that evil is a “privation” is simply wordplay. How is the privation of a thing not creating the result of that privation? If one is denied oxygen, he will die, but you would blame the one denying the oxygen for that death.

* Scripture says sin and death entered the world at the fall, but didn’t angels rebel before man? Wouldn’t sin have been introduced then?

* Why would God judge the Israelites for sacrificing their children to idols by pronouncing upon them a famine so great that they would eat the flesh of their children?

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditCopy Link

Transcript

More on OpenTheo

Did Jesus Prove He Wasn’t Sinless When He Overturned the Tables?
Did Jesus Prove He Wasn’t Sinless When He Overturned the Tables?
#STRask
December 29, 2025
Questions about whether Jesus proved he wasn’t sinless when he overturned the tables, whether Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 3:22–26 was a b
What Are Some Good Ways to Start a Conversation About God with Family Members?
What Are Some Good Ways to Start a Conversation About God with Family Members?
#STRask
October 30, 2025
Questions about how to start a conversation about God with non-Christian family members, how to keep from becoming emotional when discussing faith iss
Why Does the Bible Teach You How to Be a Proper Slave Owner?
Why Does the Bible Teach You How to Be a Proper Slave Owner?
#STRask
November 13, 2025
Question about why it seems like the Bible teaches you how to be a proper slave owner rather than than saying, “Stop it. Give them freedom.”   * It s
E. Calvin Beisner: Climate and Energy Policy
E. Calvin Beisner: Climate and Energy Policy
Knight & Rose Show
January 4, 2026
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose welcome Dr. E. Calvin Beisner to discuss climate and energy policy. They explore Biblical dominion and stewardship, con
Keri Ingraham: School Choice and Education Reform
Keri Ingraham: School Choice and Education Reform
Knight & Rose Show
January 24, 2026
Wintery Knight and guest host Bonnie welcome Dr. Keri Ingraham to discuss school choice and education reform. They discuss the public school monopoly'
“Christians Care More About Ideology than People”
“Christians Care More About Ideology than People”
#STRask
October 13, 2025
Questions about how to respond to the critique that Christians care more about ideology than people, and whether we have freedom in America because Ch
When I Can’t Stop Thinking About Something, Is That God Speaking?
When I Can’t Stop Thinking About Something, Is That God Speaking?
#STRask
December 1, 2025
Questions about whether having a recurring thought is an indication God is speaking to you, what to say to someone who says they sinned because “God t
Life and Ministry in Charlotte and in the SBC with Clint Pressley
Life and Ministry in Charlotte and in the SBC with Clint Pressley
Life and Books and Everything
December 15, 2025
In a rare cultural anomaly that may never be repeated in our lifetimes, the current SBC President and current PCA Moderator live in the same neighborh
The Man on the Middle Cross with Alistair Begg
The Man on the Middle Cross with Alistair Begg
Life and Books and Everything
November 10, 2025
If you haven’t seen the viral clip, go see it right now. In this episode, Kevin talks to Alistair about the preaching clip he didn’t intend to give, h
Could the Writers of Scripture Have Been Influenced by Their Fallen Nature?
Could the Writers of Scripture Have Been Influenced by Their Fallen Nature?
#STRask
October 23, 2025
Questions about whether or not it’s reasonable to worry that some of our current doctrines were influenced by the fallen nature of the apostles, and h
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
#STRask
November 10, 2025
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed.   * I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. Ho
Is It Possible There’s a Being That’s Greater Than God?
Is It Possible There’s a Being That’s Greater Than God?
#STRask
February 5, 2026
Questions about whether it’s possible there’s a being that’s greater than God and that’s outside of God’s comprehension and omniscience, and how to ex
The Heidelberg Catechism with R. Scott Clark
The Heidelberg Catechism with R. Scott Clark
Life and Books and Everything
November 3, 2025
You may not think you need 1,000 pages on the Heidelberg Catechism, but you do! R. Scott Clark, professor at Westminster Seminary California, has writ
After the Crucifixion, was Jesus Resurrected or Rescued? Licona vs. Ally
After the Crucifixion, was Jesus Resurrected or Rescued? Licona vs. Ally
Risen Jesus
October 8, 2025
This episode is a 2016 debate held at the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga between Dr. Michael Licona and Dr. Shabir Ally, president of the Islam
Why Do We Say Someone Was Saved on a Particular Date If It Was Part of an Eternal Plan?
Why Do We Say Someone Was Saved on a Particular Date If It Was Part of an Eternal Plan?
#STRask
November 24, 2025
Questions about why we say someone was saved on a particular date if it was part of an eternal plan, the Roman Catholic view of the gospel vs. the Bib