There’s a growing idea in some Christian circles that sounds deep and spiritual, but quietly distorts the nature of God.

It goes something like this:

“God created everything—including darkness, evil, and Satan—and we need those opposites to experience the good.”

It might sound like profound revelation, but it's problematic confusion.

This thinking actually aligns more with Allah, the god of Islam, than Abba, the God revealed in Jesus—read more here.

Let’s talk about why this isn't just wrong—it’s dangerously misleading. And let’s go straight to Scripture and the person of Jesus to find clarity.

During a recent conversation with a Christian, they used the Genesis creation story as proof for God creating evil—it's concerning how far we're willing to go to make God fit our theology.

Genesis 1:2 says:

“The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...”

That doesn’t mean God created darkness as a moral substance. It means there was no light yet. Darkness, both physically and metaphorically, is the absence of something—not the presence of something.

Einstein has been quoted to say, "Darkness isn’t a thing in itself—it’s simply the absence of light."

Just like cold is the absence of heat, and silence the absence of sound, darkness is simply the absence of light. When God said, “Let there be light,” He wasn’t battling darkness—He was revealing Himself.

If darkness were a created substance, then God would be the author of evil. But Scripture affirms that God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

Evil is not a thing God made. It is what happens when something good is twisted, misaligned, or disconnected from its source.

God created everything good (Genesis 1:31). But He gave humanity freedom—because love demands choice. With that freedom, Adam chose independence from God. That choice brought distortion, pain, sin, and death into the world (Romans 5:12).

Evil isn’t something God orchestrates; it’s something He redeems.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

"If a thing is to be free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible."

Augustine said:

"For evil has no positive nature, but the loss of good has received the name ‘evil.’" — Augustine, Enchiridion, Chapter 11

God is only good, and the "loss of good" is what remains—darkness and evil.

To say “God created evil” is to accuse Him of being double-minded or even abusive. Yet James 1:17 says:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

No shadows. No duality. Just pure light.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." — Martin Luther King Jr.

If God created evil, then He would be responsible for sin. But Scripture teaches that God is holy and just, incapable of sin.

Further reading: Does God Create Evil? Answering Isaiah 45:7

Some say, “We need wrath to know love.”

That’s not Christianity—that’s pagan dualism.

Wrath is not a personality trait of God—it’s His settled opposition to sin, because sin destroys the people He loves. His wrath is real, but it is born of love, not in tension with it.

Jesus didn’t die to save us from the Father—He died to reveal the Father (John 14:9). If you think God needed to punish Jesus just so He could finally love you, you’ve misunderstood both the Cross and the Father’s heart.

Jesus is not shielding us from God—He’s showing us exactly what God is like.

If God's wrath were opposed to His love, then His nature would be divided. But God's attributes are harmonious and unified.

Satan was created as an angelic being (see Ezekiel 28 imagery), but he chose rebellion. He corrupted himself through pride and violence.

To say, “God created everything we see and experience, including evil,” is to suggest that God authored rebellion.

But Scripture says:

“The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

Jesus never called Satan a partner. He called him a thief, a liar, and a murderer from the beginning (John 10:10, 8:44).

God did not commission Satan—He conquered him.

To credit Satan’s works to God is not revelation. It’s confusion adn perversion dressed up as depth.

If Satan's works were from God, then Jesus would be opposing the Father's will. But Jesus came to fulfill the Father's will by defeating evil.

Further reading: The Suffering Syndrome: Blaming God for the Devil’s Work

The phrase “God is all there is” sounds spiritual, but it’s not biblical.

It slides into pantheism or panentheism, blurring the Creator with creation.

God made the world, yes—but not everything happening in the world today reflects His design.

That’s why Jesus told us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That prayer would be pointless if everything happening was already God’s will.

Jesus came to reveal what the Father actually wants: healing, restoration, reconciliation, life, and truth.

If you bake a cake, you're not the cake. You made it, it reflects you in some way, but you're distinct from it. Christianity sees God like the baker—not the batter.

If God were all there is, then evil would be a part of God. But Scripture affirms that God is holy and separate from sin.

Further reading: Is God’s Nature a Mystery? Or Are We Just Avoiding the Truth?

We don’t need darkness to know light. We need Jesus—the light of the world. And in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

Let’s stop glorifying mystery where God has made things plain. Jesus didn’t come to deepen our confusion—He came to clarfiy it.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." — Jesus (John 8:12)

Let us walk in the light, as He is in the light, and reject any theology that blurs the lines between God's goodness and evil.

He is the exact image of God. If your theology requires anything other than what Jesus revealed, it’s time to let it go.

Because Jesus alone is the full revelation of the Father—and He is better than we think.

Related reading:

• Is God Actually Like Jesus? Reconciling The Old Testament

• God Doesn't Use Evil: The Lie in Eden That Still Deceives Us Today

• Christians See God More Like Allah Than Abba

1. Have I unknowingly blended other worldviews—like pantheism or dualism—into my understanding of God?

2. Am I building my view of God on the words of Jesus, or on spiritual-sounding ideas that contradict His nature?

3. What changes when I truly believe that God is only light, and in Him there is no darkness at all?

Bless you,

Lee