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Translated from the Greek original by Frederick Crombie.
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This Part: 128 Pages
Page 16
Chapter LV.
Passages, indeed, might be found where corporeal and external (benefits) are improperly [4553] called "good,"--those things, viz., which contribute to the natural life, while those which do the reverse are termed "evil." It is in this sense that Job says to his wife: "If we have received good at the hand of the Lord, shall we not also receive evil!" [4554] Since, then, there is found in the sacred Scriptures, in a certain passage, this statement put into the mouth of God, "I make peace, and create evil;" [4555] and again another, where it is said of Him that "evil came down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem, the noise of chariots and horsemen," [4556] --passages which have disturbed many readers of Scripture, who are unable to see what Scripture means by "good" and "evil,"--it is probable that Celsus, being perplexed thereby, gave utterance to the question, "How is it that God created evil?" or, perhaps, having heard some one discussing the matters relating to it in an ignorant manner, he made this statement which we have noticed. We, on the other hand, maintain that "evil," or "wickedness," and the actions which proceed from it, were not created by God. For if God created that which is really evil, how was it possible that the proclamation regarding (the last) judgment should be confidently announced, [4557] which informs us that the wicked are to be punished for their evil deeds in proportion to the amount of their wickedness, while those who have lived a virtuous life, or performed virtuous actions, will be in the enjoyment of blessedness, and will receive rewards from God?
[4553] katachrestikoteron.
[4554] Cf. Job ii. 10.
[4555] Cf. Isa. xlv. 7.
[4556] Cf. Mic. i. 12, 13. The rendering of the Heb. in the first clause of the thirteenth verse is different from that of the LXX.
[4557] parrhesian echein.
Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/fathers/origen/contra-celsum-4.asp?pg=16
