490# 上帝所造的一切皆为善，这从创世记第一章可见；其中多次说：“上帝看着是好的”（创1：10，12，18，21，25）；最后又说：“上帝看着一切所造的都甚好”（创1:31）。这也可从人最初在乐园中的状态看出。至于恶乃由人而起，则可从亚当第二个状态，即堕落之后的状态看出，因为他被逐出乐园。
由此可见，若人在属灵之事上未被赐予自由意志，则上帝自己便会成为恶的原因，而非人；如此一来，便等于说上帝既创造了善，也创造了恶。至于说上帝也创造了恶，乃是连思想都属亵渎之事。
上帝并未创造恶，因为祂已将属灵之事上的自由意志植入人里面；祂也从不将任何恶注入人内，因为祂是善本身。在此善中，上帝无所不在，并且不断推动、催促人接受祂；即使人不接受，祂仍不离去。因为祂若离去，人顷刻便会死亡，甚至消散为无；因为人的生命，以及构成人之万物的存续，皆来自上帝。
上帝并未创造恶，乃是人将恶引入；其原因在于，人把从上帝不断流入的善转变为恶，这是由于人转离上帝而转向自己。当这事发生时，善的愉悦仍然存留；而此愉悦遂变为恶的愉悦。因为若没有一种仿佛相似的愉悦存留，人便不能生活；盖愉悦构成人之爱的生命。
然而，这两种愉悦彼此正相反对；只是人在世生活之时，并不知道这一点。但死后他必将知道，并且也会明明觉知；因为善之爱的愉悦，那时要转化为天堂的福乐；而恶之爱的愉悦，则要转化为地狱的惨苦。
由以上所述可知：每一个人都被预定入天堂，没有一人被预定入地狱；但人因滥用自己在属灵之事上的自由意志，便把自己交付于地狱，由此接纳那些从地狱呼出的事物。因为如前所说，每一个人都被保持在天堂与地狱之间的正中，使他处于善与恶之间的平衡之中，并由此在属灵之事上享有自由意志。
490# 神所创造的一切都是好的，这一点从创世记第一章明显看出来，在那里（创世记1: 10，12，18，21，25），经上说，“神看着是好的”，最后又说：“神看祂所造的一切，看哪，都甚好（创世记1:31）。”这一点从人在乐园的原始状态也明显看出来。但邪恶起源于人，这一点从亚当随后的堕落或堕落之后的状态，即他被赶出乐园明显看出来。由此清楚可知，除非在属灵事物上的自由意志或自由选择被赋予人，否则邪恶的原因就不是人，而是神了，因而神既创造了良善，又创造了邪恶。但认为神创造了邪恶是可憎、可怕的。由于神赋予人在属灵事物上的自由意志或自由选择，所以祂没有创造邪恶，也从未在人里面激发任何邪恶，因为祂是良善本身。神在良善中是全在的，不断敦促和恳求被接受；即便没有被接受，祂也不会退出。如果祂真的退出，人就会立刻死亡；事实上，他会化为乌有，因为人的生命，以及构成他的一切的持续存在都来自神。神没有创造邪恶，而是人自己引入了邪恶，因为人将不断从神流入的良善变成邪恶，从而背离神，转向自己。当这种情况发生时，良善的快乐仍然存在，但现在变成了邪恶的快乐；事实上，除非表面上类似前者的快乐留在他身上，否则人就不能继续存活，因为快乐构成他爱的生命。然而，这两种快乐彼此截然对立；但只要人活在这个世界上，他就不会意识到这一点。然而，死后，他会知道这一点，并对此有清晰的感知，因为那时，对良善的爱之快乐变成了天堂的幸福，而对邪恶的爱之快乐变成了地狱的恐怖。从上述内容明显看出，每个人都注定上天堂，没有人注定下地狱；但人若滥用他在属灵事物上的自由意志或自由选择，就会把自己交付地狱，从而欣然享受地狱所散发的东西。因为如前所述（TCR 475-478节），每个人都被保持在天堂与地狱中间，好叫他可以处于良善与邪恶之间的平衡状态，从而享有在属灵事物上的自由意志或自由选择。
490. Everything God created was good, as the first chapter in Genesis makes clear. As we read there in verses 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25, "God saw that it was good. " Then in verse 31 we read, "God saw all that he had made, and yes, it was very good. " This is also apparent from the fact that human beings were originally in paradise. Evil arose from humankind, as is evident from the state of Adam after or as the result of the Fall, namely, that he was expelled from paradise.
From these points it is clear that if we had not been given free choice in spiritual matters, God himself, not us, would have been the cause of evil, and therefore both good and evil would have been created by God. It is atrocious, though, to think that he created evil. God endowed us with free choice in spiritual matters, and therefore he was not the creator of evil. He never inspires anything evil within us. This is because he is goodness itself. God is omnipresent in goodness and constantly urges and demands that he be received. If he is not received, he still does not leave, because if he were to leave, we would instantly die; in fact, we would collapse into a nonentity. Our life and the subsistence of everything we are made of is from God.
[2] God did not create evil. It is something we ourselves introduced, because we turn what is good, which continually flows in from God, into what is evil, and by means of that evil we turn ourselves away from God and toward ourselves. When we do so, the delight connected with that goodness remains but becomes a delight in evil. (Without a seemingly similar delight remaining, we would no longer be alive, because delight produces the life of our love.) Nevertheless, these two kinds of delight are completely opposite to each other. We do not realize this as long as we are alive in this world, but after our death we will recognize it and sense it very clearly. There, the delight that accompanies a love for what is good turns into heavenly blessedness, but the delight that accompanies a love for what is evil turns into something horrible and hellish.
From all this it stands to reason that all of us are predestined to heaven and none of us is predestined to hell. We devote ourselves to hell by abusing our freedom in spiritual matters; then we embrace the types of things that emanate from hell. As was noted above [475-478], we are all kept in the central area between heaven and hell, so that we are in an equilibrium between good and evil and therefore have free choice in spiritual matters.
490. It is plain from the first chapter of Genesis that everything created by God was good. It says there that 'God saw that it was good' (verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and at the end 'God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good' (verse 31). It is also plain from man's primeval state in paradise. Evil, however, arose from man, as is plain from Adam's second 1 state, that is, after the fall, by his being expelled from paradise. It is clear from these facts that if free will in spiritual matters had not been given to man, God Himself, and not man, would have been the cause of evil; in this case God would have created both good and evil, and it is wicked even to think that God created evil too. The reason why God did not create evil, since He bestowed on man free will in spiritual matters, and never puts any evil into his mind, is that He is good itself, and in good God is omnipresent, continually urging and demanding to be received. Even if He is not received, still He does not go away. For if He did, man would instantly die, or rather dissolve into non-existence, since man gets his life, and the continued existence of all he consists of, from God.
[2] Evil was not created by God but introduced by man, because man turns the good which continually flows in from God into evil, by turning away from God and turning towards himself. When this happens, the pleasure given by good remains, but it now becomes the pleasure given by evil; for without an apparently similar pleasure being left man would cease to live, since it is pleasure which makes up the vital principle of his love. These two pleasures are still diametrically opposed, though a person is unaware of this so long as he lives in the world. After death, however, he will know this and indeed feel it plainly, for then the pleasure given by the love of good is turned into heavenly blessedness, but the pleasure given by the love of evil into the torments of hell. These arguments prove that everyone is predestined to heaven, and no one to hell; but it is the person who commits himself to hell by misusing his free will in spiritual matters. As a result he embraces the ideas wafted from hell, since, as was said above, everyone is held mid-way between heaven and hell, so that he can be in equilibrium between good and evil, and consequently have free will in spiritual matters.
Footnotes:
1. Reading secundo for secundum.
490. That everything that God created was good, appears from the first chapter of Genesis where it is said (verses1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25), "God saw that it was good;" and finally (in verse 31), that "God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good;"1:31 also from man's primeval state in paradise. But that evil has its origin in man, is plain from Adam's state succeeding the fall, or after it, in that he was expelled from paradise. From this it is clear that unless freedom of choice in spiritual things had been given to man, not man, but God would have been the cause of evil, and thus God would have been the creator both of good and of evil. But to think that God created evil is abominable. Because God gave man freedom of choice in spiritual things He did not create evil, neither does He ever inspire any evil into man, for the reason that He is good itself, and in that good is omnipresent, continually urging and importuning to be received; and even when not received, He does not withdraw; for if He were to withdraw, man would instantly die, nay, would lapse into non-entity; for man's life, and the subsistence of all things of which he consists, are from God. God did not create evil, but evil was introduced by man himself, since man turns the good which is continually flowing in from God into evil, whereby he turns himself away from God and toward himself; and when this is done, delight in good remains, but then becomes delight in evil; for unless a delight seemingly similar remained, man could not continue to live; since delight constitutes the life of his love. Nevertheless these two kinds of delight are diametrically opposite to each other; but man does not know this so long as he lives in the world; but he will know it after death and will have a clear perception of it, for then delight of the love of good is turned into heavenly blessedness, while delight of the love of evil is turned into infernal horror.
From the foregoing it is evident that every man was predestined to heaven, and no one to hell; but that man gives himself over to hell by the abuse of his freedom of choice in spiritual things, whereby he embraces such things as exhale from hell. For, as before said, every man is kept midway between heaven and hell, that he may be in a state of equilibrium between good and evil, and consequently in freedom of choice in spiritual things.
490. Everything that God created was good, as is evident from the first Chapter of Genesis, where it is said, verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, "God saw that it was good;" and finally, verse 31, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." The same is also evident from the primeval state of man in paradise; but evil originated with man, as is evident from the state of Adam after the Fall, in that he was driven out of paradise. Hence it is clear that unless man had been endowed with free will in spiritual things, God Himself and not man would have been the cause of evil. Consequently God must have created both good and evil; and it is dreadful to imagine that He created evil. God did not create evil, although He endowed man with free will in spiritual things, and He never inspires him with any evil, because He is Good itself. God is omnipresent in good, perpetually urging and entreating to be received; and if He is not received, still He does not withdraw. If He were to do so man would instantly perish; indeed he would be annihilated, for man's life, as well as the subsistence of all things of which it consists, is from God.
Evil, then, was not created by God, but was introduced by man; for man turns into evil the good which continually flows in from God, by turning away from God towards himself. When this happens, the delight of good remains, but is now changed into the delight of evil; for unless a delight apparently similar to the former remained with him, the man would cease to live, since delight constitutes the life of his love. These two delights are, nevertheless, diametrically opposed to each other, although man is not aware of this as long as he lives in the world. After death, however, he will enter into the knowledge and clear perception of it; for then the delight of the love of good is changed into heavenly blessedness, and the delight of the love of evil into infernal horror. From what has been said it is evident that every man is predestined to heaven, and none to hell but man consigns himself to hell by the abuse of his free will in spiritual things, whereby he delights in what emanates from hell. For, as was stated above, every man is held midway between heaven and hell, in order that he may be in equilibrium between good and evil, and hence enjoy free will in spiritual things.
490. Quod omne quod Deus creavit, fuerit bonum, patet a primo Capite Geneseos, ubi dicitur Vers. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, vidit 1 Deus quod bonum esset, et tandem Vers. 31, vidit Deus omne quod fecit, et ecce bonum valde, et quoque a primaevo statu hominis in Paradiso: at quod malum ortum sit ab homine, patet a statu Adami secundum seu post lapsum, quod ex Paradiso expulsus sit. Ex his patet, quod nisi Liberum Arbitrium in spiritualibus homini datum fuisset, ipse Deus causa mali fuisset, et non homo, et sic quod Deus creavisset et bonum et malum; quod etiam malum, nefandum est cogitare. Quod Deus non creaverit malum, quia Liberum Arbitrium in spiritualibus homini indiderat, et quod nusquam inspiret ei aliquod malum, est quia est ipsum Bonum, et in hoc Deus omnipraesens est, ac continue impellit et flagitat ut recipiatur, et quod si non recipitur, usque 2 non recedat, nam si recederet, homo in instanti moreretur, imo dilaberetur in non ens, nam vita homini, ac subsistentia omnium ex quibus consistit, a Deo est.
[2] Quod Deus non creaverit malum, sed quod homo illud intulerit, est causa, quia homo vertit bonum, quod a Deo continue influit, in malum, per quod se avertat a Deo, et se convertat ad semet, quod cum fit, remanet jucundum boni, et hoc tunc fit jucundum mali, nam absque remanente jucundo tanquam simili, homo non viveret, nam jucundum facit vitam amoris ejus: sed usque jucunda illa sunt sibi e diametro opposita; verum hoc nescit homo, quamdiu in Mundo vivit, at post mortem id sciturus est, et quoque manifeste percepturus, nam tunc jucundum amoris boni, vertitur in beatum coeleste, at jucundum amoris mali in dirum infernale. Ex allatis constat, quod omnis homo praedestinatus sit ad Coelum, et nullus ad Infernum, sed quod homo se ipsum addicat Inferno per abusum Liberi sui 3 arbitrii in spiritualibus, ex quo amplectitur talia quae ex Inferno exhalant; nam, ut supra dictum est, omnis homo tenetur in meditullio inter Coelum et Infernum, ut sit in aequilibrio inter bonum et malum, et inde in Libero arbitrio in spiritualibus.
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