/lit/ - Literature

Splash! Ostra fell through the blinding light into a pool of liquid metal. Constant explosions of vivid color would shoot like arrows from the ripples. Ostra swam in this place for an undeterminable amount of time. So long in fact he began to assume this sea of silver had always been his reality.
In the next moment, unaware of how, Ostra flitted into a realm of strange forms, purple and green platforms connected by translucent ramps. In this world, he felt like a mere presence suspended in the spaces between the platforms. The experience seemed like he was seeing the world through the eyes of a bird or better yet a fish because he unconsciously moved through this place until he reached an opening in a purple cube.
Now Ostra stood in the middle of an dirt path which extended to eternity in either direction. To his left and right were endless expanses of choppy ocean waves. The sky looked as if it were on the precipice of a tempest. Gales battered Ostra but he did not feel them in fact he could not tell the wind was blowing at all. “These places seem so familiar.”
Staring from disembodied eyes, Ostra moved quickly through a mandala of fiery orange embers and golden stabs of lightning until he passed through into his actual body.
Ostra bolted up sucking in air then floundering about in hot water. The water was deep and swirled about. A small hand grabbed his and with surprising strength pulled him to a rock embankment. Once on the gravel Ostra coughed and sputtered. Why did it feel like his skin was on fire?
A chilling sensation shot through his body causing him to spasm. A cool gelatinous material was being rubbed on his skin. He moaned and wheezed for air. For the first time, he could see something other than the sun. Now he saw a massive bird holding up the mountain above. It glowed a rich amber that did not strain his eyes.
He tried to get up to look around but screamed. His eyes watered; Tsiqui held him gently and whispered in his ear.
“You must stay still you have been burned. You are safe. Wakipam has a shell around us. Let me apply this salve to your wounds. You are safe, let me help you.”
Ostra wept.

Isaiah 45:7 is using a literary technique called a parallelism, whereby opposites are contrasted.
God, in this sentence, contrasts the opposites light (ohr), and darkness (hosek). He then contrasts the opposites peace (shalom), and... evil (ra)? Clearly, that doesn't make sense, in the context of a parallelism - God would be creating peace, and the opposite of peace. This is where the nuance of the Hebrew word "ra" comes into play, which is commonly used for meaning "evil", but is sometimes used to mean "adversity", or "calamity", as in Exodus 5:19:
>The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble (ra) when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

Clearly, the usual usage of the word "evil" is incorrect here, as "they were in evil" makes much less sense in the context than "they were in a calamity/adversity/trouble/bad situation".

Therefore, by understanding Hebrew parallelism, we can know that God does not create or will moral evil, but does instead sometimes will a calamity, such as when the Israelites were overtaken by Babylon, or when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans (in fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy).

All moral evils are perpetrated by man, and none are authored by God.

If you read the passage of Amos 3:6 interlinearly (https://biblehub.com/interlinear/amos/3-6.htm)), you can see that the word "ra" is again translated here as "calamity", as in Exodus 5:19. We know that God willing the punishment of a wicked people is not a moral evil, but rather a just retribution, so there is no contradiction here w/r/t God not willing moral evil. Think of situations like Sodom and Gomorrah, or the Israelites sacrificing their children/worshipping pagan gods and getting conquered by the Babylonians. This is a just punishment, not a moral evil.

A tornado is not a moral evil, it is a force of nature. A person receiving the death penalty for heinous and grave crimes is not a moral evil. Why, then, should a calamity affecting a society which is sacrificing their children to Moloch, or practicing sexual immorality (as Sodom and Gomorrah) be "evil"? It is a perfectly just retribution, from a perfectly just God. It is not evil that child rapists receive just punishment by going to Hell, but it is rather a perfect and holy adjudication.