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If God is good and created all things good, where did evil come from? In this episode of What in the Word?, Phillip Cary joins Kirk E. Miller to explore Genesis 3 and the origins of evil.
Where did the serpent—this cunning adversary and deceiver—come from? And how could Adam and Eve, who created good and without sin, fall into its temptation? What does the Bible teach about God’s relationship to evil?
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Episode guest: Phillip Cary
Phillip Cary was professor of philosophy at Eastern University near Philadelphia for over two decades, where he has also been scholar in residence at the Templeton Honors College and taught in the Master of Arts in Classical Teaching program.
Phillip is author of The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel that Gives Us Christ (Baker Academic, 2019); The Nicene Creed: An Introduction (Lexham, 2023); The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel That Gives Us Christ (Baker Academic, 2019); as well as Good News for Anxious Christians: 10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do (Brazos, 2010). He has also published lecture series with the Great Courses, including courses on Luther, Augustine, the history of Christian theology, and philosophy and religion in the West.
Episode synopsis
What’s the problem with evil?
Genesis 1 and 2 describe a creation that God declares “good,” and even “very good.” Yet, in Genesis 3, a cunning serpent suddenly appears in God’s good creation. This creature tempts Adam and Eve to disobey the Lord, initiating the fall of humanity.
This raises difficult questions: Where does this evil come from in a world that God repeatedly declares “good”? Did God create the serpent? If Adam and Eve were good, how can creatures created good turn to sin?
Genesis 3 raises deep theological and philosophical questions related to the origin and existence of evil. Philip explains the tension: Christians affirm that all things were made by God, and that everything God created is good. God does not create evil things (Jas 1:13). So how can evil arise in a world that was created entirely good?
Evil is not a created substance
Philip turns to Augustine, one of the great theologians of the early church, to help explain how Christians have historically thought about the nature of evil. Augustine insisted that evil is not a “thing” that God created. Instead, evil is a privation, a lack or absence of the good that should be present. It’s like darkness: not something created, but the absence of light. By this account, evil has no independent existence. It is not a substance or being of its own.
Rather, evil is what happens when good things become corrupted, when they lose or lack the order or goodness they were created to have. Corruption is the idea that good things can “go bad.” Like a rotten apple or a collapsed roof, evil is what results when something good is damaged, disordered, or ruined. As Philip puts it, “Every evil thing is an evil good thing.” In other words, every sin is a corruption of something good that God made.
Nonetheless evil is real
Kirk raises that some might worry that this makes evil seem like an illusion. But Philip is clear: Evil is not imaginary. It is profoundly real in its effects, even if it lacks substance. The leak in your roof is real, even though the hole itself isn’t “made” of anything. The absence of what should be, like a lack of integrity or goodness, is real, painful, and dangerous.
So Christians don’t believe evil is a created being. But they do affirm that its presence in the world is a true and very real tragic distortion of what God made.
The Satan behind the serpent
The next question becomes: Who or what is the serpent? Genesis 3 doesn’t name him Satan, but the rest of Scripture does.
In Revelation 12, the “ancient serpent” is explicitly identified as “the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Likewise, Luke 10 parallels Revelation 12 when Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). And Romans 16 echoes Genesis 3:15 when it connects the serpent to the defeat of Satan under Christians’ feet (Rom 16:20).
The cumulative witness of Scripture identifies the voice behind the serpent as Satan himself, a created being who rebelled against God.
But that still leaves the question: Where did Satan come from?
Use the Important Passages section in Logos’s Passage Guide to locate key cross references.
The creation of invisible things
Genesis 1 describes the creation of the visible world (“the heavens and the earth,” Gen 1:1). But Colossians 1:16 goes even further, stating that in Christ, “all things” were created, including things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible (cf. John 1:3). Angels, then, are part of that created “invisible” world. God made them; they are not eternal or self-existent. And he made them good.
In Job 1, we see Satan depicted as among these “sons of God,” the heavenly beings (Job 1:6).
Augustine’s reading of Genesis 1:3–4
At some point, some of these angelic beings, including Satan, must have fallen. Philip explains that Augustine offers an intriguing (and speculative) interpretation of Genesis 1 to account for this fall.
In Genesis 1:3, God says, “Let there be light.” But the sun and moon aren’t created until day four. What is this light? Augustine suggested that this is the light of the invisible heavens, perhaps the angels, or even the glory of God reflected in creation.
Of importance, the text does not say God created the darkness; rather, he created the light (1:3) which he separated from the darkness (1:4). He calls the light good, not the darkness (1:4).
Thus, Augustine posits that this separating of the light from the darkness refers to the separation between the obedient angels and those who fell. The fallen angels, such as Satan, turned away from God as the source of their goodness and light. They chose themselves over the Creator. In doing so, they became darkness.
Corruption & free will
But if God created everything good—both angels and humans—then how did they even have the capacity to fall away, to choose sin?
To answer this question we must acknowledge the vulnerability of good things. Everything created— including the human will—was created good. But it’s also corruptible. God alone is incorruptible. He cannot sin, change, or fail (Jas 1:17). But creatures, whether angels or humans, can.
We must acknowledge that free will then (however defined) can be corrupted, can be bent towards sinful ends. When the will turns away from God, it becomes twisted. When we love ourselves or lesser goods more than God, sin is born.
This doesn’t excuse our choices. It explains them. Free will means we’re accountable. The devil may tempt, but he doesn’t control. Adam and Eve chose sin—and so do we.
Adam’s culpability in Eve’s sin
In Genesis 3, the serpent tempts Eve by questioning God’s word: “Did God actually say … ?” (Gen 3:1). But notice, Eve hadn’t receive God’s command directly—Adam alone did. In other words, implied is that Adam was supposed to teach God’s Word to Eve. But Adam failed to fulfill this discharge.
And where is Adam during Eve’s exchange with the serpent? The text says he was “with her” (Gen 3:6). He’s present. Silent. Passive. He lets the serpent speak, lets Eve eat, and then follows her lead.
When confronted, Adam blames the woman—and implicitly, God: “The woman whom you gave to be with me …” (3:12; emphasis added).
Philip notes that evil often requires more than one person. It’s communal. It takes two to fall in Genesis 3. Adam’s failure was not just eating the fruit. It was failing to teach, lead, and protect.
This pattern is seen throughout Scripture. Israel’s kings, like Solomon or Ahab, are led astray by their idolatrous wives when they fail to uphold the word of the Lord. Evil multiplies in relationships that fail to steward God’s truth.
Practical takeaways
Philip thus highlights the communal nature of succumbing to and resisting evil. The serpent overcame Eve in part because Adam stayed silent. So too the people of God today need one another to stand firm. We teach, remind, and uphold the Word together.
For pastors, small group leaders, and teachers, this means taking seriously the responsibility of communicating God’s Word clearly and faithfully. But also, of doing so in community. No one resists the devil alone. We rely on the light of God’s Word passed down through faithful voices.
Logos values thoughtful and engaging discussions on important biblical topics. However, the views and interpretations presented in this episode are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Logos. We recognize that Christians may hold different perspectives on this passage, and we welcome diverse engagement and respectful dialogue.
Related resources for further study
Augustine on the subject of evil
For further explanation of Augustine’s approach to the nature and origin of evil, see Phillip Cary’s “Augustine on Evil” in The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evil.
If looking for direction on where to start in Augustine himself, consider beginning with the following selections from his writings:
- Augustine, City of God, books 11, 12, and 14
- Augustine, Confessions, books 7 and 8
- Augustine, Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Charity
The City of God, 2 vols. (The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century)
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Saint Augustine: Confessions (The Fathers of the Church)
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St. Augustine: Faith, Hope and Charity
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On the nature & existence of evil
Explaining Evil: Four Views
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God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views (Spectrum Multiview Books)
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40 Questions about Suffering and Evil (40 Questions Series)
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How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil
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On the origin of Satan & fallen angels
Against the Darkness: The Doctrine of Angels, Satan, and Demons (Foundations of Evangelical Theology)
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Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness
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On human freedom, including the will to sin
Freedom of the Will (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1 | WJE)
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On Sin and Free Choice (Theological Commonplaces)
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On interpreting evil in Genesis
Saint Augustine: On Genesis: Two Books on Genesis against the Manichees; and, on the Literal Interpretation of Genesis: An Unfinished Book
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When Did Eve Sin? The Fall and Biblical Historiography
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Evil in Genesis: A Contextual Analysis of Hebrew Lexemes for Evil in the Book of Genesis
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