Pains that God sends to heal
But if someone means the things loosely so called, the so-called bodily and external evils, let it be granted that God has at times made some of these, in order to turn certain people back through them; what absurdity can the doctrine then contain? For suppose we loosely take as evils the pains that fathers, teachers and tutors inflict on those they are training, or that doctors inflict on those they cut or cauterize for the sake of treatment, and say that the father does evil to his sons, or that tutors, teachers or doctors do so: those who strike or cut would face no accusation at all. In the same way, if God is said to bring such things for the sake of the conversion and healing of those who need such pains, the doctrine would contain nothing absurd.
Nor would it be absurd if “evils come down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem” (Micah 1:12), evils that consisted in the pains inflicted by enemies and brought upon them for their conversion; nor if he visits “with a rod the iniquities” of those who have forsaken “the law” of God, “and with scourges their sins” (Psalm 89:30–32); nor if he says: “You have coals of fire; sit upon them; these will be a help to you” (Isaiah 47:14–15).
In this way we also explain “who makes peace and creates evils” (Isaiah 45:7): he creates bodily or external evils, purifying and training those who were unwilling to be trained by word and sound teaching. So much, then, for “How did God make evils?”
Greek
Εἰ δὲ τὰ καταχρηστικῶς οὕτως ὀνομαζόμενα, λεγόμενα σωματικὰ κακὰ καὶ ἐκτὸς, τίς φησι, δεδόσθω ἔσθ᾿ ὅτε τούτων τινὰ πεποιηκέναι τὸν θεὸν, ἵνα διὰ τούτων ἐπιστρέψῃ τινάς, καὶ τί ἄτοπον ὁ λόγος ἔχειν δύναται; ὥσπερ γὰρ, εἰ καταχρηστικῶς ἀκουόντων ἡμῶν κακὰ τοὺς προσαγομένους πόνους τοῖς παιδευομένοις ὑπὸ πατέρων καὶ διδασκάλων καὶ παιδαγωγῶν, ἢ ὑπὸ ἰατρῶν τοῖς θεραπείας ἕνεκεν τεμνομένοις ἢ καυτηριαζομένοις. λέγομεν τὸν πατέρα κακοποιεῖν τοῖς υἱοῖς ἢ τοὺς παιδαγωγοὺς ἢ τοὺς διδασκάλους ἢ τοὺς ἰατροὺς, οὐδὲν ἂν κατηγοροῖντο οἱ τύπτοντες ἢ οἱ τέμνοντες· οὕτως. εἰ ὁ θεὸς λέγεται τὰ τοιαδὶ ἐπάγειν ἐπιστροφῆς καὶ θεραπείας ἕνεκεν τῶν δεομένων τοιούτων πόνων, οὐδὲν ἂν ἄτοπον ὁ λόγος ἔχοι· οὔτ᾿ ἂν καταβαίνῃ „κακὰ παρὰ κυρίου ἐπὶ πύλας Ἱερουσαλὴμ,“ τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχοντα ἐν τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων πόνοις. προσαγομένοις αὐτοῖς εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν. οὔτ᾿ ἂν ἐπισκέπτηται „ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας“ τῶν ἐγκαταλιπόντων „τὸν νόμον“ τοῦ θεοῦ „καὶ ἐν μάστιξι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν,“ οὔτ᾿ ἂν λέγῃ τό· „ἔχεις ἄνθρακας πυρὸς, κάθισαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς, οὗτοι ἔσονταί σοι βοήθεια.“ τοῦτον δὲ τὸν τρόπον καὶ τὸ „ὁ ποιῶν εἰρήνην καὶ κτίζων κακὰ“ διηγούμεθα· κτίζει γὰρ τὰ σωματικὰ ἢ τὰ ἐκτὸς κακὰ, καθαίρων καὶ παιδεύων τοὺς μὴ βουληθέντας παιδευθῆναι λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ ὑγιεῖ. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἰς τὸ πῶς μὲν ὁ θεὸς κακὰ ἐποίει;