Is everything God creates good? The answer is yes with an asterisk. Everything God creates when broken down into its base components is good. However, when we have something in excess or something that is twisted by our fallen reality it becomes an evil. I will explain more in depth but let’s back up for a second.
Firstly, what do I mean by the base components being good? I mean exactly what I am saying. Let’s take for example a tsunami. Water is essential for the survival of all life. Waves distribute nutrients and oxygen throughout the ocean, shape and maintain coastlines, and help to break down pollutants. We can agree that both water and waves have an inherent goodness to them. However, when a wave grows too big thus turning into a tsunami it becomes damaging causing only death and destruction. Another type of example is murder.
A kitchen knife is meant to cut food. Again the knife has an inherent goodness to it. However, if I take the knife and stab my roommate I take this inherently good thing and I turn it towards evil.
Even viruses have a sort of inherent goodness to them when you look as consisting of living organisms looking to reproduce and our body trying to protect itself. A virus is a living organism which aims to reproduce. Both of which contain an inherent goodness. However, though reproduction has an inherent goodness, viruses damage our cells. In response our bodies react using natural defenses which are inherently good because they serve to protect our lives.
With that being said I know I must support my point. The Catechism teaches us “God is infinitely good and all his works are good.”¹ In the words of the Catholic Church all of God’s works are good. If any act requires the works of God in order to be possible can it possibly be completely devoid of goodness. No. Rather, the base components of said evil have been removed from their right order and twisted. Let’s turn to scripture.
Read the seven day creation account in Genesis 1. What do you notice? Nearly every day ends with the same line. “And God saw that it was good.” ². Genesis 1 supports CCC 385 in the sense that everything God creates is inherently good. Everything that exists contains at least a sliver of goodness. Even if something is fundamentally evil, its individual components are good.
I think C.S Lewis does a good job in summing up the point I’m trying to make. “You can be good for the mere sake of goodness: you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness. You can do a kind action when you are not feeling kind and when it gives you no pleasure, simply because kindness is right; but no one ever did a cruel action simply because cruelty is wrong–only because cruelty was pleasant or useful to him. In other words badness cannot succeed even in being bad in the same way in which goodness is good. Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is only spoiled goodness.” ³ All things evil are not just evil but also have a parasitic relationship with the goods it consists of.
¹CCC 385
²Genesis 1:4,12,18,25,31
³.Mere Christianity Chapter: Invasion
First Sorrow: Mary Hears the prophecy of Simeon in the Temple
Second Sorrow: Mary flees with Joseph into Egypt to save Jesus
Third Sorrow: Mary loses Jesus and finds Him again in the Temple
Fourth Sorrow: Mary meets Jesus carrying the cross on the way to Calvary
Fifth Sorrow: Mary is present at the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
Sixth Sorrow: Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms
Seventh Sorrow: Mary accompanies Jesus to His Burial