1 Samuel 16-18

Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. (1 Samuel 16:14)

Here is clear evidence that the ancient biblical writer(s) attributed both good and evil to the LORD. As the pages of history turn, this view is laid aside, and other views develop. One is the view that the LORD creates everything and everyone good, but allows the generation and growth of evil within them. Another view is that the LORD creates all that is good and that another god or perhaps a fallen angel creates all that is evil.

I know this is jumping ahead, but the Bible's book of James, written hundreds of years after the Bible's book of First Samuel, states this view: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone..." (James 1:13) Clearly, the book of James publishes a perspective on God's character that is different from the perspective recorded in the book of First Samuel.

As I continue to read through the Bible, I want to notice and appreciate various beliefs about God, how they are similar, how they are different, and how they fit (or do not fit) into historical patterns of development.