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That God is not the author of evils\

HOMILY THAT GOD IS NOT THE CAUSE OF EVILS.

Many are the ways of teaching, shown to us by the Spirit working in him, through the holy psalmist David. For sometimes, the prophet, relating to us his own sufferings, and how he nobly bore what befell him, through his own example leaves us a most clear teaching of patience, as when he says: Lord, why have they that afflict me multiplied? and sometimes he establishes the goodness of God, and the swiftness of his help, which he provides to those who truly seek him, saying: When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me; speaking words equivalent to the prophet who said: While you are still speaking, he will say: Behold, I am here. That is: I had not finished calling, and the hearing of God anticipated the end of the invocation. Again, offering supplications and prayers to God, he teaches us in what manner it is fitting for those in sins to propitiate God: Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. And in the twelfth psalm, having indicated a certain prolongation of temptation in saying: How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? and through the whole psalm having taught us not to despair in afflictions, but to await the goodness of God, and to know that by a certain economy he delivers us to afflictions, bringing the measure of torments according to the proportion of the faith existing in each. Since, therefore, it has been said, How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? and, How long will you turn your face from me? he immediately moves on to the evil of the atheists; who, when some small thing in life offends them, not bearing the more difficult circumstances of affairs, immediately become doubtful in their thoughts, whether there is a God who cares for things here, whether he watches over each one, whether he distributes to each according to their worth.

Then, when they see themselves extended for a longer time in involuntary things, they confirm in themselves the wicked dogma, and declare in their hearts that There is no God. The fool has said in his heart: There is no God. And casting this into his own mind, he then proceeds unsparingly through every sin. For if there is no one watching, if there is no one who repays each according to the worth of their deeds, what prevents oppressing the poor, murdering orphans, killing the widow and the sojourner, daring every unholy act, being defiled with impure and abominable passions and 31.332 all brutish desires? For this reason, as a consequence of there being no God, he added: They are corrupt, and have become abominable in their practices. For it is impossible to turn from the just path, unless their souls have sickened with forgetfulness of God. Whence have the nations been delivered over to a reprobate mind, and to do those things which are not fitting? Is it not because they said: There is no God?

Whence have they fallen into passions of dishonor, and their women have exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature, and men with men commit what is unseemly? Is it not because they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of beasts and four-footed animals and creeping things? A fool, therefore, as truly deprived of mind and understanding, is he who says that There is no God. And similar to this one, and in no way inferior in foolishness, is also he who says that God is the cause of evils. For I consider their sin to be of equal weight, because both equally deny the good One; the one saying he does not exist at all, the other

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Quod deus non est auctor malorum\

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΟΤΙ ΟΥΚ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΙΤΙΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΚΩΝ Ο ΘΕΟΣ.

Πολλοὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας οἱ τρόποι, οἱ διὰ ἱεροψάλ του ∆αβὶδ παρὰ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν αὐτῷ Πνεύματος ὑποδειχθέντες ἡμῖν. Ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ, τὰ οἰκεῖα πάθη διηγούμενος ἡμῖν ὁ προφήτης, καὶ ὅπως ἤνεγκε τὰ συμπίπτοντα γενναίως, διὰ τοῦ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὑπο δείγματος διδασκαλίαν ἡμῖν ἐναργεστάτην τῆς ὑπομονῆς καταλιμπάνει, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Κύριε, τί ἐπληθύνθησαν οἱ θλίβοντές με; ποτὲ δὲ τὴν ἀγα θότητα συνίστησι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὸ τάχος αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀντιλήψεως, ἣν παρέχεται τοῖς ἀληθινῶς ἐκζητοῦσιν αὐτὸν, λέγων· Ἐν τῷ ἐπικαλεῖσθαί με εἰσήκουσέ μου ὁ Θεὸς τῆς δικαιοσύνης μου· ἰσοδυναμοῦντα τῷ προφήτῃ φθεγγόμενος τῷ εἰπόντι· Ἔτι λα λοῦντός σου, ἐρεῖ· Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι. Τουτέστιν· Οὐκ ἔφθην ἐπικαλεσάμενος, καὶ προέλαβε τὸ τέλος τῆς ἐπικλήσεως ἡ ἀκοὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πάλιν ἱκετηρίας προσ φέρων τῷ Θεῷ καὶ δεήσεις, ἐκδιδάσκει ἡμᾶς τίνα τρόπον προσῆκε τοὺς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὄντας ἐξιλεοῦσθαι τὸν Θεόν· Κύριε, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με, μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με. Ἐν δὲ τῷ δω δεκάτῳ ψαλμῷ παράτασίν τινα πειρασμοῦ ἐνδειξά μενος ἐν τῷ λέγειν· Ἕως πότε, Κύριε, ἐπιλήσῃ μου εἰς τέλος; καὶ δι' ὅλου τοῦ ψαλμοῦ διδάξας ἡμᾶς μὴ ἐκκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν, ἀλλ' ἀναμένειν τὴν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ εἰδέναι, ὅτι οἰκονομίᾳ τινὶ παραδίδωσιν ἡμᾶς ταῖς θλίψεσι, κατὰ τὴν ἀνα λογίαν τῆς ἐνυπαρχούσης ἑκάστῳ πίστεως τὸ μέτρον ἐπάγων τῶν βασανιστηρίων. Ἐπεὶ οὖν εἴρηται τὸ, Ἕως πότε, Κύριε, ἐπιλήσῃ μου εἰς τέλος; καὶ τὸ, Ἕως πότε ἀποστρέφεις τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ; εὐθὺς μεταβαίνει ἐπὶ τὸ τῶν ἀθέων κακόν· οἳ, ὅταν μικρὸν αὐτοῖς τι τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον προσ κρούσῃ, μὴ φέροντες τὰς δυσκολωτέρας τῶν πραγμά των περιστάσεις, εὐθὺς ἀμφίβολοι γίνονται ταῖς διανοίαις, εἰ ἔστι Θεὸς ἐπιμελούμενος τῶν τῇδε, εἰ ἐφορᾷ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον, εἰ διανέμει ἑκάστῳ τὰ πρὸς ἀξίαν.

Εἶτα, ὅταν ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἴδωσιν ἑαυτοὺς παρα τεινομένους ἐν τοῖς ἀβουλήτοις, βεβαιοῦσιν ἐν ἑαυ τοῖς τὸ πονηρὸν δόγμα, καὶ ἀποφαίνονται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός. Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐμβαλλόμενος εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ νοῦν, ἀφειδῶς λοιπὸν διὰ πάσης ἁμαρτίας χωρεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐπισκοπῶν, εἰ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἀντιδιδοὺς ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν βεβιωμένων, τί κωλύει καταδυνα στεύειν τὸν πένητα, ὀρφανοὺς φονεύειν, χήραν καὶ προσήλυτον ἀποκτείνειν, πάσης ἀνοσίας πράξεως κατατολμᾷν, ἀκαθάρτοις καὶ βδελυκτοῖς πάθεσι καὶ 31.332 πάσαις κτηνώδεσιν ἐπιθυμίαις μολύνεσθαι; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἑπόμενον τῷ μὴ εἶναι Θεὸν, ἐπήγαγε τό· ∆ιεφθάρησαν, καὶ ἐβδελύχθησαν ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν. Ἀμήχανον γὰρ ἐκτραπῆναι τῆς δικαίας ὁδοῦ, μὴ λήθην Θεοῦ ταῖς ψυχαῖς νοσήσαντας. Πόθεν τὰ ἔθνη παραδέδοται εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, καὶ ποιεῖ τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα; Οὐκ ἐπειδὴ εἶπον· Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός;

Πόθεν ἐμπεπτώκασιν εἰς τὰ πάθη τῆς ἀτιμίας, καὶ αἱ μὲν θήλειαι παρ' αὐτοῖς μετήλ λαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν, ἄῤ ῥενες δὲ ἐν ἄρσεσι τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργάζονται; Οὐκ ἐπειδὴ ἤλλαξαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου Θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι κτηνῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπε τῶν; Ἄφρων οὖν, ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐστερημένος νοῦ καὶ φρονήσεως, ὁ λέγων, ὅτι Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός. Παραπλή σιος δὲ τούτῳ, καὶ οὐδὲν κατὰ τὴν ἀφροσύνην ἀπο λειπόμενος, καὶ ὁ λέγων τῶν κακῶν αἴτιον εἶναι τὸν Θεόν. Ὁμότιμον γὰρ αὐτῶν εἶναι τίθεμαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, διότι ἑκάτεροι ὁμοίως ἀρνοῦνται τὸν ἀγα θόν· ὁ μὲν οὐκ εἶναι τὸ παράπαν λέγων, ὁ δὲ