Evil and Suffering, Divine Origin—God created a good world. God did not create any part of the world to be intrinsically evil but left evil as a possibility, since He wanted humans to be free to love and serve Him. Such freedom required the possibility of sin and its evil consequences. As Creator, God is responsible for the world in which evil occurs. He allows evil; but being good, He does not act in an evil way. Evil is whatever or whoever disrupts the goodness of God’s world. The direct cause of evil and suffering may be human beings, or Satan, or demons. These are all created beings who can cause evil and suffering. Evil and suffering were not part of the original creation but are a perversion of that created order. Evil is not an eternal power or person equal to God.
Disciple’s Study Bible