Is God The Author of Sin? (Jonathan Edwards)

God may hate a thing as it is in itself, and considered simply as evil, and yet,...it may be his will it should come to pass, considering all consequences. God doesn't view sin as sin or for the sake of anything evil; though it be his pleasure so to order things, that he permitting, sin will come to pass,; for the great good that by his disposal shall be the consequences.His willing to order things so that evil should come to pass; for the great good that by his disposal shall be the consequence. His willing to order things so that evil should come to pass, for the sake of the contrary good, is no argument that he doesn't hate evil, as evil; and if so, then it is no reason why he may not reasonably forbid evil as evil, and punish it as such.

God's will of decree(or sovereign will) is not his will in the same sense as his will of command(or moral will) is. Therefore it is not difficult at all to suppose that one may be otherwise than other: his will in both senses is his inclination. But when we say his wills virtue, or love virtue or the happiness of his creature: thereby is intended that virtue or the happiness of his creature; thereby is intended that virtue or the creature's happiness, absolutely and simply considered, is agreeable to the inclination of his nature. his will of decree is his inclination to a thing not as to that thing absolutely and simply, but with reference to the universality of things. So God, though he hates a thing as it is simply, may incline to it with reference to the universality of things.

It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shinning forth of God's glory should be complete; that is, that all part of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent, that he beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested , and another not at all...Thus it is necessary, that God's aweful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God's glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love and holiness would be faint without them, nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all.

If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God's holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference , in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God's grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired. So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature's happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect.