Why did God create bad things?

Answer 1

God created bad things due to another freedom he gave us. Giving us humans the freedom to act whatever way we wanted to made good and bad things. If God only let us act the way he wanted us to, there would be no bad things. EX: A person wants to kill, so he goes out and murders 200 people b4 beig apprehended by the police. Total control over our bodies makes "bad things" a reality. I hope that cleared this up, i am no preacher, i am only 15.

Answer 2

Consider the two following quotes, which seem to clash. One is Isaiah 45:7, which clearly states that God "creates evil." The second is Lamentations 3:38, which says "from the mouth of the Most High, evil...did not result."

The answer to the contradiction may be seen in a third verse, Proverbs 19:3, which says "the foolishness of a man corrupts his way, yet his anger is directed against God." Meaning, that while some evil is undoubtedly created by God (such as the death of an infant), a lot of evil is the result of humans' choices. God has given us the gift of free-will (Deuteronomy 30:15-20); and without the possibility of bad results, free-will would be vitiated.

Entire books (such as Job) have long ago been written about the existence of evil and suffering. Suffice it to say that Judaism sees the existence of evil as a test, and/or the result of our own (humans') bad choices, and/or a warning (such as pain, which shows you what part of your body needs repair) or a message (Genesis 42:22), and/or mere misinterpretation (such as the bee's sting, which to a child is unmitigated evil but which adults recognize as a protection for that insect which pollinates all fruit-bearing trees).

In any case, this life was never meant to be a walk in the park. People are meant to invest hard effort in this world (see Job 5:7), and suffering is a factor which should assist us in gaining understanding.

Suffering teaches us:

• our mistakes (Genesis 42:22)
  
• to repent
  
• that we are not all-powerful or in control
  
• that this life is not meant to be uninterrupted pleasure
  
• to have sympathy for sufferers (Exodus 23:9)
  
• humility; maturity; acceptance; fortitude.

Also, when viewed in the context of the afterlife, when worthy people who suffered may be recompensed and the prosperous wicked will have the opposite, the apparent injustices of this world become easier to understand.

See also:

Why is there suffering?