--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God judged it better to bring good out of…" description: "\"God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png" --- # God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to… ![“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png) > “God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It is better to transform evil into good than to wish evil never existed, as transformation yields moral growth. **In simple terms:** Turning evil into good is better than denying evil. Key Takeaway Seek to improve, not just avoid. Themes ethics redemption transformation Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - justice reform - conflict resolution - personal forgiveness Key Concepts theodicy moral agency Questions to Reflect On - Can evil be fully transformed? - What does “no evil” truly mean? A Different Perspective Transformation can be limited by systemic constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to permit no evil to exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-of-evil-than-to-permit-no-evil/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [But the issue is not only life and death but our existence before God and our being judged by him. All of us were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/but-the-issue-is-not-only-life-and-death-but-our-existence-before-god/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [We may say simply that in the sight of God we are judged not so much by what we do as by our reasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/we-may-say-simply-that-in-the-sight-of-god-we-are-judged-not-so-much/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I only serve one God, and I'm only judged by one God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letoya-luckett/i-only-serve-one-god-and-i-m-only-judged-by-one-god/) [LeToya Luckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letoya-luckett/) > [Good and evil exist only in terms of the happiness or suffering they create in ourselves and others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/good-and-evil-exist-only-in-terms-of-the-happiness-or-suffering-they/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [“Without memories,there can be no good or evil. It will exist only indifference!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-memories-there-can-be-no-good-or-evil-it-will-exist-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I tend to think that good and evil exist and that the quantity in each of us is unchangeable. The moral character of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/i-tend-to-think-that-good-and-evil-exist-and-that-the-quantity-in/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [Good and evil do not exist for me any more. The fear of evil is merely a mass projection here and on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-bender/good-and-evil-do-not-exist-for-me-any-more-the-fear-of-evil-is-merely/) [Hans Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-bender/) > [To be evil is to suffer incredulity of your person who is faceted by the non-effects of a responsive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-thomas/to-be-evil-is-to-suffer-incredulity-of-your-person-who-is-faceted-by/) Isaac Thomas > [“To b evil is to suffer and there is joy in releasing others from suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rati-mehrotra/to-b-evil-is-to-suffer-and-there-is-joy-in-releasing-others-from/) Rati Mehrotra > [Still we love The evil we do, until we suffer it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/still-we-love-the-evil-we-do-until-we-suffer-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/love-and-knowledge-so-far-as-they-were-possible-led-upward-toward-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“And now, madame, try to make your peace with God, for you are judged by men!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/and-now-madame-try-to-make-your-peace-with-god-for-you-are-judged-by/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“There is nothing that God has judged good for us that He has not given us the means to acomplish, both in the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-is-nothing-that-god-has-judged-good-for-us-that-he-has-not/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-of-evil-than-to-suffer-no-evil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-of-evil-than-to-suffer-no-evil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/saint-augustine-328_evil_god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-o_2440748.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” — Saint Augustine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saint Augustine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "God judged it better to bring...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-of-evil-than-to-suffer-no-evil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-judged-it-better-to-bring-good-out-of-evil-than-to-suffer-no-evil/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```