In the nineteenth century there were philosophical attempts to rid the present existence of "original sin", which all the while seemed to affirm the reality there was such a thing as this original evil in us all. Most people of the time, and even today, are victims of a form of social darwinism that thinks that we are moving towards perfection, at whatever cost. The assumes that things are constantly moving towards a state of perfection. We have in fact, as a society, replaced evil with the idea of progress. Now in recent years our society has seemed to have come to grips with the present reality of evil, in fact, the dominant mentality in the west is that we have found both the sources and solution of evil. Our solution to this problem is nothing short of problematic and counter productive. Our solution to this problem you ask? Becoming the more dominant participant in this evil. Interestingly enough, while discussing this topic with a good friend last week he stated that "We live in a society where we have replaced doing good, or being good, with choosing the lesser of 2 evils," and I think my friend is exactly right. The biggest problem in all of this is that while, as a christian, the objective is to be Christ-like, to be "the light of the world", we have digressed into the socially strenuous mindset that has chosen the lesser of the two evils and dubbed it as "good." This assumes that this kind of good is the same kind of good that we associate with God. I contend that that is false and all together evil.
Recently I asked a group of students "Is there a difference between good and evil?" to which they all affirmed a resounding "yes". I then asked them if there was any middle ground in this scenario, to which they delayed a response but ultimately, as a group, voted in favor of "no". I implored them further "Is playing video games good or bad?" I knew most of them were avid players. The first response was "playing video games isn't bad!" The student, who I give a lot of credit to, seemed to have realized the error in his thinking as soon as he made his reply because he fumbled and made such remarks as "Isn't it?", "Don't you think?"I think that in this case my friend evidenced the mentality of so many people, that doing good is the equivalent to not doing bad ... my proposal is that this mindset is, in fact, evil.
I personally believe that the problem of evil predisposed the creation of man, not the creation of the heavens and the Earth. I believe that because of free-will, on an obvious angelic level, we see the engendering of such a possibility. I also believe that this "fall" has effected ALL of creation, even on a cosmic level. Now, whether or not you believe that Genesis is literal or figurative you have to agree that evil is a problem, in fact it is THE problem. This free-will, this possibility of bad, is ultimately what separated God from His people. So, in establishing the root of the problem of evil for me I ultimately step back and look at God's plan to "put the world to right" as NT Wright so often says, and ask myself "Is this plan intertwined with the same ideology of choosing the lesser of two evils? To this end I have to affirm my narrow vision and understanding of this problem on this side of Heaven. I do however keep reuniting with the culprit of this whole mess, free will. So, while the actions of many will characterize God's essence to so many (I didn't say that this assumption was at all correct, I just affirm that it does happen) I have to look at my nature in the eyes and exercise my authority over it. Free will is both a beautiful and hideous thing, I think CS Lewis says it best:
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having”
The biggest benefactor in this study is that it has really helped me solidify what good is and what bad is, and in fact it has lead me to a deeper understanding of ALL things. While I have many friends that I believe are christians I still cannot neglect to see the bad in them (as well as the good), and also in myself. I don't think we can do enough good to replace our passivity towards our own wickedness that will entertain the idea that that "bad" in us all will bleed itself out. I feel that that is a "salvation by works." Keep in mind as you live your life that good and bad are separate entities, the 2 NEVER intertwine! But, that is not to say that there is not a middle ground and we must not ignore it. I think the titles of 2 books I have read recently are 2 things we need to be reminded of.
1. God IS at war! "God at War" by Greg Boyd ( read "Satan and the problem of evil" as well)
2. God IS just! "Evil and the Justice of God" by NT Wright (in this book Wright balances evil between the crucifixion and the resurrection)
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