Diff forms of evil and what is the point of them? And what does God do with them?
Although, evil has a simple definition: Evil is the simple disregard of human life, a disregard of justice, and the valuing of one life over the other. Just by looking around at the world and our lives we can notice that there are many forms of evil. These different forms of evil are important to point out to make clear what God thinks about these evils.
For the first form of evil we need to look no further than ourselves to find. As I stated before humans have a problem of sin that if not reconciled leads to the devaluing of life that leads to evil actions as simple being rude to your waiter or as complex and terrible as herding people on to a death train on its way to Auschwitz. Yet, in the same breath, it is very important not to use the word evil lightly. Much like sin is a deeper problem that leads to sins, evil as I have defined, is a deeper problem that leads to evils.
The solution to this evil is in relationship. Since, the problem of sin is a problem of disconnection and wrong relationship with God this must be reconciled to make it possible and easier to see the world with God’s eyes; to see the “createdness” of the individual and the equal playing field that humanity rests on.
Invisible People TV is an organization and website that interviews homeless people so that there lives will not be invisible but very visible through their stories recorded on video. Jay, a homeless man from Cleveland is asked what he would wish for if he was given three wishes. What he says is simply profound,
“If I had three wishes, I believe first that everyone would treat everyone as equals. The man who has a 100,000 dollar job is not better that the person who is picking up garbage on the corner for somebody. Were all the same, were all human beings why can’t we just help each other. And I think if everyone did that I might not even need two more wishes.”
No theologian or philosopher can say it better than that. Jay is down and out, has been out of work for two years and has been getting the run around by every social service agency he has come to. He knows what evil is, he knows what suffering is and amazingly in the midst of economic turmoil he does not wish for a million dollars but simply that people won’t devalue one person over the others. Jay recognizes what is at the root of the evils of this world.
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Hey David, have you ever thought about the verse, Isaiah 45:7? I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. The Hebrew word for evil is "Ra'" and it literally means evil. I have learned a great deal about this topic in the past year. In fact, what I've learned finally makes sense of evil and God's purpose for it. If you are willing to challenge traditions and to get outside the box to look at things from another angle, let me know.
ReplyDeleteJulie Ferwerda
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