Two thousand years ago, God came to earth in a form that we could recognise and understand. He came to offer us mercy and grace.
Our response was to spit in His face. We pulled out His beard, beat Him with fists and rods and whips until He was unrecognisable. Then we hung Him naked on a Roman cross until dead.
Surprisingly, from a human perspective, HIS offer of mercy and grace still stands.
One day soon, too soon for many, Jesus will gather to Himself and bring safely home those who have accepted that offer.
I hope to see you there.
Because Creator God is all powerful, He CAN rid the cosmos of evil
Because Creator God is all good, He WILL rid the cosmos of evil
Because Creator God is using the consequences of evil to change humankind, and to separate those for and against Him, evil is still present
Creator God has told us ahead of time so that no one will be taken by surprise, that one day soon He CAN and WILL rid the cosmos of evil, including those who have decided to side with evil and rebel against their Creator.
Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Day’s of Innocence
Do you remember those days? Days when the level of evil was “just right” not too much but just enough to make things exciting?
What people don’t realise is that our stopping point, our line in the sand, our enough is enough, well, that’s our children’s starting line. Where we adults say, “No more,” our children say, “What else?” I don’t even know what or who is at the top of sleaze any more but I can tell you this. One day, fifteen or twenty years from now, people will look back at the days of Marilyn Manson and such and see them as the good old days, the days of innocence. When life was safe.
What people don’t realise is that our stopping point, our line in the sand, our enough is enough, well, that’s our children’s starting line. Where we adults say, “No more,” our children say, “What else?” I don’t even know what or who is at the top of sleaze any more but I can tell you this. One day, fifteen or twenty years from now, people will look back at the days of Marilyn Manson and such and see them as the good old days, the days of innocence. When life was safe.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
He Seemed So Nice!
Those who wish to ignore or deny the existence of evil are understandably surprised when they are confronted by it’s reality. They seem genuinely surprised when someone close, be it family or a friend or neighbour does something criminal or socially inappropriate. In reality, nothing that people do “wrong” should surprise any of us.
Evil is so persistent and pervasive in each and every one of us that those who propose some means of excising evil from our world may as well propose cutting every heart from every human being.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, I remember hearing someone say, “Before this, I never believed that evil existed.” She never believed that evil existed? Just how dedicated to an errant world view does one have to be to be surprised by something so obvious? Just how evil and self-obsessed does one have to be to think that “The world’s not so bad”? Just because your fridge is full of food does not mean that everything is ok.
I propose that there should be no surprise whatsoever when a Pastor is exposed as a fraud, when a little league coach or teacher is found to be a sexual predator or when the grocer kills his wife and family. When one group suggests the destruction of Jews; When one race sees another race as less than; When those of us who have been born of love turn so quickly back to hate, these things should not surprise us. Disappoint? Oh yes! But surprise? No.
There are people who actually believe that beauty, wealth, intelligence, education and particularly science are in and of themselves able to ward off evil. Because we choose to ignore and deny the reality of evil and that, we do, because it smacks of a moral universe and or a moral law Giver, we are always surprised not only when evil disrupts OUR lives but when WE disrupt the lives of others by the evil the resides in us. How many entertainers of late have seemed to genuinely believe, “But I’m NOT a racist!” after some sickening rant?
Democracy, wealth, and education have no effect on evil except perhaps to help us better ignore or deny its existence. We hide behind our sophistication and then we profess surprise when the wealthiest and best educated among us perpetrate fantastic frauds on the most gullible among us; those who deny or ignore the most common form of evil in themselves - selfish greed and envy. We become surprised when wealthy, well educated men and women who were raised in strong democracies willingly blow up themselves and scores of others half a world away. It should not surprise, because evil, like rust, never sleeps.
Evil is so persistent and pervasive in each and every one of us that those who propose some means of excising evil from our world may as well propose cutting every heart from every human being.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, I remember hearing someone say, “Before this, I never believed that evil existed.” She never believed that evil existed? Just how dedicated to an errant world view does one have to be to be surprised by something so obvious? Just how evil and self-obsessed does one have to be to think that “The world’s not so bad”? Just because your fridge is full of food does not mean that everything is ok.
I propose that there should be no surprise whatsoever when a Pastor is exposed as a fraud, when a little league coach or teacher is found to be a sexual predator or when the grocer kills his wife and family. When one group suggests the destruction of Jews; When one race sees another race as less than; When those of us who have been born of love turn so quickly back to hate, these things should not surprise us. Disappoint? Oh yes! But surprise? No.
There are people who actually believe that beauty, wealth, intelligence, education and particularly science are in and of themselves able to ward off evil. Because we choose to ignore and deny the reality of evil and that, we do, because it smacks of a moral universe and or a moral law Giver, we are always surprised not only when evil disrupts OUR lives but when WE disrupt the lives of others by the evil the resides in us. How many entertainers of late have seemed to genuinely believe, “But I’m NOT a racist!” after some sickening rant?
Democracy, wealth, and education have no effect on evil except perhaps to help us better ignore or deny its existence. We hide behind our sophistication and then we profess surprise when the wealthiest and best educated among us perpetrate fantastic frauds on the most gullible among us; those who deny or ignore the most common form of evil in themselves - selfish greed and envy. We become surprised when wealthy, well educated men and women who were raised in strong democracies willingly blow up themselves and scores of others half a world away. It should not surprise, because evil, like rust, never sleeps.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Surprise by Evil
People make me laugh - in a tearful kind of manner.
Like I’ve said, we typically believe that:
a) Bad things won’t happen
b) If a bad thing does happen, it would happen to me
c) If a bad thing happens to me, it won’t be severe
d) If a bad thing happens to me and it’s severe, well, there’s nothing I could have done about it anyway.
A humorous example of how we deny or ignore the “dangerous” is the old warning that masturbation will make you go blind. To which we respond, “Well, then I’ll just do it till I need glasses.” The most extreme example is our attitude regarding Hell. Knowing full well the requirements for escaping hell, some have said, “Well if it turns out that there IS a God, I’m sure He’s loving and forgiving so all will be fine.” This is eternity they're talking about and they toss it aside with some glib invention of a god they don't really believe in.
It’s the same with evil. As long as it doesn’t interfere with our daily routine, we choose to ignore it; we pretend that it doesn’t exist. As one man said to me regarding the state of the world, “It’s not so bad.”
Ya, tell that to the 2/3's of our global village who don’t have clean drinking water, or access to adequate medical care or to the 10's of thousands who TODAY will die from starvation. Why do the majority of people in the world live in conditions that you and I would find appalling? Because the rest of us refuse to share. That’s why. And why don’t we share? Because having more than enough makes us think, “It’s not so bad.” Thinking that it’s all good makes us feel secure and comfortable in our smug suburbian oblivion.
Those who deny or ignore evil must also deny the fact that:
No one has to teach their children to put themselves first.
No one has to teach their children to take what isn’t theirs.
No one has to teach their children to take what they don’t need.
No one has to teach their children to take what someone else has.
No one has to teach their children to strike, unprovoked, with the intent to do harm.
Yet there are those who ignore evil to the point of actually believing that we are born “good” and that we are on the path to “better.”
Like I’ve said, we typically believe that:
a) Bad things won’t happen
b) If a bad thing does happen, it would happen to me
c) If a bad thing happens to me, it won’t be severe
d) If a bad thing happens to me and it’s severe, well, there’s nothing I could have done about it anyway.
A humorous example of how we deny or ignore the “dangerous” is the old warning that masturbation will make you go blind. To which we respond, “Well, then I’ll just do it till I need glasses.” The most extreme example is our attitude regarding Hell. Knowing full well the requirements for escaping hell, some have said, “Well if it turns out that there IS a God, I’m sure He’s loving and forgiving so all will be fine.” This is eternity they're talking about and they toss it aside with some glib invention of a god they don't really believe in.
It’s the same with evil. As long as it doesn’t interfere with our daily routine, we choose to ignore it; we pretend that it doesn’t exist. As one man said to me regarding the state of the world, “It’s not so bad.”
Ya, tell that to the 2/3's of our global village who don’t have clean drinking water, or access to adequate medical care or to the 10's of thousands who TODAY will die from starvation. Why do the majority of people in the world live in conditions that you and I would find appalling? Because the rest of us refuse to share. That’s why. And why don’t we share? Because having more than enough makes us think, “It’s not so bad.” Thinking that it’s all good makes us feel secure and comfortable in our smug suburbian oblivion.
Those who deny or ignore evil must also deny the fact that:
No one has to teach their children to put themselves first.
No one has to teach their children to take what isn’t theirs.
No one has to teach their children to take what they don’t need.
No one has to teach their children to take what someone else has.
No one has to teach their children to strike, unprovoked, with the intent to do harm.
Yet there are those who ignore evil to the point of actually believing that we are born “good” and that we are on the path to “better.”
Monday, July 27, 2009
Every Day and in Every Way
I’ve mentioned a few times about my time in the Federal Penitentiary System. Out of all the guys I worked with, not one saw himself as a bad person, as an evil person. One guy in particular would begin his day with, “Every day and in every way, I’m getting better and better.” The dear boy. He believed that to be true and what’s worse, the psychologists of the time believed that if he said that every day the evil that was in him would actually begin to dissipate. Alas, he’s still doing armed robberies. On the other hand, an armed robber who feels better about himself must be a plus - yes?
Despite what I believe to be overwhelming evidence, there are some who actually believe that human nature is evolving - for the better no less. From Hegel onward, there have been merry souls blissfully and eagerly anticipating a time when evil will be banished from the human psyche. President Bush and Prime minister Blair thought we could do away with evil through the use of bombs. These other people will do it through breeding; for the impatient among them, eugenics will provide the extra boost.
There is yet another set of people who, regardless of the means, believe that everything is moving toward a better, fuller, more perfect world. To these people, evil is not real; neither as a malevolent entity nor as an inherent trait. To these people, bad behaviour is the result of a bad environment. All we need are a better sewer system, less religion, more science and the ability to visualise what we want.
I couldn’t disagree more with any of them. Human nature is as stable as the rocky mountains. Any perceived change for the better is like floating on tectonic plates. What takes place above may appear peaceful but underneath, the seething, roiling, volcanic evil is pressing, pushing, forcing, bulging, looking for any weakness in the crust, the veneer of surface “goodness.”
Of course some have a vested interest in believing that evil in general does not exist, and that they in particular are not susceptible to any evil inclinations. To believe in good and bad would imply a moral universe with objective right and wrong and to go in that direction is not allowed by these folks.
Despite what I believe to be overwhelming evidence, there are some who actually believe that human nature is evolving - for the better no less. From Hegel onward, there have been merry souls blissfully and eagerly anticipating a time when evil will be banished from the human psyche. President Bush and Prime minister Blair thought we could do away with evil through the use of bombs. These other people will do it through breeding; for the impatient among them, eugenics will provide the extra boost.
There is yet another set of people who, regardless of the means, believe that everything is moving toward a better, fuller, more perfect world. To these people, evil is not real; neither as a malevolent entity nor as an inherent trait. To these people, bad behaviour is the result of a bad environment. All we need are a better sewer system, less religion, more science and the ability to visualise what we want.
I couldn’t disagree more with any of them. Human nature is as stable as the rocky mountains. Any perceived change for the better is like floating on tectonic plates. What takes place above may appear peaceful but underneath, the seething, roiling, volcanic evil is pressing, pushing, forcing, bulging, looking for any weakness in the crust, the veneer of surface “goodness.”
Of course some have a vested interest in believing that evil in general does not exist, and that they in particular are not susceptible to any evil inclinations. To believe in good and bad would imply a moral universe with objective right and wrong and to go in that direction is not allowed by these folks.
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