Continued
thought on the subject…
What is the
definition of Evil?
According to
Mirriam-Webster.com, Evil is, “morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked.”
Wikipedia.org
states that evil, “in a general sense, is the opposite or absence of good.”
As a rule, I
generally agree with Mirriam-Webster, but in this case, the definition given
above (there are more as well) lacks a foundation. One might ask, who or what
determines what is morally reprehensible, sinful or wicked? In this case, Wikipedia,
not generally a favorite source of mine, gets closer to the root.
My personal
definition is: the lack of good, or better still, the lack of God.
You see,
apart from God, there is no such thing as good. God is the absolute standard by
which we measure what is good or evil. Some would
argue that society measures what is good, moral, or evil but one must ask,
which society? In some societies, it is okay to eat your enemy while in others,
this practice is highly frowned upon.
In the movie
Nuremberg, a movie about the trial of Nazi war criminals after WWII, a Jewish
psychologist, U.S. Army Capt. Gilbert, is brought in to ensure the accused are fit, mentally
and physically, to stand trial. While talking to the prisoners, he tries to get
into their minds to understand how they could do the atrocious things they were
accused of, mainly torturing and murdering millions of Jews. At one point, he
makes the statement, “Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
While his
assessment sounds good, I think it falls short. He fails to base his conclusion
on a set standard and relies on personal feelings. Some of those accused felt empathy
but they still carried out their orders, out of devotion or fear but that is
irrelevant. This destroys the basis for his conclusion.
When I heard
his conclusion, I went back and listened to it a couple of times. I knew it was
lacking and immediately, the thought came to my mind, God is love. Then I began
to think about passages in the Bible that support this claim.
“For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 (NKJV)
“But God
demonstrates His love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” -Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
A holy God,
who created us and everything around us, who has the right to do anything
according to His will, chose to take human form so that He could live a perfect
life and then voluntarily suffer and die to pay for our sins, that’s love. Then
He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, giving us the hope of the
resurrection, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting to bring us
into complete communion with Himself and the Father. It’s almost too good to be
true.
God is the
only answer to sin, evil, and suffering.
Friend, if
you have not yet experienced the peace and joy of a relationship with Jesus
Christ, why not make this decision today? Call upon Jesus and He will hear you,
forgive you of your sins, and give you new life.
If you make
this decision, I encourage you to get a bible and begin reading the Gospel of
John. I promise, you will never regret it. Then find a church that teaches
truth found in the Bible and continue to read it for yourself daily. Spend time
each day praying, simply talking to the Lord.
Feel free to
ask any questions in the reply section of this post and may God richly bless
you~
