EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Hannibal** · November 29th, 2001, 08:23 PM

That was the biggest bunch of nothing I've ever heard, aside from some of my own posts. Those or Mr.Robins strenuously long posts.*no offense*

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General Philosophy

**FOOP** · December 27th, 2001, 02:15 AM

I know that a biblical answer isn't wanted...but here's a quote from a website with the very subject being, Does Evil Exist?

One of the most startling Time magazine covers was the "Evil" cover. It featured a completely black page with the words superimposed as a ghosted image: "Evil. Does it exist or do bad things just happen?"
That's a good question.
We know that evil demonstrates itself through behavior which troubles us. We tend as a society to think of evil almost as a physical entity, as we think of a knife or gun. Our western culture portrays evil as a red-skinned satanic creature with two horns holding a pitchfork and waving a spiked tail. The concept is that this character compels us to destructive behavior, though most think of this creature as a cultural myth. Is something deeper revealed by the fact that even the thought of evil deeds sends shivers down our spine? Is our response merely cultural conditioning, or evidence of an unseen spiritual dimension?
Ravi Zacharias relates the story of a conversation he had with an atheist about the question of evil. The man was convinced that evil did not exist; that it was merely a tool society had created to control our culture. He was adamant that society had no right to impose standards on anyone. Ravi countered by asking him if a person should then be free to cut a tiny child into small pieces. The man claimed that while he wouldn't like it, he could find no compelling reason to say such behavior was wrong. Then Ravi drove home the contradiction: by his own admission, this man had felt inside himself a revulsion regarding such an act. Where did this revulsion come from?

In the animal kingdom there are very few examples of inherently evil behavior. Animals exist in relative peace compared to the turbulent societies of man. They kill for food or territory or mates, but only man is really capable of truly malicious premeditated carnage. Only man is able to understand the difference between wrong and right. In every society on earth we find rules of conduct designed to ward off behavior that can destroy the culture. Many of these societies do not believe in God as Judeo-Christian cultures do. Yet each society recognizes the problem of man's evil nature.

The origin of evil

According to the Bible, evil is the result of an ongoing war in the
spiritual realm. Satan was a great and beautiful angel; considered the
most beautiful of them all. Eventually, filled with self-pride, he set
himself out to take hold of the throne of God. But his rebellion was
crushed, and he was cast out of heaven together with a third of all the
angels. Is this a myth or reality?

Since it is impossible to scientifically prove or disprove the existence
of a spiritual dimension, we must rely on legal-historic evidence (the
same kind used in a court of law) to answer this question. And such
evidence exists all around us, through archeological records,
documented historical accounts, and related material.

If evil does exist, did God create evil?

Many people believe that since God created all things, He must also
have created evil. How did it come about if not created by God?

Apologist Greg Koukl offers insight into this commonly asked
question. He points out that evil is not a created "thing" but the
absence of a thing. This analogy originated with St. Augustine and
was further developed by Thomas Aquinas. Consider the issues of
light or temperature. Black is not a thing; it is the absence of light.
Light is a thing, made up of particles or waves. Take away the created
'thing' and the result is black--nothing. Temperature works the same
way. Cold is not a thing, but the absence of heat, which is a created
thing. Take away the element of physical motion which creates heat
as we know it and you are left with cold. Cold is not created, neither is
darkness. They are the absence of the created things. Evil, then, is
not a created thing, but the absence of good.

Obviously this is a simplistic comparison, because it doesn't take
into account the inherent energy of evil--its motivation and purpose
as part of a spiritual battle. But I don't believe that difference
disqualifies the analogy.

Apologist Mark Eastman, MD also has a powerful viewpoint regarding
the existence of evil. Mark explains that those who believe God
cannot be good because He allows evil to exist (or that God cannot be
strong enough to prevent it) are making a fatal error in logic. First, the
recognition of evil is the recognition that certain actions are right and
others wrong. We determine the difference on the basis of a universal
sense that certain states of affairs are right and others wrong.

Eastman goes on to note that social customs, traditions, or feelings
cannot determine a universal sense of right and wrong. It can only
come from a source outside of ourselves, a moral Lawgiver. So, the
recognition of moral law is by default the recognition of a moral
Lawgiver. As Mark puts it, to argue that the existence of evil proves
that there is no God is equivalent to stating that the existence of
moral law proves that there is no Lawgiver!

Mark argues that the existence of evil presents an absolutely
unsolvable problem for the atheist. How does the atheist explain
evil--the sense of moral right and wrong--in the absence of a moral
Lawgiver? They can't!

One of my favorite arguments is the one Mark Eastman uses to
defend the atheist's attack that a loving God who was powerless to
stop evil must not be a God at all. He describes how this logic
crumbles under its own weight. For God to eliminate evil, He would
have to eliminate our capacity to choose between evil or good. And
such a world would be inferior to the one we have, since love requires
the existence of evil to mean anything at all. Love can mean nothing
unless we have something by which to measure it! And without the
contrast of non-love as a potential choice, we would be unable to even
understand love. What kind of God would create a world where love is
possible? Only one kind, says Eastman. A God of love.

Had to begin somewhere

The Bible tells us that the nature of evil--the desire to set ourselves
up ahead of God--began with Satan. God gives all created things the
ability to choose good or the absence of good. Every action or thought
not entirely motivated by a love of God has some element of evil
(often referred to as "sin") involved in it. We are born with a rebellious
spirit, wanting to do things our own way. Adam and Eve chose an
inherently evil action-- to disobey God--by responding to a rebellious
desire. The consequence was to have this disobedience passed down
through all generations since. Thus, we all have a "sinful" nature
within us.

Evil is not a black blob causing bad actions, as shown in the movie
"The Fifth Element." Evil as a lack of goodness generally leads to
wrong actions but the foundation of evil is not the action but an
attitude of the heart. Evil actions are visible but an invisible desire is
the underlying element behind them.

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her
in his heart."
(Matthew 5:28)

Jesus made it clear that thoughts disobedient to God, even if
unfulfilled physically, are examples of our sinful nature. We are all
infected with the terminal disease of sin.

I know it's a long post, but if you want to read more about it; go here http://www.pytlik.com/observe/deliverus/evil.html

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"God is dead." -Nietsche.

"Nietsche is dead." -God.

**notcallahan** · January 2nd, 2002, 03:27 PM

Simple answer that I'm sure many will hate, but isn't that what philosophy should be?

Anyway: does evil exist? well, no. It is a word that describes something that does not exist. I think that good exists. But that does not mean that good exists everywhere. Wherever good does not exist, that is what we describe with the word evil. Some could spin this to say that the word good acts in much the same way: go ahead.

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