What is Evil Part III
Part II
In Part II, we examined the different core beliefs that makes it possible for people to commit evil actions and hurt other people. In this part we will discuss how evil flourishes and examine what is necessary to overcome it.
When we speak of evil, that isn't just murder and mayhem, it could be a corporation treating its workers unfairly, or a manager who abuses his employees, and on and on.
The one thing that evil needs to continue to exist is darkness. I'm sure you have heard this quote from the bible:
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." -John 3:19-21(NIV)
Evil exists and flourishes in the dark. Darkness is representative of not only ignorance of truth and reality, but also that lack of light that makes all things vague and unrecognizable. In this kind of darkness evil can define itself as good and no one is able to argue against it without the clarity that light brings.
When governments and corporations make decisions that affect people's lives in a negative way, they do so basing their decisions on their own versions of truth.
Evil decisions are not made by seeking out how they will truly affect people, instead they are determined by truth on an excel spreadsheet, a profit and loss statement and the counsel of those that have everything to lose by giving a bad report.
Such versions of truth never show hopelessness, or time lost to the family to take a second job, or having to live on Ramen Noodles and Macaroni and Cheese. Darkness becomes light and "hard management decisions" are celebrated by the board with bonuses, vacations, and new cars for the insightful manager, while people beneath them suffer without increases that even keep up with inflation.
What will overcome this is Light. Light is representative of truth, insight, and seeing things clearly as they really are and not trusting in shadows who claim to be truth.
Continued in Part IV
