Evaluating Evil: The Origin of Evil
Genesis 3:1-5, 22
Rev. Sandy Johnson
January 10, 2016
This morning we begin a new series called Evaluating Evil. Over the course of the next five weeks we will be evaluating what we know about and how we understand evil. This morning we will begin with an overview, what is evil and where did it originate. We will then look at a few examples of what evil looks like in our modern world. The following weeks we will evaluate spiritual warfare, the different names and characteristics of the “evil one,” we will look at enduring evil and suffering; and finally end our series with a sermon on overcoming evil. I hope to challenge some of our embedded beliefs about evil and give us all a chance to really think about and ponder the meaning of evil in our lives. The topic for our next Theo Pub will be a continuation of this conversation and I invite everyone to take notes and delve into the concept of evil and how it impacts us in our lives today.
Let’s begin by asking the question, why study evil at all? Why spend any time on Sunday morning learning about evil? What does it benefit us by? Wouldn’t we really rather just sweep it under the rug? It doesn’t make us feel good, in fact by learning more about it, we may become a bit uncomfortable. I think being uncomfortable is ok, especially because learning about evil will allow us to arm ourselves with knowledge so that we can be prepared for the evil that surely does exists in the world. Denying it, or ignoring it won’t make our lives better. In fact I think if we spend some time here, submerging ourselves in the study, we will find ourselves making good and Godly decisions about how we chose to live our own lives in the midst of evil and suffering. It is my prayer that this series will give us confidence to face directly what is already going on around us, interfering in our lives, and that in knowing our enemy or the stumbling blocks we face, we will be better able to overcome evil.
So, what is evil? Dictionary.com says it is something that is morally wrong or bad, something characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering. We can see evil in everyday actions when someone does harm to one another.[1] The recent killings in San Bernardino certainly would be an example of evil, one person(s) doing harm against others.
The Oxford Dictionary says that evil is profound immorality, wickedness and depravity, especially when regarded as a supernatural force. Evil can be a force or spirit embodying or associated with the forces of the devil.[2] I think back to some of the horror movies I’ve seen, like Amityville Horror or Poltergeist and the sights and sounds of Hollywood’s depiction of evil flash through my head. This definition focuses on the supernatural element of evil.
Sometimes we are called to choose the lesser of two evils. This comes to mind especially now, during the political season. Mae West has a unique perspective. She says that “When choosing between two evils, she always like to try the one she’s never tried before.”[3]
Our scripture this morning suggests the origin of evil lies with Adam and Eve. If we go back to the beginning, just following creation, we will see the first evil act. Evil being those decisions made that were contrary to God’s will. This story of eating the forbidden fruit is our first glimpse into exercising free will; to decide between right and wrong. Eve was led astray by the snake and disobeyed God’s instructions to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that if they ate, they would die. The lure though, to become “like” God was so strong that Eve ignored God and listen to the sinister snake. I suggest that evil was introduced into the world through the snake, who influenced the actions of a self-centered, ambitious, and prideful woman, who then turned and deceived her husband.
Anytime we turn our back on the teachings and leading of God, we risk becoming complicit with evil deeds or decisions. We have the ability each day to choose God’s way or our own way. Eve knew the consequences but ignored them, so strong was her desire to be god-like. I suspect that we all have had our own “Eve moment,” that time when we made a decision to do or not do something that went against God’s will for our lives. Our “Eve moment” could also be a time when we sat by and did nothing when God called us to action. Edmund Burke, the 18th century statesman says that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing.[4]
Let’s back up a minute. In Genesis we have God creating the world as we know it, and in doing so, did God create evil? God created the snake; he created Adam and Eve. He created humankind with the ability for free will. He knew when he placed them into the garden that they might disobey his rules. There are scriptures which may lead us to believe that God has more responsibility than we might think. Scripture says in Isaiah 45:7 that God created evil (KJV) and in John 8:44 it says that we are all children of the devil and we willingly chose to follow the devil. 1 John 3:8 says that “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil.” Well that would mean all of us, right? It is often said that we are all filled with evil and it is only by the grace of God that we are able to choose Christ, choose life, and choose the love of God over the evil that is always lurking, just under the surface.
For some, the very existence of evil proves that there is no God. Going back to the 18th century philosopher David Hume we see the basic problem of evil. “Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he [spiteful or mean] (malevolent). Is he both able and willing to prevent evil but doesn’t, then is God himself evil?[5]” How do we justify the knowledge that God created the world and all that is in it, including evil, and as an all-powerful God he is able to eliminate evil but he chooses not to. Or is he not all powerful and is in fact, unable to rise up against evil?
Probably we would all agree that the most heinous example of evil in the 20th century Adolf Hitler. One of the foremost theologians of the Holocaust is Emil Fackenheim. “He distinguishes between the “ordinary” evil of human nature and what he calls the “radical evil” of Hitler’s nature. To Fackenheim, even the best explanations of Hitler are doomed to failure (and there have been quite a few). In the end, “only God can account for such radical evil, and God’s not talking” (quoted by Ron Rosenbaum in Explaining Hitler, Macmillan, London, 1998, p. 279).[6]”
Looking into Hitler’s background, his childhood, psychological history, and family dysfunction there isn’t enough evidence to produce the level of evil that he perpetrated. Can we suppose that he was born with this predisposition for evil? Fackenheim believed that the break-down between Hitler’s early development and the horrible evil he committed, leads us to believe that the answers are not in the psychological realm but in the theological. And so we return to Genesis for the answer.
Although it appears that evil came into the world with Adam and Eve, there is more to the explanation of the origin of evil. Let’s look at this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “Genesis tells us that along with all the other trees, God placed two special trees in humanity’s original habitat, the Garden of Eden. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, could freely eat of the tree of life, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were not to eat lest they die (Genesis 2:9, 16–17).
“These two trees represent two very different kinds of knowledge—two distinct types of thinking and ways of living. The tree of life, as is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation, represents the way to eternal life. It is God’s revealed way of successful human living, with thinking and action that is good as defined by God Himself. It is a reflection of His character, in which there is no place for evil—only truth, good and love. Implicitly, this is the way founded on obedience to God’s wisdom and way. It is both a mode of behaving and an outcome that God desires for all of humanity. We might call it God’s way.
“In contrast, however, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents a mixed way of thinking and acting—a combination of some good and some evil—the cumulative effect of which leads to death. This second tree represents the way of humanity’s self-discovery—working out for oneself what is good and what is evil. Relying on one’s own devices and taking to oneself one of God’s prerogatives—that is, to decide what is right and what is wrong. We might call this man’s way.
“God grants humans the freedom to choose between these contrasting ways of living. He wants us to accept him at His word and choose the way of life he designed us to live. But He allows us to elect the alternative, even though He would prefer to spare us the outcome of such a decision. God grants free choice because, above all, He is interested in the formation of our character, which results from the choices we make.[7]”
The book of Genesis teaches that Adam and Eve were seduced into making the wrong choice and they were driven from the garden as a result. Throughout history God has continued to give us choices. Will we chose God’s way or man’s way? The nation of Israel was given the opportunity to choose. “God said to the ancient Israelites, “See, I have set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). As the Scriptures record, the nation of Israel also chose wrongly, merely continuing down the same path as Adam and Eve. They reaped the same evil bounty and paid dearly over time for their choice.
“From these accounts we may conclude that from the very beginning, humankind brought evil upon itself by the wrong spiritual choices made in respect of a way of living. But, if you think about it, this very fact presupposes something even more profound. Who is responsible for these contrasting ways of life and the blessings or curses associated with each? The answer is almost dumbfounding and represents the ultimate answer to the question of evil.
“Within 10 generations after Adam and Eve, human beings, perpetuating the wrong choices made by their first parents, had almost completely corrupted themselves; they were totally evil. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:5–6).
“And so God brought about the Flood in order to deal with the problem of evil which humans had brought upon themselves by the choices they had made and continued to make. Even after the Flood their nature remained the same: “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth…” says Genesis 8:21.[8]”
“But vital to our understanding is that it was God Himself who set in motion the laws that define and allow evil. He did this by establishing a righteous standard and then allowing His created beings, angelic and human, the freedom to accept or reject that righteous standard. Evil stems from wrong choices—the rejection of what is right.”
Next week we will continue the discussion and look at spiritual warfare and the battle that continues to rage around us between good and evil. I invite you to read Matthew 4 or Luke 4 this week and think about how Jesus was tempted by Satan and what that might mean for us today.
Let us pray: Gracious God, we long to make right choices and to avoid the evil thoughts, words and deeds that so often lure us away from you. We confess that the whole concept of evil confounds us. We want to believe that you are the omnipotent and almighty God that we love and that your resistance to eliminating evil from our world is part of your grand design. Give us the courage to resist our own evil tendencies and to keep our eyes always focused on you. Assure us that we are pleasing to you when we follow your way. We pray this all in Jesus name. Amen.
[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/evil?s=t
[2] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/evil Accessed January 9, 2016.
[3] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/maewest137975.html. Accessed January 9, 2016.
[4] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/edmundburk377528.html Accessed January 9, 2016.
[5] https://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion_and_spirituality/origin_of_evil_1053.aspx Accessed January 9, 2016.
[6] https://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion_and_spirituality/origin_of_evil_1053.aspx. Accessed January 9, 2016.
[7] https://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion_and_spirituality/origin_of_evil_1053.aspx. Accessed January 9, 2016.
[8] https://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion_and_spirituality/origin_of_evil_1053.aspx Accessed January 9, 2016.
