Evil is something we fear or think we fear.
We fear it without thinking about what it actually is. We fear when we hear the
word. We fear when we see its symptoms as if they matter more than the illness.
We often amplify the word to gain a sense of control. It is as if, by
controlling how it is defined, we make it more visible and understandable. There
is pride in us if we exaggerate evil as if we can handle the boogieman we have
created of it. We associate evil with lies, malice, or violence. Even when these
are not immediately present, the possibility of them remains, and that potential
is unsettling. We fear being deceived for it means being controlled. We fear
losing control through malicious or violent treatment.
One way to amplify it is this. Rather than see it as wanton harm, one
adds in a spiritual dimension. It may be seen as removing supernatural
graces and blocking them. It is seen to be somehow supernatural in its own
right.
We say we endure the fear of evil! It may often be a fear of vulnerability
rather than a response to evil itself.
It may be that, at times, everyone fears not evil itself but the loss of their
sense of control in the face of it. For some, this may go further: what matters
most is not whether something is truly evil, but whether it threatens their
ability to remain in control.
The more you are concerned about you or your group being controlled, the less
you are concerned about evil as such. Evil would be more than a lie, more than
malice and more than violence. These things are a surface level - but what is
underneath? This question risks making evil lose any real meaning or clarity for
we resort to mystery there.
When you ask why evil is bad and why we should fear and hate it we are given
some supposed answers. Attempted answers include:
Indifference - harm without concern
Dehumanization - denying others’ worth
Enjoyment of harm - cruelty
Systemic harm - evil without clear intent
They all contradict the claim that lies, malice and violence are only expressions of evil
not its essence. All of those are violence themselves. All of them are said to
lie by devaluing humanity. Some of them describe malice.
Evil looks like a cover for asserting selfishness. The self-centredness is
masked as a moral compass. Using God as the reverse of evil, the standard that
stands firm against it, reeks of hypocrisy.
Consider this.
If I come first then evil must be something that undermines that.
If I am that important, that the main concern is what evil does to me, then is
evil even a meaningful coherent idea? It is absurd for the reason praising
someone for refusing to do anything helpful for anybody is. Evil will arise when
I let confusion set in concerning what it is or is doing in this particular
situation.
If others come first then I am leaving myself open to evil getting to me.
There is no way to win.
Being free of evil does not necessarily mean you do good. There are those who
claim to be evil-free if not actually good.
But we have learned that scepticism about being evil-free is in order!