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"The Retrieval of Evil"
May 4, 2003 The Rev. Dr. Will Eisenhower
I have in mind at this point in the service to reintroduce ourselves to the category of evil. It ought to come as no surprise that the Bible mentions evil hundreds of times, and sin and evil as synonyms hundreds and hundreds of times. But we may not have clear in our minds exactly what is referred to at the present time. ThoughÑit's very interestingÑthe category of evil is getting at lot of coverage, at least in the Christian press, right at the present time and we'll talk about why that might be at the end of the message.
But for starters, we want to remind ourselves why evil is evil. What's wrong with evil? Why would it be that we think of evil as "not good"? We're going to let the Bible instruct us, so you may want to follow along in Psalm 7. We're going to begin in a stanza with verse 14 and this is going to tell us something very important about the nature of evil. Verse 14 says this:
Now, I'm going to try to make seven quick points about what is identifyingly characteristic about evil and then see if we can't apply that to today. But for starters, deeds that are evil are those that contradict the character of God. So if anyone would say, "Let's not even use that term anymore because we have such a hard time defining it anyway, and it only causes problems, and there are so many different philosophies and religions and they can't agree, so let's not just even use the term anymore," well, the Bible makes clear that there is a definite character to God. God is infinite so we cannot know His character completely, but God has a personality. God has a definite personality, and evil is whatever contradicts that. That's the first point.
The second point is evil contradicts God's plan for creation. God has created a moral universe. Now, we're a fallen universe, sin has entered, and the reason that this is a complicated subject is that creation no longer perfectly mirrors the plan that God originally had for it. Nevertheless, this is a moral universe that we live in and God has set things up so that there is a "grain" to the universe. And evil is what is contrary to the grain of the universe.
Evil violates the character of God. Evil violates the character of God's creation. The third point is you and IÑevery human beingÑwere created in the image of God, and evil is that which mars, or defaces, or harms the image of God in you and in me. There is an image of God in you, in me. There is that, according to which, we are reflections of God. We are in a senseÑyou know, you have to be careful with this, but we are in a sense God-like beings. Certainly not in our wisdom, and power, and authority, but in that God made us in some way like unto Himself. And when a person is violated, it's the image of God in that personÑin you and meÑthat is harmed. We know that there is a difference between being nice to people and being mean to people. It's not hard to tell the difference.
So evil contradicts God, the character of God. Evil contradicts God's creation. Evil contradicts the image of God in you and me. Now, our fourth pointÑand this is sort of central of the seven and the one that I want to spend the most time on: Evil defeats itself. And this is something that we should take out and remind ourselves from time to time. Evil is that whichÑbecause it goes against the grain of God's creation, because it contradicts His character, because it mars the image of God in you and meÑevil is never ultimately successful. And this is what our passage says to us.
You see, this is a consistent theme of Scripture: Evil doesn't work. In the short run it may appear to, but in the long run you can tell those things that are wrong from those things that are right because those things that are wrong in God's moral universe end up working against themselves. You dig a hole to trap someone else, sooner or later you're going to fall into that hole yourself. You live by violence, sooner or later that violence is going to come down on your own head. I challenge you, read through the Psalms and the ProverbsÑbecause this is a consistent theme through the Psalms and the ProverbsÑand just note all of the times that we are taught throughout the Psalms and throughout the Proverbs: "Evil defeats itself" "Evil doesn't work" "Whatever it was that you hoped to accomplish through evil deeds, you actuallyÑthough you may seem to succeed in the short run, before long it will turn out that you are working against those very things that you thought to attain through evil."
Let's just use an obvious current illustration. A dictator who thinks that by violence and oppression to ensure the long-lasting stability of his reign by that violence and by that oppression, is ensuring that sooner or later that reign is going to come to an end. Wasn't it the Third Reich of the Nazis in Germany that was supposed to be the thousand-year reign? Isn't that true? Do you historians remember that?Ñthat the Third Reich is going to last for a thousand years. Well, how long did it last? I don't knowÑwas it all of 10, or 12, or not more than 15 years? You see, violence doesn't work. Oppression doesn't work. We're tempted to think that it does, but violence doesn't work.
So we've said evil contradicts the character of God, contradicts the creation of God. Evil mars the image of God in us. And evil defeats itself. Now, another feature of evil is that because you and I haveÑand it resides in our conscience and elsewhereÑbut because we have the image of God within us, we can't help but notice evil as evil. Now at this point we're sayingÑif we haven't said anything politically incorrect before now, we certainly are at this point by saying you can't stop yourself from noticing what is right and what is wrong. You can try to discipline yourself out of making moral judgments if you want to. And there's something about education in America at the present time that the more education that we have, the likelier it is that we are going to say, "Oh, but I shouldn't make moral judgments." Well, you can't stop yourself from making moral judgments! And the moral nature of the universe resides inside your own heart and so evil cannot go unnoticed.
Now, our culture doesn't want people to make judgments between good and evil. Our culture wars against that. And I just want to submit that I believe that the reason that there is so much evil in our popular mediaÑmovies, and television, and popular musicÑthere's so much evil reflected there is because the human psyche needs to recognize evil someplace or another. And so if it's not being confronted and dealt with in our news media, then it's going to show up in our slasher films. And I say if you're not comfortable with slasher filmsÑand I certainly am notÑwe're going to have movies like that where there is clear evil at work. I mean the mask, and big knife, and sneaking up on people . . . There's almost no plot. It's just a series of people getting stabbed, one right after the other. (Of course I never see these moviesÑI want you to know that!) But, the human psyche will not allow the reality of evil to go unacknowledged. And so if we pretend that there's nothing to that category in the world of fact, then it will show up, with all the more force, in the world of fiction.
So we're saying evil contradicts God's character, it contradicts God's creation, it mars or harms people, it defeats itself, it can't go unnoticed. We want to say in light of all of that, the worst evil is the refusal to recognize evil. Whatever the worst evil you can imagine, there is always an evil worse than that, and that is the refusal to admit that was wrong. So if our culture insists on not allowing moral distinctions to surface, we have a culture therefore that will always compound the worst evils. Because whatever the worst evil is, there's always an evil worse than that, and that is the refusal to acknowledge that as evil.
Now, last point: There is good news here, and that is that everything within God's creation is under God's sovereignty, including the evil acts that you and I do. The evil that we do to one another, those things also are under the rule of God. We've said they contradict the character of God, they contradict the creation of God, they mar you and me, but it is not the case that God rules over the realm of nice things and that God has maybe either no clue that people are actually sinning against one another. (Like, "Lord, did you know that people are sinning down here?" "I had no idea! Oh, my gosh, I am shocked!") Well, no, it's not that God doesn't know and we want to say (because this is a popular mistake) it is not the case that God is powerless to do anything about it. It is not the case that God doesn't know. And it is also not the case that God is powerless to do anything about it.
Now, that's a popular notion. Rabbi Kushner, who wrote the book Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?, gave us just one variation on that theme that says, "God really wishes that He could get us to stop hurting one another, but unfortunately, I mean, God's hands are tied. God can't do . . ." No! That is a mistake. Now that saves us from the agony of saying, "OK, then you're telling me that this bad thing happened to me, and it really is bad, and God is in charge and could have done something about it, and yet didn't, and let it happen to me." We are left in the agony of that place, but that's where the biblical writers consistently ended up. So we find in the Psalms the cry going up, "How long, O Lord? How long, O Lord?" And why is that cry asked in agony? Well, it's because the biblical writers knew that it is not the case that God doesn't know and it is not the case that God can't do anything about it. Everything that takes place is under the sovereignty of God. And so we do have to agonize with these things, but as we do, we do so in a hopeÑand it's a specific hope. And that is that "All things work together for good for those that love the Lord." We can't explain, "Why did this have to happen to me?" right now. We can't explain the answer to that. But we can say, "But we know that God is going to bring good out of this because God is more powerful than evil."
You know, if our idea is that God and the devil is kind of like the World Wrestling FederationÑyou know, "Sometimes God throws the devil out of the ring, but sometimes the devil throws God out of the ring. It's kind of an equal match." Do you understand? If that's our ideaÑthat "God is kind of doing the best that He can, but unfortunately the forces of darkness that are arrayed against Him are just so vast and so powerful that God is having a tough time." Well, no!
Imagine if it was going to be a contest between me and a little ant right there where I can go like that. Well, God is bigger than me with that ant! Do you understand? OK? Therefore it's not hard for God to take you and your misfortuneÑmaybe even you and your tragic circumstanceÑand bring good out of that. That's not hard for God. In fact, God is in the business of taking anything and everything that comes our way and bringing good out of that. You see, evil is under God's sovereignty. It contradicts His character, it contradicts His creation, it harms the image of God in you and me. Evil defeats itself. It can't go unnoticed. The worst evil is the refusal to acknowledge that there is evil, the refusal to make moral distinctions between this and that. But with all of thatÑand we're saying somehow God is in charge, God is in control and because He is (and we can't answer the question, "Why did this have to happen to me the way that it did?") nevertheless, God wants to move us into a better day whereÑand it may happen in this life or it may not happen for you until the next lifeÑbut I promise you sooner or later every one of us that loves God will be able to look back and will be able to say, "Oh, I see! I see. That had to be there right then because of everything good that God brought into my life since then."
Now, please understand, you may not be ready to hear that word right now. I mean, if the travesty that you're dealing with is too fresh and too alive, then I'm sorry, this sermon may not be for you except to say that please know that there will come a day (even if you're not there now) there will come a day where you're able to look back and you're able to say, "Oh, OK. I needed that. It needed to be there. That needed to be in my life. Though it was the worst possible thing that I can imagine, it needed to be there in order for God to bring all of the good that I have seen since." It's a wonderful blessing if we're able to see that in this life. The promise that we have from Scripture is whether you can see it in this life or not, when we go to heaven to be with God, we'll know that it's true. We'll be able to look back on everything and we'll be able to say, "God was bringing good out of everything that happened in my life, even the worst things, even the things that in my lifetime I was not able to understand."
That's what the Bible teaches on evil. That's kind of "Evil 101." A reason I promised that this is kind of a hot topic is that in our popular culture, as we've said, moral distinctions have been sort of ruled out . . . unless it has something to do with "big tobacco," and then in that case it's OK. . . Except for that, we're not supposed to make moral distinctions. And then, my gosh, the nerve of that George W. Bush in his State of the Union addressÑthe one right after 9/11. It was January 29, 2002. That was his comment on "the axis of evil." He was talking about Iran, and Iraq, and North Korea. And we remember this, and some of us know that his speechwriter sent him a State of the Union address that said "axis of hatred." You know the PresidentÑbecause he's the President, you can change things that your speechwriter says. (I don't think they should let him do that, but he can.) And so he changed "axis of hatred" to "axis of evil."
And since then, you know, there has been complaining about that in the secular media and responding to that within the Christian media. For examples of the former, Elaine Pagels teaches Religious Studies at Princeton University. We see her in contexts like this from time to time. Press conferences have been held by professors of Religious Studies and leaders of interfaith alliances, to condemn the use of religious language by George W. Bush, saying he shouldn't do thatÑhe shouldn't use phrases like "axis of evil." And they say things likeÑhere's a quote: "The sense of having the high moral ground can justify extreme acts. When you frame a conflict as 'God's people versus Satan's people,' one side can only annihilate the other." That's Elaine Pagels' complaint about why the President should not use phrases like "axis of evil."
C. Welton Gatty, who heads the Interfaith Alliance, says this: "When President Bush uses overly religious language" (which I have no idea what "overly religious" would mean) "When he uses overly religious language, he stifles debate." And here's a quote: "When everything is absolutized" (that means, you know, we've got good and we've got evil) "When everything is absolutized, the debate just stops because there is the perception of evil on one side of the argument. The President uses moral language to simply shut down political discourse."
Now, let's just ask ourselves, is it really true that since the time when President Bush used the phrase "axis of evil" that political debate in this country has been stifled? We just ask the question and we don't even need to answer the question. But let me make another quick point then. I rememberÑand this is the glorious thing about . . . I'm 54 years old. And the glorious thing about being as old as 54 is that you can remember a day when things were otherwise. And I remember in the sixties when conservative ChristiansÑand if you're not a conservative, I'm not trying to say that conservatives are good. I'm just trying to make a descriptive point. Remember in the 1960s when conservative Christianity was faulted by liberal Christianity for not making social commentary, for only worrying about the salvation of the soul and for not talking about political events? Liberals used to criticize conservatives saying, "Your whole version of Christianity is socially irrelevant. You never talk about what's going on in the world. You only try to save people's souls." Remember in the 1960s and before when that was true? Well, Elaine and C. Welton, you know, this is what you were asking for! You wanted conservatives to say things out of their conservative Christianity about the world and this is what you get.
But, that observation aside, let's just end with another reminder. Do you remember in the 1970s Carl Menninger wrote the book Whatever Became of Sin? Remember that book? Whatever Became of Sin? And if you read that, you remember what he said. Carl Menninger said, "I'm going to start reading Presidential addresses from (and I think this was about 1973 or 1974). I'm going to see when was the last time a United States President used the word "sin" in public." And he read. Seventies . . . no. Sixties . . . no. He had to go back to the first Eisenhower administration. (That's why I remember this. As an Eisenhower, I remember it!) In one of Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union addresses, during his first term of office, he used the word "sin." And no President had used the word "sin" in a public address from Dwight Eisenhower, early fifties, all the way up to about 1974. And Carl Menninger was saying this is not a good thing. This is not a good thing, and he wrote the book Whatever Became of Sin? to say we've got to get back to being able to utilize moral and religious categories in our public comment.
And so I want to say we can say George W. Bush was right or we can say he was wrong. But let's not criticize our public leaders for simply using terms like "sin" or like "evil." Because we've had long stretches where they didn't, and we didn't like those long stretches where Presidents didn't use categories like this. So you can say, "George W. BushÑI'm with him." You can say, "George W. BushÑI'm against him." But let's not gang up on political leaders that want to use moral categories to talk about our experience, because we really do live in a moral universe and there are no substitute terms that we could come up with that will replace terms like, for instance, "evil." It has a definite meaning, and we know what that definite meaning is. It means it contradicts God's character, it contradicts God's creation, it hurts people, it ends up defeating itself. So let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask, Lord, that we would let your Word give us the terms that we need to talk about what really goes on in our world. Lord, we know that your Word is our light in darkness, and if we're going to describe our experience accurately, we need to allow ourselves to be guided and educated by your Word. Lord, we thank you for all of the blessings that we receive living in this wonderful country of ours. Lord, we ask that the hesitance to use words like "sin" and "evil," Lord, that this would be shown to be an impoverishment of our national vocabulary. Lord, we thank you for your rule and your reign. We ask, Lord, that you would rule and reign more completely in us and in our nation. And it's in the strong name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Will Eisenhower Interim Pastor Faith Presbyterian Church Minnetonka, Minnesota
[Transcribed from an audiotape of the 9:00 a.m. worship service on May 4, 2003.] |
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