About 10 years ago I gave a sermon on the topic of evil. Following it, I received the strongest reaction to a sermon that I have ever had. For ten years I have meant to get back to evil, if for no other reason than it was clear that I had said something that meant a lot to many - even if there was disagreement. So you might say that today is round 2, or the sequel, or perhaps just another chapter. And while I've been meaning to get back to evil for a long time, it wasn't until my six months on sabbatical that I knew I was overdue.

Two incidences occurred during those 6 months that have shaped our consciousness as individuals and as a nation: Kosovo and Columbine. Perhaps it was because of my distance from home, it might have been because at one point my Philippine friends wanted to talk about it, or maybe it was because of my wanting to talk with you about it, but whatever the reasons I was struck and moved by the reports, discussions and comments that all spoke about these horrific, destructive and life-altering events in terms of evil. We were bombing Kosovo because, we were told, Slobodan Milosevic was an evil man, because the acts he was committing against innocent people were evil acts, because his intentions were parallel to other evil oppressors the world had stood by and watched, and we would watch no longer. And in Colorado, at Columbine High, some suggested that evil had to be behind the boys actions - nothing else could explain it: an evil society, evil friends, evil ideas - for some, this was all that seemed to work, to explain it. I think that everybody has realized in the aftermath of Columbine, especially following the murders and hate crimes that have occurred since then, that no one is exempt, no one can claim protection, it could happen here. Living with this kind of anxiety and fear deserves special recognition, it calls for powerful language, and for many describing these people and actions as evil answers the challenge for we don't throw the word around lightly - evil is a word saved for special settings and persons.

In her most recent book, Annie Dillard writes that, "Many times in Christian churches I have heard the pastor say to God, 'All your actions show your wisdom and love.' Each time, I reach in vain for the courage to rise and shout, 'That's a lie!' - just to put things on a solid footing." (85) I could promise you solid footing this morning, that I would put you at ease and accepting of evil people and behavior, but we all know that would be a lie. I could promise you that there were no other chapters, no more rounds, in this presentation of evil and that would be a lie too. The truth is that the murders at Columbine, the deaths in Kosovo are but two more examples of a reality we live with, that some have grown used to, that many would prefer to ignore, that few are comfortable explaining in any kind of meaningful way. It's in light of this truth that Lawrence Kushner's parting comments shape the beginning of all meaningful struggle with evil: "What is evil and where does it come from?"

In addition to all of the usual kinds of preparation and tricks that I often use to write a sermon, this time I did a small, informal poll - "What do you think of evil," I asked people. Among the responses were laughter, blank stares, comments like "I don't believe in it," "Just what do you mean by evil?" "I'd have to think about it," as well as a few who had some rather sophisticated answers which included the person who reminded me that "It was said of Mae West that whenever she was forced to choose between two evils, she always picked the one she hadn't tried yet, and could we have the wisdom to do likewise." (Wheat) Among those who wanted to talk about evil, among those who have bothered to explain what they mean by the word, the distinction is drawn between "bad" and "evil." The difference focuses on intention, deliberateness, making it personal. For example, the destruction caused by Hurricane Floyd, the forest fires in the west or the virus bearing mosquitoes in New York City, these are bad - not deliberate, intended to hurt one person, a group or region, there's nothing personal about it; most will agree that these are simply acts of nature, they're random. It would be wrong to call these evil. On the other hand, the ethnic cleansing by Serb leaders, the murders committed by Columbine students, the bombing at Oklahoma City, the torture committed by the Pinochet regime in Chile - these are called evil, bad and evil acts because they were destructive, painful, they hurt people in ways that were not only intentional but out of the ordinary, unreasonable, beyond justification and outside the scope of human decency and respect. I'm sure you could add to a list of the differences between bad and evil, but in general I think that the differences are marked by intention, deliberateness and severity.

But there's more. While no one I've talked with wanted to say much about it, evil seems to carry a deeper sense beyond what I've just described. Call it sinister, insidious, malevolent, it's these qualities that take the personal aspect of evil one step further - evil, some suggest, has to do with the character of the person not just in the act they've committed. That is to say, evil describes more than action and behavior, it's descriptive of the person who does the act, makes the wish, or makes the suggestion - the person is evil.

This morning, I'm not talking about "why bad things happen to good people." Nor am I talking about why good things happen to bad people. At this point in my life I'm comfortable with simply answering each with "Because, that's the way things are." But evil - this is different or at least it feels different. As we were talking about it in class on Thursday night, I want to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all people; I want to affirm and promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations. But where in these two (and in the other five "Principles" of Unitarian Universalism) do I come to grips with evil? What is it and where does it come from? Let me offer 8 explanations, many of which you've heard and maybe believe.

One theory explains evil acts committed by those who suffered early traumatic conditioning that shaped thinking and behavior in powerful and sustaining ways. We've all read, seen or maybe experienced the problems and results: birthing complications, malnourishment, injuries; physical and verbal abuse, conditional affection, parental withdrawal; powerlessness, embarrassment, disfigurement. The list is long and the results could be explosive.

Another theory explains that evil is dependent on hereditary - all that is needed is some kind of an imbalance somewhere in the vast system that makes us tick, just one imbalance and our whole being can be out of whack. I remember as a sociology major in college, reading an entire chapter in my criminology textbook about all the physiological dysfunctions that could lead to criminal behavior. It was frightening.

A third explanation recognizes the importance of the first two but then says that both are subject to the real life experiences of peer pressure - one's social group. The expectations, lessons and demands made by your friends and colleagues - whether real or thought of as real - are significant in determining behavior.

Fourth - the choice factor. It's your choice as to how you want to act, it's called free will, you can do whatever you like, right or wrong, good or evil. Regardless of what happened growing up, no matter what you've inherited, it makes no difference who your friends are, you know what's right and what's wrong and you can choose, and then deal with the consequences determined by your choice.

Next, even if all of these four are accurate and even truthful explanations for why evil is done, the fifth explanation says that it was karma that made it so - it's happened this way because of something from the past, a past life, and though we don't understand it all - why it's exactly happening this way - we can be sure that there is an overall plan, a cosmic pattern of which we are just a small part.

A sixth theory - something is missing. That's right, you've even heard the expression made about somebody else: "Goodness, that's person obviously got something missing in them." Or, "That boy or girl, man or woman, is no good." Or, "Hello, anybody up there?" These all suggest the same thing - that something essentially human is missing, there's a hole in the personality inventory. As if to say, evil is committed not because of something but because of the lack of something, something decidedly human.

These explanations then are often given for evil: conditioning, heredity, social pressure, free will, karma and lacuna (an absence of something fundamental). And there are two more which I want to spend a little more time explaining because of the importance I think they have for us - they are among the most common reasons given for the existence and recognition of evil.

Let me tell you about an experience to get to the first one. One of the few outstanding recollections I have from elementary school is one afternoon on the playground, during recess. It's just a moving snapshot: a good friend, Steve, is pinned against a chainlink fence with his stomach and face turned away from the crowd of kids who are stoning him with fistfuls of gravel while shouting in unison, "Jew-boy, Jew-boy, Jew-boy." I don't know why it happened, I don't remember how it ended. But I can still see it and hear them. I must have eventually gone to someone for an explanation - a teacher, my minister, a neighbor, it could have been my Wednesday lunch time bible school instructor - someone told me that Christians hold Jews responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and that could have been the reason for the stoning, said almost as if this was a plausible and justifiable explanation and reason.

Poor Steve seemed to be bearing the brunt of some people's decision to blame Jesus' death on Jews and the eventual demonization of Jews by some Christians (and then if you want to play it all the way out you'd have to include the demonization of Jews and Christians by some Muslims). Yet this whole process is a superb and enlightening (and often entertaining) piece of the history of how evil came from nowhere into somewhere, and continues to be lived out in examples like the Southern Baptist Convention's proselytizing of Jews on Yom Kippur. For a fuller understanding of this I encourage you to read Elaine Pagels' book The Origin of Satan.

How and why this came about in a moment, but the point I want to make is that evil and western religious belief have been intertwined for at least three millennia. To say that it is a thread in our cultural fabric would be a profound understatement - it covers us, we can't get away from it, it's everywhere: it's in the novels we read, the fairytales we tell, the shows we watch; it's in the classroom, the newspaper, descriptions of athletic events; it's in our dreams, fantasies, myths and conversations over coffee. The forces of righteousness vs. Satan, the children of light and dark, the sons and daughters of Cain and Abel, the Empire vs. the Rebellion - it's everywhere: good versus evil. This is as integral and essential to Western heritage as anything. It is who we are, it is the way we have been taught to think and to feel. So this, then, is a seventh explanation for evil: there are demons out there, people and spirits who are intent on doing us harm, who are agents of the demonic, of Evil (with a capital "E").

Finally, we create evil. Of course bad people exist, of course evil things are done to the innocent, without a doubt acts of evil alarm us all. And we create evil. Listen to Sam Keen: "Generation after generation, we find excuses to hate and dehumanize each other, and we always justify ourselves with the most mature-sounding political rhetoric. And we refuse to admit the obvious. We human beings are Homo hostilis, the hostile species, the enemy-making animal. We are driven to fabricate an enemy. From the unconscious residue of our hostility, we create a target; from our private demons, we conjure a public enemy." The creation of Jews as the enemy of some Christians, the belief that Jews and Christians are the enemies of some Muslims, according to what Keen and others suggest, these enemies and evil-doers are not empirical fact, but psychological fact. They are projections of group denial, of things that the group won't acknowledge about themselves.

Keen is talking about the shadow, an idea introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, but recognized as truth in Eastern religions before there was a Jesus. For everything we see about ourselves and others, there's a hidden side, a shadow side. Evil can be explained as the projections of our shadow-side. Health according to Jung, spiritual completeness according to Hinduism and Buddhism, is recognizing and knowing that we are whole, not just unconscious shadow or conscious self, but both together - the Ying and Yang (as in Taoism). Demons will always exist until this completeness is achieved. The denial and lack of attention to your shadow side, then, is the eighth and final explanation for evil.

So "Where's the beef?" which is to say, where's the hope in all of this? Explanations may be important, they certainly are entertaining, interesting and especially good for discussion (which is what I'll be doing with our youth group in a little bit). But all of these explanations are only good if you also feel as though they provide direction, that something might change, that things are going to be different, perhaps a lessening of evil in the world. And you see, that all depends on you, doesn't it. So this is what I want you to leave with this morning: not the explanations which you can read next week. I want to challenge you by asking you to think about and be able to answer two questions:

After getting you to think about evil for the last 15 minutes or maybe even since announcing my topic for this morning, surely you've probably begun to shape the parameters of a definition and reply to some of the issues I've raised. But please consider this: your answer must be something "you can actually utter and bring yourself to say to someone who is undergoing suffering, or who has a loved one who is, or who has experienced and knows the suffering of the world." In other words, question number one - when your closest friend or family member asks why this evil has occurred, what will you say?

And question number two: How do you reconcile evil with all the good and beauty in the world - all that is of such value in and for you and others?

Regardless of where you are in the shaping of your thoughts about these, include these thoughts from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

Keeping your heart whole means coming to terms with your whole self, with those ideas, beliefs and fears that you project out onto other people and groups. As I said earlier, don't leave thinking evil is merely a matter of projection - there is evil in the world, there is a lot of needless suffering that is caused by evil acts that should not go unpunished.

And, sometimes it's just too easy to create an enemy and say they're at fault. The results of separation and blaming are racism and genocide, ethnic cleansing and school murders, hate crimes and conspiracy bombings. Point the finger everywhere but at ourselves? No. As Solzhenitsyn so eloquently puts it, we are all one and inseparable.

For whatever the reasons, evil exists. I'm comfortable with the distinction between bad and evil. As to whether or not people are evil - as in evil being a quality of being - I'm not sure I'm ready to say that. Evil yes, but evil people? Maybe that will be chapter 3, another round for another Sunday.

Miroslav Volf who teaches theology at Fuller Theological Seminary comments that "We have no language for connecting our inner lives with the horrors that pass before our eyes in the outer world." What he's describing is the role of the faith community, for the church because it is here where we must and will try to make the connection between those horrors and our faith. Let us choose our language carefully and honestly, speaking truth to power with humility.

Blessed be

© the Rev. Fredric J. Muir
October 10, 1999

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