Ceding the world to evil

I often wonder how people who speak glowingly about the omnipotence and omnipresence of God also speak just as strongly about what they say is the overwhelming dominance and control of the world by the devil. I expect to be accused of missing the point of such a frequently expressed claim on the basis that I am lacking in religious depth, especially since I do not run around boasting about my personal relationship with the Almighty.  In any case, if the claim that Satan is in charge of the world is spiritual, then there must be a better way to explain how that is so. As it currently stands, people who are fond of the expression generally lack the ability to explain it to people like me who still accept the fact that I am human in this world and that, despite my spirituality, there is a physical side to my existence.  They might remind me that even Jesus Christ referred to Satan as the ruler of “this” world, but that reminder would be out of Biblical context, since Christ was talking about the world in which he lived; the world that would eventually crucify him. I prefer to believe the Biblical message that, by his death and resurrection, Christ conquered Satan and took over rulership of the world.   

Since I do not hold myself out as a religious cleric, which I am not, nor am I one who is ever interested in showing off my knowledge of scriptures, I should clarify that my point is not to do that here.  Instead, it is, as I often do, to ponder aloud matters that I would normally keep to myself except for the fact that I consider them to be relevant to culture and society, and by extension to our varied perceptions of our world and the limits of supernatural authority.  If we believe that God is truly omnipresent and omnipotent, which I wholeheartedly believe he is, how can he at the same time be so powerless as to let the devil win control over a world in which he (God) is omnipresent and all-powerful; a world that he created? When did the battle occur that God lost?  To the best of my knowledge, never!

Not even a “blind bat” would deny that our world now harbors an incredible amount of evil.  However, even if one was inclined to argue that there is now much more evil in our world, the reality is that there has always been an extensive amount of evil here.  If the argument is whether or not the presence of evil has increased, the nature of that argument can rest on either side of qualitative and quantitative considerations that are bound to produce results which eventually satisfy nobody.  How does one weigh the evil experienced by one person or group alongside (or against) that experienced by another without suggesting that one evil is weightier and therefore more worthy of consideration than the other?  

Unless there is a collective acknowledgment of what evil is, as well as collective agreement to collaborate in fighting evil wherever and whenever it arises, any claim of the devil’s dominant control of the world is at best silly.  What moral sense does it make that the same people who directly or indirectly destroy the lives of others, because of whatever minority status those “others” possess, feel justified to lecture anyone on what evil is? Even in that role, they are privileged by the fact that any act that they recognize as evil is one that they do not benefit from.  I find it worthy of contemptuous ridicule that those are always the same people who tell us that Satan rules the world. They tell us so only when what the prevailing act that they define as evil does not benefit them. Even if they are willing to concede that they are Satan’s representatives in the world, I will forever be unwilling to concede that slavery was just, that racism and anti-Semitism are acceptable, that homophobia is Godly or that support for policies that sustain poverty is a demonstration of love for people and country.  Each is a display of hatred and hate in every form in which it exists is evil.

Every entry into the world, or every exposure that we experience to be an unpalatable event, is cast in apocalyptic terms by people who claim to be God’s spokespersons.  Those are often people more anxious than God to condemn others for developments whose genesis lie in factors that exist outside the limited confines of human comprehension.  Sometimes, things are just what they are, and require no deep analysis. For example, the fact that we did not expect our world to be upended by a health crisis made worse by utmost lack of leadership around the world does not mean that the world has just about come to an end, or that God has lost his authority and outsourced his speaking ability to mere mortals.  It also does not mean that the devil has unleashed a destructive force that God could not, and cannot contain. We can call anything evil, but that does not make everything evil. There is no monopoly to the authority to call something evil. Each of us may do that, but the fact that we can does not mean that we should do so only when the prevailing circumstances do not favor our interests and desires.  

At times like this, or anytime, it behooves us all to declutter our lives, getting rid of the hate, incompetence, ignorance and contradictions that support increasing evil in our world.  People who sing and believe that “He (God) has the whole world in his hands” should reflect on those words and decide how comfortable they also are in making a claim that Satan is the king of the world.  If they understand what this means, then they might join in the battle that we should all strive to fight against evil in whatever form it arises. Therefore, while singing, it might also be a good idea that those of us who have been so blessed should also put some of our resources toward helping our less privileged neighbors, including those who have lost employment, income and housing during a crisis that has been packed with incredible lessons for all who wish to learn. 

For as long as the world exists, there will always be evil – however we define it.  In that respect, I believe that where we sit is where we stand. However, on every matter that I perceive to be evil on the basis of my humanity and spirituality, I will always stand up and resist the spread of evil.  People who use their positions of influence to promote evil, and systems built to sustain evil acts, should not be encouraged or rewarded. They must constantly be on notice that we will stand up for good even in the face of stark evil.  That is how we can fight. It is also how we can win against the proliferation of evil. We must not cede our world to evil.

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