In my previous post, we talked about how the Left has a difficult time accepting the concept, indeed the reality, of evil. When President George W. Bush denounced the 9-11 terrorists as evil doers, many on the Left “rolled their eyes and dismissed his claim as simple-minded and out-of- touch.”[1]
Some will concede that while people are not evil, they do evil things.[2] Secularists identify multiple reasons why people do evil (upbringing, environment, or even improper development of the prefrontal cortex!)—the bottom line is that the Left shifts the responsibility from the individual to other possible causes. While some of these causes may be contributors to acts of evil, they are not the core reasons why people do evil.
People do evil because people are evil. People do wicked things because people are wicked—at their core. Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” Biblical Christians understand that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, everything about us fell into a state of disrepair: mind, will, emotions, and body. When confronted by Nathan the prophet, David recognizes this was the reason for his adultery and murder: “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” Paul reminds us that, “By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.”[3] Jesus made it clear, “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light.[4]
This is why the Incarnation that we celebrate at this time of the year is so critical to understand, and so wonderful to behold!! With the Imago Dei damaged beyond human repair, God’s plan all along, “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4 CSB) was to initiate a plan so that “in the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4 NASB) or “when the right time came (Galations 4:4 NLT), God sent His Son to redeem a broken and evil world by redeeming broken and evil hearts.
As Christmas approaches, focus on this: Jesus became one of us to deliver us from the absolute power of and penalty for our wicked sin and sin nature. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18 NASB)
Russ Barksdale, Ph.D.
December 18, 2022
Please note: My intention is to speak into contemporary and cultural issues from a biblical world and life view. I will initially post these on various platforms (Substack, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), but beginning January 1st, 2023, they will ONLY be viewed FULLY on Patreon. Instructions on how to subscribe will be forthcoming.
[1] Luke Russell, The Conversation.com, Does Evil Exist and if So, are some people just plain evil?, 5-22-2014.
[2] Ralph Lewis, M.D., “What Actually is Evil? What makes people carry out evil Acts,” Psychology Today, 6-10-2021
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eph 2:3). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 3:19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.