A Look at the Problem of "Good" and "Evil"
by Faidh-Naomh Shannon mac UlchabhanBeag
Copyright 2003
I have for some time held the belief that there is no good or evil until an action has been initiated and/or concluded. What we consider to be good or evil are no more than interpretations of the effects of causes.
Philosophically speaking, it could be said, and will be found to be quite true, that there is an equal measure of good and evil in everything. The degree of either will depend upon the degree of our perceptions, or our point-of-view if you will (belief structures, social programming, learned behaviors, etc.). In some cases, good or evil effects of a causation(s) will become apparent only after some time, the effects not occurring in immediate temporality, or perhaps developing and arising with the influence of a secondary causation occurring after the initial cause.
Of evil, the best definition that I have yet happened upon was put forth by Migene Wippler, who says that evil is more than negativism, it is excess. She goes on to say that the root of evil is to be found in exceesive pride, greed, envy, lust (for power or for the flesh), etc. I see it also as the symptom of one who is governed by their lower self as opposed to one who takes control and governs his/her animal nature.
One of the largest obstacles to the advancement of man in the present era is a misunderstanding arising from an ignorance (generally unwitting, but not always so) of the dualistic nature of things, �good� and �evil�, and the superficial interpretation of opposition. Positive and Negative may attract or repel, but it is important to remember that while they are two extreems, the magnet is One thing.
It was A.E. Waite who once said that �the line between black and white is not so easily drawn�. Again, this is largely because everything contains an equal measure of potential for either good or bad. This brings us to intent, what I currently view, in one sense, as the polarization of the will prior to action. For the first example, we will consider the �Good� or �Bad� of a gun.
Assume for a moment that a disturbed man walks into a building with a gun and begins to shoot at a number of innocent people. Let us also assume that there is a police officer there that has a gun himself, and that he uses this gun to bring down the man who would senselessly kill innocent civilians. We could point out a �bad�, in that a life had to be thrown away rather needlessly. We could also point out a �good� on the grounds that many �good� citizens were saved at the expense of one who had lost his way. Another �good� in this action could be that perhaps it served as a wake up call to the others to give them a fresh view of the value of life.
As I said before, the degree and quantity of the polarities noticed will depend upon ones individual point-of-view, with all of its accompanying morals, biases, deductions, etc. My point is only that good and bad exist simultaneously in everything at all times as pure potential, and come to life only in our perception. Reality is very flexible, and adaptable to whatever purposes we project into it.
The truth that both are present simultaneously is testified in that they are inseparable, indeed, creation is rather dualistic. They can be divided no more so than you can break a magnet in half, which will then yield two magnets with a positive and negative pole each. You do what you have to do under the circumstances, but it should be evident by now that the good or evil was not in the guns used, but the actions and intents of their users. So long as misguided souls exist who seek to hurt others for some kind of twisted pleasure weapons will probably always be around. The answer to the problem is not gun control, but how to teach people the value and the laws of life and the true keys to positive living, but I digress somewhat.
When we share our reality with that of another being, as opposed to an �object�, then it becomes a little more intricate. Let�s assume for this second example that Roy sets up Howard, a lonely co-worker in his office, with his single friend Liza, who is also feeling a little lonely these days. They hit it off and for several months everything is going smooth, but then one night Howard comes home from the bar a little drunk and stressed from a �bad� day. At this point he decides to verbally abuse Liza as he initates the process of taking his frustrations out on her, thus losing control of his emotions and eventually slapping her. He has now hurt her physically and emotionally and she leaves him.
Now, it could be seen as a bad thing that Roy set them up, and even though Roy did not choose Howards actions for him there is still a bit of a karmic responsibility. A little discretion is always wise, and I bring this matter up only to incite your consideration of some of the more subtle aspects of this discussion.
There is a ceaseless (though false and unneccesary) war between good and evil being fought in our media and our religions, with all of its conflicts and skirmishes, and its propagator is ignorance. The generaly negative exoteric view of �Satans� work in the world is little more than the attempted projection by individuals (collectively and/or otherwise) of an internal conflict upon our environment (which carries no conflict- remove man and nature functions in peaceful balance).
�Satan� is sadly quite often the rallying cry of excuse when one commits a wrongful action for twisted pleasure, a last ditch effort to push responsibility off of the self and onto some other being or thing in the hopes of not having to accept the consequences of ones own action.
The true nature of "Lucifer" has been forgotten.
That which is �bad� is a great teacher and a wonderful builder of strength and character, when seen for what it really is. For example, and in keeping with the spirit of an earlier example, we can learn the value of life and the undesirable sorrow of suffering by way of sympathy when we witness in the daily news the sad stories of those who have lost loved ones to the blatant disregard for life, a plague in a number of places as almost all major cities in america have their ghetto.
The solution is not in �eradicating� the problem. That is folly. For evil will only cease when good does, and when good ceases, so will evil. To war against �evil� is a foolish waste of time and energy, and sometimes life, not to mention absolutely futile. To learn and grow from it, to learn what is really a mistake and how to not repeat such, that is productive and wise, and is the redemption which brings out the �good� in the �bad�. Without adversity and trial and obstacle we would do little in growth or developement.
One of the negative views held by the majority of the followers of exoteric religions which saddens me deeply is the faulty reasoning that the flesh or material world is innately evil. Again, a half-truth as it is also innately good, and it will be what we �make it� and will have the purposes we apply to it. If the material world was really so evil, why would God create our fleshly vehicles for the soul to animate them? What would be the point of creating a universe to be 'peopled' with all the potencies of life and growth?
Love is why, and love does not consist of the sadistic human attributions of of mans fears and shadows, given to God by the words of men who have sought to make God in his own likeness and image. God, being the creator of all things, and naturally transcending them, is comprehensible to an extent based on observations of his expression in creation, but ultimately unknowable in the absolute sense. For one to comprehend God would require one to be God themself. Man can get closer than other creatures, but man is not THAT in Its totality, only in portion.
When we accept the previously mentioned unhealthy view of the world we are programming our subconscious with the message that life is unclean and filthy. In this respect the quality of life in the eyes of many is being destroyed by the spiritual elect that they trust and rely on for guidance, who spoon-feed a lot of crap to them because most of the elect have been brainwashed with the same.
We act in accord with the inner sprouts of these flawed seed thoughts, and consequentaly make our lives much less than they could be by degrading our gift in this way. In light of this, much of orthodox religion is mankinds Judas. If we heed the teaching of Lugh Lamhfada then we know that there is no external saviour. We are our own redeemers. Divinity acts directly upon the world through its own creation and Lugh is the divine within us. That�s why each of us has the power to impact the world, individual or collectively. We fashion it via desire and intent. When we feel like sh*t, we project that feeling into our interpretation of our environment. When we act on it we project that into our environment. 6th Street doesn't rob people, but it may be where a lot of robbers choose to gather.
In drawing this chapter to a conclusion, I would like to address something that saddened me in the months following the attack on 11 September 2001. I remember watching a few faith based programs to see how the general population was reacting to this, and a number of interviews were conducted with people who had lost loved ones in the WTC buildings. There was one who really stood out, as she had commented that she had lost her faith in God and did not understand how a higher power could allow this to happen.
My own experience has led me to understand that if a �higher power� directed and controled creation alone, it would negate the entire concept of free-will (I will be addressing the issue of free-will and predestination in a later essay) and, in one sense, cancel the purpose of Life as a great school-ground of experience.
Ever since the garden, man has had the knowledge of good and evil- has had the gift of intellect. Man has the liberty to choose. It must be understood that �evil� exists necessarily, and always will, even if we should �seal the door where it dwells�. It is a part of everyone, an inherent potentiality, and denying it serves no good. Denial is petty escapism. This does not mean however that we should strive for evilish deeds. If it were not for evil to contrast with good, we would not have, nor be able to fathom, goodness, simply because everything has its opposite and to negate the one is to negate the other. The shadow must be faced and outgrown.
I feel that sometimes large-scale events such as these are necessary to send a grander message to the whole of man. Yet it seems to get lost in the personal attachments to the vehicle(s) we have become familiar with and the illusory vision of false reality that most of us are content to just accept (extreem materialism) as that is how it appears to the eyes of faulty reasoning on the surface. Some would to call that �shallow�. More sad however is the fact that until the lesson is learned, cycles such as these are �doomed� to repitition.
