I'm getting ready for this weekend's sermon.
It is part two in a sermon series I'm doing over the summer.
The title is "A Faithful Conversation on Evil".
Nothing like the word "evil" to get people's attention, eh?
Wanna know a secret?
It isn't really about evil.
Oh, we'll be talking about evil.
We? Yes, I said "we." I'll be preaching with my friend and colleague, Lori Hlaban.
(Wanna a preview? You can see us hanging out at GA--shortly after we planned out the sermon--on Dan Harpers blog.)
Anyway, we'll be having a conversation on evil in the pulpit.
But the service isn't really about evil.
It's about having a faithful conversation.
We're preaching through modeling. (Cool, eh?)
When was the last time you had an in-depth conversation with someone about what you believe?
However you answer, you should do it more often.
'Cause that's what we are supposed to be doing. That's what our religion is all about.
It is how we learn about each other and how we further develop our beliefs.
All that through conversation.
How cool is that?!?
Wanna know what I learned?
My concept of evil still has a huge hole in it.
(Actually, I already knew that. What I learned is that the hole is obvious to others, too.)
Gotta work on that.
Anyone have a decent explanation for people who do evil for the sheer joy of it?
By Sunday?
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4 comments:
But isn't that part of the point, too? That we don't have to have everything perfectly thought out?
"People who do evil for the pure joy of it"?? I think (hope) the number of people who enjoy evil for evil's sake are few and far between. Most people who we consider evil believe that their actions are necessary for the greater good. Albeit in a twisted contorted sort of way. Hitler really believed that exterminating the Jews and others would be of great benefit to Germany in the long run. Did he get joy in doing so?
Bring the example down to a possibly more local and immediate evil. Domestic Violence. It exists in every community in our nation. Does the person committing the violence get joy out of doing these acts of violence against someone he or she states they love? The perpetrator of this evil has a rationale as to why such action was necessary. Is it a sound rationale, no, but a rationale nonetheless.
I have a hard time believing that there are people who commit evil for the sheer joy of it. It seems antithetical to me. As well as the stuff of comic books and movies. MOre likely is we personify the person in such a manner because we find the evil so abhorent that stating it was done for the pure joy of it separates the evil further away from believing we could ever commit such an act. And should we ever commit such an evil, it was because it was a necessary act for what we perceived as the greater good making us less evil than the person who did so for the sheer joy of it.
I recently wrote a sermon on the Theology of Torture, you can find it on my blog. I quote Bill Schulz's Berry Street lecture on torture which might also be a good resource for you.
This is a good topic, Craig, and I would be interested in reading what you and Lori have to say about it. Blessings,
Hey, Fred! My actual question to Craig in our conversation was not about someone who commits evil for sheer joy, but about (a) people who commit evil because of what I called the arrogance of power, and (b) people who commit evil just because they can. Yes, it happens. It may not bring them joy - but they can do it & get away with it. Truly - I don't have a good answer, either.
"the stuff of comic books..."
You say that like its a bad thing...
Sometimes those 4 color panels have more wisdom than we care to admit.
I've met people who have perpetrated evil for reasons unfathomable to me, and for reasons fathomable though still unjustifiable. I suspect, considering our shared history, so have you, good colleague.
The question is not "do these people exist?" but rather, "why do these people exist?"
I have guesses, though my answers have not led me to a better understanding of how to deal with their actions.
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