The Bible Explained, part 27/40: The Nature of Evil

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THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

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Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

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Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

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The Nature of Evil

The Oxford Dictionary defines 'evil' as "morally bad or wicked; harmful or tending to harm, especially intentionally or characteristically." Who is qualified to determine what is 'morally bad' or 'wicked' or 'harmful'?

Qualified Authority: If God is the creator of all things, then he is also the owner of all things, and therefore the only legitimate authority over all things. As such, he is the only one qualified to define evil. Without a creator, there is no owner and, therefore, no qualified authority to define evil -- so the notion of evil is invalid, since no one is qualified to define it.

Evil Defined: Evil is best defined when contrasted with good, since the two are opposites. Good creates, evil destroys; good is selfless benevolence, evil is selfish ambition; evil is a parasite which feeds off of good: without evil, good would thrive; without good, evil would die. God's Ten Commandments divides good from evil: he who keeps the Ten Commandments does good; he who breaks the Ten Commandments does evil.

Source of Evil: Ultimately, God created all things, including good and evil: "I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things." [Isaiah 45:7] While God himself does not do evil, he permits evil to be done -- for a time, to serve his purpose of instructing man in the ways of good and evil. God initially created all things good; and gave his creatures freewill and his good law. Keeping the law is good (constructive); breaking the law is evil (destructive). Lucifer, an angel (spirit being), used his freewill to rebel against God's law, and therefore earned the title Satan the devil -- God's adversary. Thus, Lucifer became the source of evil when he chose to rebel against his creator by breaking his law. As you can see, without God the creator of all things, the concept of good and evil is null and void, since God is the source of good; and God's adversary -- Satan the devil -- is the source of evil. The devil's desire is to destroy the works of God -- particularly mankind -- in order to preserve his own life. In order to recognize evil, you must know the nature of the devil.

Wiles of the Devil: Satan is the father of lies, and therefore always contradicts God, who is the source of truth. Satan's first lie to humans was a direct contradiction of God's word: In Genesis 2:17, God says 'you shall surely die', but Satan counters with 'you shall not surely die' in Genesis 3:4. Since then, Satan has continued to lie to mankind: Genesis 1:1 says that God created heaven and earth, but Satan counters with 'God did not create heaven and earth'; Genesis 1 tells us that God created life on earth, but Satan counters 'God did not create life of earth'; God says he created man, but Satan counters 'God did not create man'; God says he created man male and female, but Satan counters 'God did not create them male and female, and they are therefore interchangeable -- men can be women, and women can be men'; God says marriage is between one man and one woman, but Satan counters 'marriage in not between one man and one woman'; God tells us a husband is the head of his wife, but Satan counters 'the husband is not the head of his wife -- men and women are the same and therefore interchangeable'; God says men are to work and women are to raise children, but Satan counters 'women are to work and turn their children over to others'; God tells man to be fruitful and multiply, but Satan counters with 'be fruitless and diminish'; God says man is to have dominion over the earth and its creatures, but Satan counters 'man is not to dominate the earth or its creatures'; God says 'you shall execute murderers, rapists, and kidnappers', but Satan counters 'you shall not execute murderers, rapists, and kidnappers'. You cannot recognize the lies of Satan unless you first know the truth -- the word of God.

Good and Evil People: There are two types of people on the earth: good and evil. The good know God and keep his commandments. Among the evil are two classes: the Ignorant and the Obstinate.

The Ignorant Evil: The Ignorant evil possess no direct knowledge of God or his ways, yet, being unwittingly manipulated by the devil, they blindly and vehemently oppose the things of God. Knowledge of God and his word is light; ignorance of God and his word is darkness: With this in mind, the Ignorant are identified by their hostile reaction to the light, since the light agitates the darkness. Thus, the Ignorant are recognized by their unreasonable reaction to the light, for there is power in the name and word of God -- power to evoke an irrational reaction from the Ignorant. In summary, the name of God, or the quoted word of God, will usually evoke a hostile reaction from the Ignorant. The Ignorant are generally poorly educated, highly emotional, and can be found marching in the streets in protest of all godly things. It is impossible to reason with the Ignorant, since they have no interest in knowledge: "A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." [Proverbs 18:2] The Ignorant evil are sometimes referred to as 'useful idiots' by the Obstinate evil.

The Obstinate Evil: The Obstinate evil know the word of God but, being blinded by pride in their own knowledge and understanding, refuse to acknowledge it as truth. The Obstinate are generally highly educated and can be found in government, among legislators and judges, within religious organizations, in media, in educational institutions, etc. -- offices which can be used to pervert and attack the laws and ways of God. The Obstinate are difficult to identify, since they are hypocrites who, like Satan, transform themselves into angels (messengers) of light: They appear good on the outside but are evil on the inside. Nevertheless, as a tree is known by its fruit, so the Obstinate are recognized by their deeds: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." [Matthew 7:15-20] The Obstinate are extremely cunning, possessing the craftiness of their father the devil. The only way to deal with the Obstinate is to quote to them the word of God verbatim -- just as Jesus did when he was confronted by the devil (see Matthew 4:1-11). If you attempt to reason with the Obstinate, you will only damage yourself: "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself." [Proverbs 9:7]

Dealing With Evil People: Once you have identified an evil person, avoid him. You may be tempted to enlighten an evil person, however, this is futile: the Ignorant person has no interest in knowledge, but only in venting his own feelings; whereas the heart and mind of the Obstinate person has been sealed by the father of pride. The Ignorant are usually manipulated by the Obstinate to do great evil. For example, in the condemnation of Jesus, the Obstinate stirred up the Ignorant to call for the blood of an innocent man. Never underestimate the power of ignorant people in large numbers. Are evil people lost forever? No. God will deal with evil people for a time; but if they persist in their prideful ways, he will turn them over to Satan to be chastised by him in a final effort to save them: "Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." [1 Corinthians 5:5]

The Reflecting Mirror: The word of God is the perfect mirror. When we look upon the word of God we see ourselves; specifically, we see our imperfections and ugliness. The wise man, beholding his shortcomings in the mirror, seeks to remedy his faults; the foolish man, beholding his shortcomings in the mirror, seeks to hide and destroy the mirror. "He who reproves a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blemish. Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." [Proverbs 9:7-9] The word of God is powerful light which exposes darkness; evil hates light, but loves darkness. Evil cannot endure the power of the name or word of God, always seeking to put them out of its sight. If you cannot stand the name or word of God, it is because you are filled with darkness, being blinded by the devil -- the father of pride.

Barriers to God

The greatest barriers to God are pride, self-
centredness, and a lack of understanding of God's plan for mankind.

Recognizing Pride: Pride is trust (faith) in one's self rather than in God. To identify pride, consider the following statement: 'God alone is wise; man's wisdom is foolishness': If you disagree, you are proud. If you trust your intellect as the ultimate arbiter of truth, you violate the first two of the Ten Commandments: you have made an idol of your intellect and put it in the place of God as the ultimate arbiter of truth. If your intellect is the product of chance, would you trust it? If your intellect is the product of intelligence, would you trust it? God tells us to trust him rather than our intellect: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." [Proverbs 3:5] God wants us to trust him because man's mind is in a fallen state and therefore unreliable, whereas God is perfect and has man's best interest at heart.

Self-centredness: Everything God makes renders service: the sun gives its light; the earth brings forth its produce and creatures. In the parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30), God gave all his servants talent; however, one servant refused to use his talent and, consequently, was cast into outer darkness (destroyed in hell). The person who refuses to render service to God will die: "'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" [Matthew 25:30] Only those things which bring glory to God bear a reward in the Day of Judgement. If you use your talent to bring glory to yourself, you have your reward on the earth -- and will receive nothing from God in the Day of Recompense. Woe to the man who uses his talent to bring glory to the devil and does not repent of it.

Death and Suffering: Some people refuse to believe in a benevolent creator because of the presence of death and suffering in the world. God created the universe perfect, but death and suffering entered into it as a consequence of man's actions. Imagine you're a parent who has just begotten a child, whom you bring into your house and lock in a cage, lest he should disrupt your neatly ordered home. Instead of locking man in a "cage", God gave him freewill, which he promptly used to make a mess of God's creation by introducing death and suffering into it. If God is all-powerful, why does he not simply clean up the mess made by man? That is exactly what God is in the process of doing; however, God works according to his own schedule and ways -- and no one can force his hand.

Why Evil: Why does God permit evil? God created us to be like him, so that we may have a peer-to-peer relationship with him. Before such a relationship can be realized, we must become like God, which is why we're here: God put us in the midst of a world of good and evil so that we may gain knowledge of both in order that we may choose one over the other. God wants us to choose good and reject evil, since God is good: "No one is good but One, that is, God." [Matthew 19:17] God is not only good, he is also absolute: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." [James 1:17] Since God is good and absolute, we must choose goodness and eternity if we are to have a peer-to-peer relationship with him. God's current creation includes the freedom to do evil; God's forthcoming creation (eternity) will not include the freedom to do evil -- and that's why it will last forever. If you abhor evil, you will fare well in eternity.

Changing Sides: "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it." [Ezekiel 33:18-19] As you can see, through the utilization of your freewill, it is possible for you to change sides: A good person can become evil; and an evil person can become good. Nevertheless, it is better for a good person to remain as he is; and it is easier for an evil person to remain as he is: If a good person chooses to become evil, he will lose his life; if an evil person chooses to become good, the devil will promptly attack him: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." [1 Peter 5:8] The devil attacks only good people; the devil does not attack evil people, since they already belong to him.

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The above book is available for purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com

Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061

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The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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