What Is Evil?

When asked the question, what is evil, thousands of questions should come to mind. Is breaking the law evil? Is disobeying our parents? Is doing drugs or eating fish on Fridays? Is jaywalking or littering? Is killing someone evil? Or taking advantage of another? Many religions have tried to answer some of these questions, but it’s just too confusing because they hardly ever agree with each other. Evil is really a matter of perspective; we really wouldn’t know what good was unless there was something we could call evil. So does that mean everyone should just run around in complete chaos, doing what ever they like because nothing is really evil? No, one of the things that makes us human is that we can distinguish between good and evil.

I’ve been accused of being evil many times, mostly because of my appearance and religion. But when I tell my friends about people’s accusations they laugh because they know such assumptions couldn’t be farther from the truth. I believe that any human is capable of committing terribly evil acts, but that no human is evil. It seems ironic that there are people who preach redemption, yet scream for the blood of the evil. Where is the fine line between redeemable and pure evil? I quote Martin Luther King in saying “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

So today I light the chalice for open minds.