Posted by
ricaler on Saturday, September 01, 2007 11:04:03 PM
While listening to public discourse, the word evil frequently is used to describe the worst sort of character or individual. I would suggest that the meaning must be compared to opposing values. Starting with the concept of truth, the opposite of this would be error. The next step beyond truth could be goodness and the opposite would then be the concept of evil. To repeat, as error is the opposite of truth, so is evil the opposite of goodness. Now for the sticky part. In todays secular society the next step and words are considered inappropriate. So, beyond evil is another concept. If evil is the rejection of truth and if that individual knows the truth, then we enter the borderland of sin, a word and concept avoided by most. Now consider for a moment the opposite of sin and another rarely used word could be righteousness, a meaning of which is beyond goodness. Righteousness is goodness embraced and purposely chosen in place of sin. ....Hope you're still with me... Ready for one more step.. Then consider another concept of choosing sin over and over again, rejecting truth each time the opportunity arises. Deliberate and habitual sin crosses into the area of iniquity. These persons have gone so far to "the dark side" that I suspect they have warped their moral judgement and cannot return ever to choose goodness. Much like the characters of the "emperor" in the epic "Star Wars" and "Sauron" in the "Lord of the Rings". These characters were more than evil, they were iniquitous! Does this make some sense? And now for the opposite concept of iniquity, the concept of godliness. Whether any human can reach this level is debatable, but the admonition of "be you perfect" suggests that just perhaps...it is possible.