Five Faces of Evil

I wasn't intentionally doing any research on "evil" lately, but an article, two books and a film and a book of the Bible have all presented a perfect storm of insight on evil (and how God deals with it):

First, N.T. Wright's wonderful little book, Evil and the Justice of God, explores the theodicy issue in a very readable manner. The core truth I came away with: Evangelicals (and political figures, when it's convenient) have a habit of talking about "evildoers" as the others ... a category separate from us as good people. Yet, this marginalization of evil is incorrect and unbiblical. God is clear that the thread of evil runs through every culture, government, institution and individual and must be addressed straightforwardly as my problem. ...

Next, Elephant, an independent film inspired by the events of the Columbine shootings, explores the last day of two teenage killers--and their victims. It's not an enjoyable movie, but it unflinchingly demonstrates how the narcissism and cliques in high school culture can become a breeding ground for appalling evil. I was struck again with admiration for the youth pastors and teachers who reach out to kids on the brink of such rage and self-destruction. Who knows what evil they hold back!

I wouldn't recommend reading this article in the Dallas Observer, about a demon-possessed "pastor" in Fort Worth who abused countless women for 25 years. Suffice it to say, it's disturbing to be reminded that evil of this magnitude can be found in the place where people should be going for safety and restoration.

Another great little book is Forgiving the Dead Man Walking, by Debbie Morris. Andy and I both read this and were inspired by the author's account of being kidnapped and raped by two escaped inmates--and her harrowing journey to wholeness. It was amazing to see the power of forgiveness to overcome the effects of evil.

Finally, in reading through the minor prophets, it's clear that God often sends unlikely voices to stand up against evil. It's almost comical to imagine that anyone took Amos seriously at the time--a shepherd/prophet from the backwater village of Tekoa, in Judah, railing against the injustice and immorality of the neighboring kingdom of Israel, recounting visions of earthquakes and disaster in a time of unprecedented prosperity.

"Who does he think he is coming up here and talking like this to us ... ?!"

Five Faces of Evil

I wasn't intentionally doing any research on "evil" lately, but an article, two books and a film and a book of the Bible have all presented a perfect storm of insight on evil (and how God deals with it):

First, N.T. Wright's wonderful little book, Evil and the Justice of God, explores the theodicy issue in a very readable manner. The core truth I came away with: Evangelicals (and political figures, when it's convenient) have a habit of talking about "evildoers" as the others ... a category separate from us as good people. Yet, this marginalization of evil is incorrect and unbiblical. God is clear that the thread of evil runs through every culture, government, institution and individual and must be addressed straightforwardly as my problem. ...

Next, Elephant, an independent film inspired by the events of the Columbine shootings, explores the last day of two teenage killers--and their victims. It's not an enjoyable movie, but it unflinchingly demonstrates how the narcissism and cliques in high school culture can become a breeding ground for appalling evil. I was struck again with admiration for the youth pastors and teachers who reach out to kids on the brink of such rage and self-destruction. Who knows what evil they hold back!

I wouldn't recommend reading this article in the Dallas Observer, about a demon-possessed "pastor" in Fort Worth who abused countless women for 25 years. Suffice it to say, it's disturbing to be reminded that evil of this magnitude can be found in the place where people should be going for safety and restoration.

Another great little book is Forgiving the Dead Man Walking, by Debbie Morris. Andy and I both read this and were inspired by the author's account of being kidnapped and raped by two escaped inmates--and her harrowing journey to wholeness. It was amazing to see the power of forgiveness to overcome the effects of evil.

Finally, in reading through the minor prophets, it's clear that God often sends unlikely voices to stand up against evil. It's almost comical to imagine that anyone took Amos seriously at the time--a shepherd/prophet from the backwater village of Tekoa, in Judah, railing against the injustice and immorality of the neighboring kingdom of Israel, recounting visions of earthquakes and disaster in a time of unprecedented prosperity.

"Who does he think he is coming up here and talking like this to us ... ?!"

The Gravity of Stupidity

I have a secret signal that I give my wife (a schoolteacher) whenever she tells me stories of parents intent on securing their offspring's future unemployment, or whenever we observe a child immersed in a mind-numbing video game: It is the motion of a hand flipping burgers with an invisible spatula--a harbinger of that child's future prospects in the global economy.

Among the parenting challenges I underestimated before having kids is the constant counterpressure necessary to keep children engaged with the real world--thinking for themselves, reading, learning, communicating effectively. My solution? No cable TV, time limits on the computer and enforced reading before bedtime. However, it seems that the combined energy of contemporary culture is pushing in the opposite direction, as this article in the Washington Post suggests.

Reading has declined not only among the poorly educated, according to a report last year by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1982, 82 percent of college graduates read novels or poems for pleasure; two decades later, only 67 percent did. And more than 40 percent of Americans under 44 did not read a single book -- fiction or nonfiction -- over the course of a year. The proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing (unless required to do so for school) more than doubled between 1984 and 2004. This time period, of course, encompasses the rise of personal computers, Web surfing and video games.

As Susan Jacoby points out in this piece, the consequences of a functionally illiterate society are felt in political discourse, a glaring lack of global awareness (According to a 2006 survey by National Geographic-Roper, nearly half of Americans between ages 18 and 24 do not think it necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made.), and "the alarming number of Americans who have smugly concluded that they do not need to know such things in the first place."

As Thomas L. Friedman points out in The World Is Flat, the results of this antirationalism will be most vivid when well-educated and disciplined children in non-Western nations such as India, China and even parts of Africa begin competing en mass for jobs America's kids may no longer be able to perform.

The Gravity of Stupidity

I have a secret signal that I give my wife (a schoolteacher) whenever she tells me stories of parents intent on securing their offspring's future unemployment, or whenever we observe a child immersed in a mind-numbing video game: It is the motion of a hand flipping burgers with an invisible spatula--a harbinger of that child's future prospects in the global economy.

Among the parenting challenges I underestimated before having kids is the constant counterpressure necessary to keep children engaged with the real world--thinking for themselves, reading, learning, communicating effectively. My solution? No cable TV, time limits on the computer and enforced reading before bedtime. However, it seems that the combined energy of contemporary culture is pushing in the opposite direction, as this article in the Washington Post suggests.

Reading has declined not only among the poorly educated, according to a report last year by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1982, 82 percent of college graduates read novels or poems for pleasure; two decades later, only 67 percent did. And more than 40 percent of Americans under 44 did not read a single book -- fiction or nonfiction -- over the course of a year. The proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing (unless required to do so for school) more than doubled between 1984 and 2004. This time period, of course, encompasses the rise of personal computers, Web surfing and video games.

As Susan Jacoby points out in this piece, the consequences of a functionally illiterate society are felt in political discourse, a glaring lack of global awareness (According to a 2006 survey by National Geographic-Roper, nearly half of Americans between ages 18 and 24 do not think it necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made.), and "the alarming number of Americans who have smugly concluded that they do not need to know such things in the first place."

As Thomas L. Friedman points out in The World Is Flat, the results of this antirationalism will be most vivid when well-educated and disciplined children in non-Western nations such as India, China and even parts of Africa begin competing en mass for jobs America's kids may no longer be able to perform.