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Although evil seems to poke its head into every era and every culture, it has been predominantly a topic of concern, study, and analysis in the west among the monotheistic religions. However, polytheistic religions, such as certain ancient Egyptian religions, also had references to the forces of evil, sometimes in the form of gods.
This sharp dualism between good and evil—particularly emphasized in the Jewish and Christian traditions—is also a characteristic of Zoroastrianism, one of the ancient Persian religions from the region of present-day Iran.
Its founder was a man named Zoroaster who wanted to simplify the Pantheon of gods. He divided the system up into what he believed to be two oppositional forces represented by Ahura Mazda, known as “illuminating wisdom,” and Angra Mainyu, or “destructive spirit.” This dualistic element of the Zoroastrian religion, after serving as the state religion for a few hundred years, had various influences on the monotheistic religions.
Analyzing this problem of evil in the light of notions of God as an omnipotent, beneficent creator is known as theodicy. It’s a philosophical, theological attempt to justify God’s goodness despite the reality of evil. There are many attempts at this, but theodicies generally try to show that God is not responsible for evil and that evil manifests when goodness is corrupted by individuals.
One key force or factor in this structure of dualism is the idea of individual free will, a doctrine explicated in great detail by certain Christian theologians beginning with Saint Augustine in the fourth century in the Common Era. The doctrine of free will suggests that, as individuals created by God, humans have the freedom to choose and decide how to behave. This is the freedom to choose between what is right and what is wrong and between good and evil.
In his 1940 book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis writes, “When we act from ourselves alone, that is, from God in ourselves, we are collaborators in or live instruments of creation, and that is why such an act undoes with backward mutters of dissevering power, the uncreative spell which Adam laid upon his species.”
This has to do with an abuse of free will. It’s the idea that mankind made a fatal error by disobeying God’s command in the Garden of Eden. It’s a story of Eve and Adam eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, being cast out of paradise, and becoming subject to illness, old age, and death.
Following this, a person’s future destination in either the realm of Heaven or Hell will ultimately be determined by God’s judgment of his or her actions in life on Judgment Day, the day on which God will call human beings to account for their sins and other misdeeds.
With regard to the problem of evil, the complex relationship between God’s creation and God’s judgment is often understood as a single act. This interpretation highlights God’s goodness and omnibenevolence.
In Judaism, the day of judgment is recognized every year as Rosh Hashanah, and God’s final verdict is sealed on the Day of Atonement, called Yom Kippur. This is a day of fasting and praying to God as repentance for any and all wrongdoings.
As noted in the beginning, all religions grapple with the problem of evil. The other Abrahamic tradition that we haven’t mentioned yet is Islam, which also emphasizes God, or Allah, as omnibenevolent and a just creator. Evil is something that arises from people’s actions independent of God and ultimately a corrupted force.
In the Eastern religions, very generally, evil is understood as ignorance and illusion. Any Western dualisms between good and evil don’t directly apply. In Buddhism, for example, it’s the structure and the deep roots of suffering that might be considered evil in the sense that they obstruct the path toward enlightenment. Ultimately, suffering is caused by the endless clinging and grasping for identity, which is constantly changing and in flux. Being impermanent, any identity, the associated experience of suffering, and even notions of evil are mere illusions.
In Hinduism, any idea of evil has to do with actions or karma. Actions that are impure might cause one to endure the rounds of reincarnation. Karma determines how things unfold, for better or for worse. Free actions are often misinformed and misguided. Then this brings further interpretations that are inaccurate, producing negative results. This hinders spiritual development. In this sense, they could therefore be termed evil. Because humans are ignorant of Brahman—the ultimate source and divine principle of being—and of Atman—our true selfhood—which is identical with Brahman, we grasp onto what we think is real, such as our images of selfhood and even ideas and conceptions of good and evil.
Some interpreters of Confucian thought understand evil as anything that corrupts the harmony, balance, strength, and integrity of society. Any manifestations of evil are nevertheless opportunities to reaffirm the values of order, discipline, respect for authority, and the stabilizing force of healthy relationships in society. These are some of the foundational principles of Confucianism.
The notion of evil according to Taoism, or for someone who is following the path of the Tao, might be understood a little bit differently. Any corruption of the pure state of nature, known as the uncarved block, might be considered the unfortunate work of society. The path of a Taoist would, therefore, include disregarding any such negative, evil influences.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY TED FAIRCHILD FOR SOPHIA LEARNING. Please see our Terms of Use.
