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influences. The extremes to which some people go in the name of faith certainly support such a view. However, this only proves that evil a concept of our own making and a relative one at that.

Life is hard. Even when it is without strife or evil, there is a great deal of suffering inherent in life. This is what drives us in the pursuit of happiness, but the comfort and contentment of a life of ease does not save us from suffering either. Fleeting moments of happiness and joy, while they might make life very pleasant, do not give life enough purpose on their own. Even an ideal life is filled with many forms of discontent, such as boredom, frustration, anxiety, confusion... there are so many stresses in life that even the best possible life can be distressing. Even when a person takes life completely for granted, he or she will still be confronted with things that make them think and ask the one question that is never sufficiently answered: why?

As long as human beings are capable of asking "why?" human beings will experience discontent and suffering. That suffering is born from the desire to know the answer, to understand. We are not meant to live constantly in states of pain or pleasure, fear or desire, anger or joy, hatred or lust. Our "evil" impulses are as vital to us as teeth and claws are to a wolf or lion. They are not evil in themselves. They are only evil in their abuse. They are the natural defenses and weapons we were created with, and we are ignorant in their use because they are such a natural part of ourselves. We can only tame them, control them, or harness them, by taming, controlling and harnessing ourselves.

There are certain things in existence that deserve to be considered evil, because they have no redeeming qualities, but human beings are not one of them. People can and do commit evil acts and think evil thoughts, and they can do so with good or evil intent. People can be evil, in the sense that they can become so warped that they are a threat to anyone they come in contact with. But that is simply an extension of the evil that has been done to them. They are dangerous because they are wounded, growing more dangerous the more maimed and scarred they get. Even the most warped and perverted individual can possess a redeeming quality or commit a redeeming thought or act, however. The idea that people are inherently evil is far more evil than any person can ever be. To deny a person the possibility of redemption is evil.

Why? The question remains. What is evil? Evil is the state of things being wrong. Out of tune, out of order, out of place, out of context, out of balance, however we try to phrase it, it is something we have a natural and instinctive ability to recognize; the compliment to our natural perception of the truth. For every instance in which the universe can manifest itself properly, there exists a definition of potential evil. Evil is dependent on perspective and context. Ultimately, evil serves a purpose, which gives it a redeeming quality. Thus, the existence of evil is not inherently evil.

Learn more about this author, David Roberson.
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