Origin of Evil

I believe that even skeptical people would agree that evil is real. The evidence surrounds us every day. Innocent people suffer unspeakable horrors at the hands of their fellows. History is very vivid in details of cultures greatest moments and their darkest. I am not going to detail, to a great extent, the evidence of such actions. I will however detail a few, evil on a massive scale and on a very personal one.

The question at hand is, the origin of evil. Did evil always exist? My opinions and beliefs will be based upon my experiences, biblical understanding, and again, minor historical information. This may come as a surprise, I do not believe began with our first inhabitants. I refer to them as Adam and Eve, as found in the book of Genesis. Evil had its origin prior to Genesis and most likely before the created order was called into being.

First, holiness, righteousness, purity, all virtues, had no beginning point in time. As God Was, Is, and Will Be, His character is timeless. Everything lovely and Godly always has been. Now, scripture gives us an understandable, though slightly veiled, picture of evil and its origin. It would be very helpful to all of us if scripture explicitly told us that at such a time and place all angelic beings were created. We do not have those details. But, what we do have is understandable.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about a being falling from heaven. Known as, Star of the Morning, Daystar, Lucifer, this spiritual being (angelic) was considered to be the most beautiful and magnificent of all angels. In Isaiah, chapter fourteen, verses twelve through fourteen, this angelic being is cast out of the heavenly realms down to earth. His sin of pride and arrogance led to rebellion and the original sin. So, I believe the source and spring of evil find their source in Satan, prior to mankind.

As in the world today, actions have reactions, results always follow thoughts turned to actions. At the rebellion and desired overthrow of God's authority, multitudes of angels were cast out with Satan. These angels took on demonic character as their nature was corrupted. The Second Epistle of Peter, as well as the book of Jude tell of God casting down the rebellious angels.

many people reject the idea of an angelic being corrupted by pride and arrogance, thus bringing evil into a present reality. That being so, it is my belief and understanding that evil, as a malevolent force, originated before mankind. This source of evil, Satan, is and always will be, consumed with thwarting God's design. Evil has a spiritual origin. Satan was created to be a spiritual messenger and his condemnation was based on the sin of the spirit, pride and arrogance. He did not want to serve, he wanted to be served. He did not want to listen, he wanted to command. He did not want to subject his spirit to God's authority, he wanted all to be in subjection to him.

Candle Light for Three Brothers

The clear single notes of the piano had me whispering the words to, " Silent Night." The candles on the altar table represented Jesus and our missing boys. A blue candle for each of the birthdays the boys celebrated. Five candles for Tanner, seven candles for Alexander and nine candles for their big brother, Andrew. In the darkened sanctuary the soft glow of the candles was a gentle yet gradually overpowering image of the love held in the hearts of every parent gathered to pray.

I read a Psalm that spoke of stillness and waiting on God. Words of hope that we know and acknowledge that He is the giver of peace and comfort. So many questions fill my mind and trouble my spirit. It has been almost four days, how could the boys survive the elements if they are out in the cold? Why would any parent leave their children with a person who is almost unknown? And unthinkable is the question of suicide; leave your boys with a stranger because you don't want them to witness you hang yourself. I had to get the questions and haunting thoughts out of my mind.

As I led the gathering in prayer it was a time of acknowledging the plan of God. His plan, to bring us together as family, the wonder of love and children. In times of pain and loss how we come together as community. We unite together to bring encouragement, love, support and that as community the bond goes deeper than words. And we were united in one purpose; to pray, find a sense of comfort, and demonstrate to the family support.

One by one every person came to the altar table and held their candle into the life-candle of one of our boys. The process took almost twenty minutes and I watched as members of the media and law enforcement held a candle of hope. At the conclusion of the service silence kept us in our seats and looking at the altar. It was as if leaving the service was leaving Tanner, Alexander and Andrew.

Living in the North and the Northern Light

The move to our cabin was a time of extremes. The first winter was one of amazing beauty, giant pines hanging heavy with snow, ice piled high on the shore of Lake Huron, sights that were new and exciting. Contrast the beauty with the harsh conditions of 20-30 below temperatures, frozen water lines, snow blown higher than windows. It was both an exciting time for me and a challenge. And, this is no lie, me and my brother and sister, we had to walk more than a mile to and from the bus stop.

Living in the north was therapeutic for me. I had time and space to sort things out in my mind. My relationship with my parents, especially my dad, improved a great deal. I was beginning to understand that bad things happen to everybody. Just as my mom didn't deserve to deal with epilepsy and Tag with leukemia, millions of innocent children starve and families all over the world suffer the pains that simply come from living.

The summer following our move we built an addition on the cabin. Well, it was more like building an entire house over a part of the cabin. Friends of my mom and dad came north and helped us build the house. My older brother and I worked with my dad hauling logs out of the woods and taking them to an old saw mill. The Old Swede, a name given in respect, milled all of our lumber at a cost of about a tenth of retail. My dad told his friends that he was thankful that his boys were as big and strong as elephants.

During this time we had a few traumatic and scary times. My mom had two seizures that could have been fatal. Once, she fell into a fire we had outside and on another occasion she fell in the house and knocked out some of her teeth. The fall into fire left her dealing with a type of palsy that lasted for a few months. I wasn't blaming God any longer as I had come to accept her condition as a bad thing that happened to a good person.

Abandoned by God?

I believe that there were very powerful experiences that contributed to my concept of God. Probably the single most powerful influence was the illness that my mother suffered from. From a very early age my mother suffered from epilepsy. From my earliest memories it was always a stressor that impacted our family. One incident in particular is always with me, to this very day. My mother was driving our old station wagon with three or four of us kids in it. We were traveling north on West Jefferson and before we got to the King Road sign she began having a grand-mall seizure. My brother Tim was in the front seat and I remember him reaching over and turning the ignition key off. The station wagon rolled to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

With us kids out of the car my mother seizured for a few minutes. When she regained full consciousness she rested on the side of the road. In a few minutes my father arrived with my uncle Bob. This event and the potential tragedy that was escaped by the actions of my brother made an impact in my mind far beyond calculation. Over a period of time the emotional weight of constant worry and the anticipation of the worse took it's toll.

Trying to understand the difficulty that my mother lived with was hard for me. I only knew that most days she was a strong mother who had overcome a lot of challenges in her life. But, at a time and place that we never knew, a seizure would strike. With all of the friends that I had, none of them had to deal with a parent that suffered like my mother.

I believe that living with the knowledge of my mother's illness was one of the major contributing factors in my concept of God, of fairness, of love, of security and peace. Her illness was not the only influence, but again, it was very powerful. I make no pretense to understand if my early concept could have been different. It really doesn't matter, my perception was my reality.

Please continue with me and I would hope you will begin to gain an understanding into the mind and heart of a young boy who will eventually embrace God in all of His Love and Understanding.