Following 9/11, the usage of the words good and evil increased within our discussions of foreign policy. They were, of course, not unheard earlier in our discussions of foreign tyrants and their brutal regimes. Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union the evil empire. 9/11, however, brought such foreign evil within our home. We saw it first hand, and called it by its true name.
I was, for the most part, glad to see the concepts of good and evil spoken about in mainstream discourse. We don't hear much about Hell these days, and so our hellbent deeds often go unnoticed or excused. Nevertheless, I have been and remain concerned that our usage of good and evil is somewhat inaccurate. Two concerns stand out for me:
1. The overly broad application of good and evil, where we are good and our opponents are evil. To be sure, it would be equally inaccurate and equally dangerous to assert that we are all equally good (and equally evil), but nor are we completely free of evil, and nor are our enemies completely devoid of good. There is a battle between good and evil in each of our souls, and by our own power we are no more worthy of heavenly victory than the terrorist or genocidal tyrant. To think free people are incapable of great evil is presumptuous, and to think our enemies cannot be reasoned with our talked to because they are pure evil is a form of despair.
2. Our having too much faith in our own instruments (war, democracy, etc.) to defeat evil. True evil cannot ultimately be defeated by any instrument of man. If we are forced by necessity or by justice to destroy evil by destroying the evildoer, then we have failed to live up to the divine call of love. To love our enemies means to pray, to hope, and to the extent we are able, to work for their salvation. The greatest weapon against evil is love, expressed most powerfully in the sacrifice of love--specifically the loving sacrifice of Christ. It is through our love that we are most open to and able to communicate to others the divine life we call grace.
What would bring more rejoicing in Heaven: the annihilation of Al-qaeda or the conversion and redemption of its members? Which are we more devoted to?
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