The Question of Sin and Evil

Isaiah 43:1-3; Ezekiel 36:25-28; Matthew

A sermon by Kathy Toivanen at EMUC, 1/22/2006

The Question of Sin and Evil – Why Do Bad Things Happen?
Full References: Isaiah 43:1-3; Ezekiel 36:25-28; Matthew 9:10-13

Today we continue with a series of sermons exploring some of the basic themes of faith that would be included on a basic course in theology. Once again I have provided a handout with key points on today’s topic along with some suggestions for further reflection and action.

So, let’s get started with today’s theme. The question of sin and evil is perhaps the most challenging question for people of faith. Words fail us when we try to account for, or describe the unspeakable evils that have befallen the earth and its peoples. Daily, we come face to face with evil in various forms. There are global events that bring evil upon the earth, evils like famine, disease or poverty, natural disasters or war. There are ideologies that when embraced by peoples and enacted upon bring evil – the evil of slavery, of genocide, of apartheid, of racism. There are systems that have become evil – governments that oppress rather than serve people, companies and businesses motivated by greed that exploit and cheat, organizations that have abandoned their original mission to create communities of caring and are instead caught up in amassing power and wealth.

We all experience evil on a personal level. The betrayal of a loved one, the unjust treatment by a co-worker, harassment or exploitation, an illness that causes anguish and pain and even death, the unprovoked act of violence that shatters our sense of safety and well-being.

All of us here today know what it is like to be wounded, victimized, oppressed, afflicted, battered and bruised by evil. Each week, we gather here and say in the prayer Jesus taught us… "Deliver us from evil"

But what is this evil that we want to be delivered from? Over the years evil has been understood in a variety of ways.

In Walter Wink’s book, The Powers that Be, Wink explains that our understanding of evil depends on our worldview.

The Spiritualist Worldview, which emerged in the second century, claims that the spirit is good and matter is evil. According to this theory, our spirits are trapped in bodies that are evil. The only way to escape evil is to escape the body and return again to the spiritual realm where matter does not exist. This worldview is not in harmony with Judeo-Christian belief that affirms the God who creates a world that is good. It does not reflect the biblical understanding that says to be fully human is to love God, not only with our spirit, but also with our mind and body.

In the ancient world, another worldview claimed that everything on earth had its counterpart in heaven. Therefore if war began on earth, there was also a war in heaven among the angels. When people describe evil as the act of a demon or Satan or a bad spirit that somehow exists in the air or sky or heavens, then they are using the language of this ancient worldview. To escape from evil in this worldview means to wage war against evil spirits and exorcise demons from our midst. To this day, there are some religious and Christian communities that believe and practice this understanding of evil.

Walter Wink puts forward the Integral Worldview that I find to be more helpful in coming to a Christian understanding of life, including evil.

Using the Integral Worldview, we would describe life and the existence of evil in this way. The Spirit of God is at the core of everything. There is nothing in the created universe that is not touched and suffused with the Spirit of God. Other Christian writers, like Philip Newell would say that the light of God is deep within all creation or that the love of God resides in the heart of all creation. With God’s Spirit, light or love at the core or the heart of everything, then it follows that all creatures and all creation has the potential to reveal the goodness, the glory and the love of God. Note that I said, they have the potential.

All of us and all creation are created by God for one purpose only: to reflect God’s love and goodness and glory. When we as individuals or as groups, or as nations distort this purpose or deny God’s love and goodness, or hide God’s light in ways large or small, we are complicit with that which is evil. Thus, evil is a way to describe all that distorts, diminishes or destroys God’s peoples and creation.

And one of the frightening things about evil is that it does take on a life of its own. Like a cancerous chain reaction, the effects of evil can grow stronger and multiply as more people and more systems are drawn into actions and ways of being that drift far from God’s plan and purpose for the world. And we know that don’t we?

We know that one word spoken in hate can lead to an act of violence between individuals, which can lead to a rift in a community, which can lead to more acts of violence that bring fear and terror resulting in greater distrust that builds up more suspicion and more hatred between peoples.

We know that the pollution of one river or lake can lead to the death of a species in that body of water, but can also cause the sickness of peoples who drink the water, which can lead to anguish in families and among their friends and colleagues. And as poison from that one body of water flows out into other rivers, and lakes, there is a growing destruction of a delicate ecosystem that has reverberations around the world.

As John Paul II once said, "With greater or lesser harm, every sin has repercussions on the whole human family", and I would add, every sin has repercussions on the whole of creation.

So in the face of evil, as people of faith, what are we called to do?

Perhaps exploring the nature of sin is a helpful next step.

A Buddhist was heard to remark, "You Christians must be very bad people, you’re always confessing your sins". In the Bible, words related to our English word ‘sin’ appear a thousand times. In his book, The Cross in Our Context, Douglas Hall says that, No word in the Christian vocabulary is so badly understood in the world and in the churches as the word sin. Christians have allowed this profoundly biblical conception which refers to broken relationship, to be reduced to sins – moral misdemeanors and guilty thoughts, words and deeds…that could be listed and confessed and absolved. (p. 104) Douglas Hall goes on to say that first and foremost, we need to understand sin as a broken relationship, in short, to see sin as humanity’s ‘no’ to God (p.105)

Other famous theologians like Niebuhr view the root of sin as pride or self-centeredness. Tillich views sin as separation or estrangement from God that leads to our unfaithfulness as we choose other gods to worship and follow.

Marcus Borg, whom I mentioned last week, acknowledges that all of these understandings of sin – disobedience, estrangement, pride, unfaithfulness, lack of trust in God are all helpful, but he wonders if we might better understand the human predicament if we used other words beside sin to name the problem of what is wrong with us.

For example, if we are blind to harm we have caused, then what we need is to see.

If we are separated from those we should be in loving relationship with, then we need to be brought back.

If we are in bondage to fear and hatred, then we need to be liberated and freed to trust and love.

If we are lost and can no longer find the path of health and wholeness, then we need to be found.

If we are living in ways that are false, we need to die to old ways and be born again.

If we have hearts that are closed to the needs of those around us then we need hearts that are open.

If we have given into the darkness of apathy or despair, we need the light of commitment and hope.

When we expand our way of identifying what is not right with our lives and this world, then we can also expand our way of responding to God’s work of salvation. And yes, I know salvation is another loaded word, but for today, let’s take the word salvation to mean God’s work of restoring the world and all its creatures to reflect the wholeness, goodness and beauty that God first intended.

Over and over again in the words and actions of Jesus, we are reminded of God’s response to what is wrong with us and with the world. Think of all the stories of Jesus’ encounters with others - with tax collectors like Zacchaeus and Matthew, with the disciples who were often confused and bewildered, with women like Mary or the woman at the well, with the children, with the beggars and street people, with the religious leaders and with those who betrayed and crucified him.

Through these stories, the gospel writers want us to believe in the Christ who embodies God’s work of salvation. Another way of saying this is to say that the gospel writers encourage us to open our hearts and give our hearts to the God we know in Jesus Christ. It is this Jesus Christ, who on many levels and in so many diverse ways, brings sight to those who cannot see, healing to the sick or broken, refreshment to those who are hungry and thirsty, freedom to the bound and captive, a path to follow for those who are lost, truth to those overcome and oppressed by lies, welcome to the rejected, love to the unloved and unlovable, peace to the conflicted and fearful, life to those who know death, and yes even forgiveness to those who do the unforgivable.

Of course, if we open our hearts and give our hearts to such a God as this, then it follows that we also give our hearts to God’s work, not just for our sake, but for the sake of all that God loves; for the sake of the whole creation.

This means that no part of God’s creation and none of God’s children can ever be written off or dismissed. We do not have the luxury nor the right to turn our backs on any part of creation or any person or peoples, no matter how distorted or encumbered by evil they may be. And any time we are tempted to do so, I pray that we will hear Jesus’ words, Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.

And any time we find ourselves entwined with evil, any time we are reminded of our own frailty and failures, any time we are tempted to think that we are lost causes, I pray that we will find a new welcome and a restored hope as we hear Jesus speak these same words to us.

And whenever we feel worn down by what is evil or whenever we stand with another who is oppressed by evil, I pray that we will remember that we are never alone in the struggle against evil.

For there is another word from God, a life-giving word proclaimed in Christ’s death and resurrection, a word that tells us that nothing can separate us from God. No matter what we have done, no matter what we may do, no matter what is done to us, God will not abandon us; God will not break the connection with us.

And so, we cling to hope and the promise that against all odds, God’s love will prevail in us, God love will prevail in others and God’s love will prevail in the world - to reshape, to repair and to restore the goodness and grace that is ultimately at the core of our hearts and at the heart of all life.

As Christian, we give our hearts to this God and this love as we continue to fervently pray "Deliver us from evil". Amen.

The Question of Sin and Evil - Why Do Bad Things Happen?
Handout/Worksheet to accompany the sermon of January 22, 2006
Prepared by Kathy Toivanen
Jump to:
Books
Movies
Worldviews: Spiritualist; Ancient; Integral
Predicaments in the Human Condition
Homework
Quotes

Books/ Resources for further reading:

1. The Cross in Our Context - Jesus and the Suffering World; Douglas John Hall
2. The Powers That Be; Walter Wink
3. The Heart of Christianity; Marcus J. Borg
4. The Experience of the Heart of Christianity; Tim Scorer
5. Listening for the Heartbeat of God; J. Phillip Newell
6. No Future Without Forgiveness; Desmond Tutu
7. Dead Man Walking; Sister Helen Prejean

1. Hotel Rwanda
2. Dead Man Walking
3. The Constant Gardner
4. Changing Lanes
5. Schindler's List
6. Gandhi
7. Crash; Paul Haggis, director

• emerged in the second century to claim that the spirit is good and matter is evil
• our spirits are trapped in bodies that are evil
• believes that the only way to escape evil is to escape the body and return again in the spiritual realm where matter does not exist
• not in harmony with Judeo-Christian belief that affirms the God who creates a world that is good
• and it does not reflect the biblical understanding that says to be fully human is to love God, not only with our spirit, but also with our mind and body

• everything on earth has its counterpart in heaven
• war on earth mirrors war in heaven among the angels
• evil is described as the act of a demon or Satan or a bad spirit that somehow exists in the air or sky or heavens
• to escape from evil in this worldview means to wage war against evil spirits and exorcise demons from our midst

• the Spirit of God is at the core/heart of all creation
• all creation has the potential to reveal the goodness, the glory and the love of God
• all creation is created by God to reflect God's love and goodness and glory
• when individuals, groups or nations distort God's purpose they are complicit with that which is evil
• evil is a way to describe all that distorts, diminishes or destroys God's peoples and creation

(other ways to consider "sin" and our need for forgiveness)

• if we are blind to harm we have caused, we need to see
• if we are separated from loving relationships, we need to be reunited
• if we are in bondage to fear and hatred, we need to be freed to trust and love
• if we are lost, we need to be found
• if we are living a false life, we need to die to old ways and be born again
• if we have hearts that are closed we need hearts that are open
• if we live in the darkness of apathy or despair, we need the light of hope

What human condition is real for you right now?

What do you need for wholeness?

Take time this week to pray to God of your need.

Reflect on ways that you can be open to the ways that God might respond to your need.

Marcus Borg says that the biblical meaning of repent is not primarily contrition (feeling really sorry for what we have done wrong) but resolve. To repent means to return to God. The Greek root of repent means "go beyond the mind you have acquired." Go beyond the mind shaped by culture to the mind that you have in Christ. e.g. see, hear, think, act, love as Christ would.

How might you go beyond the mind shaped by culture to the mind that you have in Christ?

Be conscious this week of choosing actions and attitudes that reflect the mind you have in Christ.

Make it a project to learn more about the suffering caused by one of the "evils" in our society/world. (e.g. poverty, pollution, HIV/AIDS, gun violence) Learn about ways that you can be part of God's work of restoring wholeness and healing.

[Webmaster note: If you would like to share ideas on this website about ways you can be part of God's work, please email me at cbgroup85 @ hotmail .com We'll try to provide some ideas on a future webpage.]