Evil in the universe?

Question

Do you think if you acknowledge evil in the world that you are contributing to it's power? Is knowing it exists different then contributing to it's strength by watching evil movies and even the news sometimes? I have a friend, who's excuse for enjoying evil concepts is simply that evil is everywhere in the world, and I'm trying to teach him that I'm not sure it's good to contribute to the power of it. Maybe if everyone stopped seeing it, it wouldn't be sooo powerful??? Someone, smarter then me, please help me with the answer. Thanks!!!

Answer 1

If we all stopped contributing to the power of evil, it may not be as strong. It depends on what we would be contributing to.

However, it's not good to fill out minds with evil because we generally produce what has gone into us.
If we want to bear good fruit, or good deeds, in our lives we must put only good fruit, or deeds, in our body.

"A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." Matthew 8:17-20 NLT

Answer 2

Stop trying to personify evil.

There is no absolute good or absolute evil -- there are only actions and consequences, causes and effects. If by watching what you consider "evil" movies and being aware of "evil" acts which are reported on the evening news, your friend is convinced to take part in those things, then I suppose that he would be contributing to the "strength of evil".

However, to be aware of something does not give it strength. From a political standpoint, does being aware of the presence of terrorists give them more power?

Answer 3

Evil = Profit = Capitalism = greed = suffering

As long as there is a way to make money on the suffering of other people there will always be evil! Just to give you an idea. I use some medical equipment at home and a needed to replace a large gasket (rubber seal) and the medical equipment company charged me $92.00 for something that is only worth a dollar, if that much.

Answer 4

Evil has no power over anybody. If you are killed, your body dies and your soul remains to be incarnated again in another body. All souls are eternal, and so no evil can hurt them.

Goodness results from seeing the light, from standing under the suns ray's. Evil results from hiding from the light, and staying in the shadows. Therefore everybody could chose to be good, as one can chose to stand under the sunlight. The sun shines no matter what, but its rays can become hidden due to cloud. The cloud is one's ignorance of the true nature of one's self. So evil only exists because of a lack of seeing the truth within one's self. Remove one's ignorance and evil is dispersed like cloud. Seek and you will find...Evil is everywhere in the material universe where physical life exists. Evil is totally absent from God's kingdom where all inhabitants know themselves perfectly.
The material world is confined to rules like equations or computer code. Commiting evil acts produce results which will only reflect upon the evil do'er eventually. Ergo chosing to hide from the truth is not an easy path and will only result in personal suffering.

Answer 5

Sorry Moonviper, but evil exists whether or not you acknowledge that it exists or not. Denying its existence or not acknowledging its existence (thus ignoring it) is a sure-fire way to make sure that it is not addressed, and therefore, not battled. Making believe a problem isn't there does not solve it - it only hides it, whereupon it usually only gets worse. There IS evil in this world, and it needs to not only be acknowledged, but fought with eternal vigilance to try and reduce its power.

Answer 6

Maybe, but would it be better to not understand the nature of evil at all? Perhaps it is better to acknowledge and avoid than to turn a blind eye to it's existence and inadvertently fall into it's grasp. Observation of evil and the practice of evil aren't one in the same. Perhaps your friend has evil impulses, and instead of actually acting on them it is sufficient to observe the evil of others. That's just my take on it anyways.

Answer 7

As I have said countless time to others, "evil" is a subjective term. What you deem evil is NOT considered evil by everyone and visa-versa. My standard example are terrorist. You and I see these people as evil, killing innocent people simply to make a point and force others to capitulate to their will. We say, Al-Qaeda is an evil organization. Others, such as the members of Al-Qaeda, their immediate supporters and others that share their goals, believe Al-Qaeda to be a holy organization in the service of their god, Allah and see the U.S.A. and most Capitalistic Western Nations as evil. So, the question becomes, what are you calling evil? To a die hard Christian, a Television show depicting non-Christian views, such as witchcraft, polytheism, etc, would be an evil TV show. (i.e. Charmed, Angel or Battlestar Galactica) To others, those more civic minded, any TV show dealing with the romanticizing of crime, drugs, violence or promiscuity could be perceived as evil. (ex. The Sopranos, Rome, Oz, etc...) I know someone that believe the old Bugs Bunny cartoons are evil because of the violence, cross-dressing and derogatory comments made about different ethnicities. Still, a radical racist organization might find any television show featuring any ethnicity other then their own or a show depicting the romantic involvement of one of their own with a member of a different culture or race to be evil. So again, the question begs to be asked, what is evil television.

If be evil, you are referring to anything that depicts violence, including the news, then I would recommend you re-evaluate your definition. Although I agree that the mainstream news programs of today no longer present an unbiased view of local, national or global events, what they do show is general non-fiction and could be called reality, thus the violence depicted is the real world. Ignoring this fact, in my opinion, is in itself evil.

My definition of evil is as follows:
EVIL - Intentional and unrepentant ignorance*, indolence**, Gluttony+, Bigotry++ and Cowardice.#

Thus, to deliberately avoid any violence or mention of the real world would be intentional ignorance. That said, I do not think that murder, robbery, violence, rape or any criminal activity should be glorified either.

If referring to the news or other 'real world' events, then ignoring it is not helping, in fact, when ignored, evil tends to multiply. However, when discussing fiction (television, literature, theatre, etc...) then we are talking about a different issue all together. Certainly, if you do not like a particular genera of television program or film, then refusing to view it a good thing. Of enough people do not like it, then the producers will terminate that show or stop producing things of that nature. The problem is that what you don’t like, others may and if enough people like the genera, then it will stay around.

I hope this helps.

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NOTES:
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* Ignorance: The condition of being uninformed or uneducated. lacking knowledge or information
** indolence: Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistance to physical or mental labor.
+ Gluttony: (archaic definition) Thoughtless and unreasonable excess. (This is not limited to food and drink by could include any substance (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc...), sex, gambling, etc... even money! [seeking money for the sake of having money or seeking it to the exclusion of all other pursuits would be gluttonous.])
++ Bigotry: Irrational intolerance and/or disdain of others based on racial, ethnical and/or cultural differences.
#Cowardice: Lack of mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty to a reasonable level of commitment.

Answer 8

Not smarter than you, but isn't it wishful thinking to think we can stop evil by ignoring it? To stop certain behaviors which most people consider evil, we have to think about them, even deeply, to figure out how to stop them. They won't stop by ignoring their existence. Sometimes we have to look at the dark side of humanity to understand ourselves as a whole, what we are capable of. After all, evil is us. There's no devil out there. Just us, acting out our physical/material nature rather than our spiritual nature.

As to how watching violent or horror films affects people depends very much on the individual, his/her maturity and outlook on life. I hate them, but I also hate mushy love stories, but I still love people.

Balance is a good aim.

Answer 9

one must acknowledge the existence of evil to make any kind of progress in ending or avoiding it.
Your friend's excuse is just that, an excuse. By that argument, your friend should also starve sicken and die, that happens globally as well.

Answer 10

evil is a human concept opposed to good. The Universe simply is and therefore embraces all concepts.