[Paleopsych] evil

[Michael Christopher]

>>This idea of evil as something at work in all 
of us makes for a perspective very different than the
one that seems to guide the president. It could lead
you to ask, If were all born with this seed of
badness, why does it bear more fruit in some people
than others?<<

--A Christian ought to be asking such questions, but
Bush's Christianity doesn't seem to have much concept
of evil as a force within us as well as in our
enemies. He also has no problem with using the death
penalty against born-again Christians who, according
to Christianity, are "new persons" not subject to the
evil they've done in the past. Such contradictions
undermine the transformative power of the Christian
myth, reducing it to a Darwinistic battle between
"saved" elites and "unsaved", and therefore unworthy,
masses. Such a Christianity can't save anybody.

It also doesn't acknowledge the systemic aspects of
evil. Evil seems to be not only up to the nature of
the individual, but to the environment. An environment
in which everyone is either an enemy or a victim will
produce more and more extreme behavior through
feedback. But still, we have to ask, "why do some
people take risks to help the innocent during times of
cruelty". That kind of question is far more useful in
preventing future evil than "how do we kill all the
bad people".

Michael




		
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