Confronting evil has always been an unavoidable part of mortal life for Christians. Some forms of evil can be confronted with quiet repentance while others must be dealt with bold directness. Some forms of evil are so great that they must be openly opposed with defiant hostility.
Many factors undoubtedly influence and determine the "kind" of confrontation a Christian chooses against evil, but no serious Christian would deny the necessity of fighting evil, even when (or perhaps more correctly, especially when) the fight is "restricted" to our thinking.
For Christians, confronting evil is a duty, not an option. This duty must be positive rather than negative in nature. At its core, all defiance of evil must result in the affirmation of Good. While evil aims to destroy all that is Good, a Christian confronts evil to confirm, increase, and expand that which is Good.
Put another way, while evil has been doomed to perpetually "fight against", Christians are perpetually blessed to "fight for".
Destroying all that is Good is primarily a spiritual aim, just as confirming, increasing, and expanding all that is Good is primarily a spiritual aim. Thus, all conflicts between Good and evil are fundamentally spiritual conflicts. One side comprises those on the side of God and Creation; the other side, those who oppose God and Creation.
Most on the side against God and Creation do not consider themselves to be "against" God and Creation for the simple reason that they have deluded themselves, or have allowed themselves to be deluded into believing in the non-existence of God and Creation.
Since they do not believe in God, they do not believe in Satan, and they callously reject any notion of active cooperation with Satan. If asked, people on the side against God will insist that they are actually on the side of good (the side of humanity, equality, morality, freedom, justice, and all the rest of it), and that they are actually fighting against dehumanization, inequality, slavery, injustice, and all the rest of it.
Christians do not have the luxury of such delusions. All serious Christians understand that being on the side of God and Creation is a spiritual position. As such, all conflict with evil is spiritual conflict. Yes, the conflict may involve material and societal factors, but these factors do not and cannot override spiritual realities and considerations.
Those opposed to God and Creation are free to blind themselves to the inherent spiritual dimensions of the war they wage. Authentic Christians find it nearly impossible to adopt this "freedom". They understand that if they do, they run the risk losing perspective - the risk of neglecting or forgetting just what it is they are truly "fighting for".
When Christians neglect or forget what it is they are fighting for, the spiritual motivation behind any confrontation with evil weakens. In such cases, Christians may find themselves preferring to fight against rather than fighting for. All confrontations with evil are rendered anti-spiritual from the perspective of Good when "against" eclipses "for" in Christian motivation, .
When a Christian enters into confrontation, what he or she is fighting for must always be greater than what he or she is fighting against.
Always. Even during these unprecedented times.
When Christians resort to fighting against rather than fighting for, they stop confronting evil and begin actively cooperating with it.
Many factors undoubtedly influence and determine the "kind" of confrontation a Christian chooses against evil, but no serious Christian would deny the necessity of fighting evil, even when (or perhaps more correctly, especially when) the fight is "restricted" to our thinking.
For Christians, confronting evil is a duty, not an option. This duty must be positive rather than negative in nature. At its core, all defiance of evil must result in the affirmation of Good. While evil aims to destroy all that is Good, a Christian confronts evil to confirm, increase, and expand that which is Good.
Put another way, while evil has been doomed to perpetually "fight against", Christians are perpetually blessed to "fight for".
Destroying all that is Good is primarily a spiritual aim, just as confirming, increasing, and expanding all that is Good is primarily a spiritual aim. Thus, all conflicts between Good and evil are fundamentally spiritual conflicts. One side comprises those on the side of God and Creation; the other side, those who oppose God and Creation.
Most on the side against God and Creation do not consider themselves to be "against" God and Creation for the simple reason that they have deluded themselves, or have allowed themselves to be deluded into believing in the non-existence of God and Creation.
Since they do not believe in God, they do not believe in Satan, and they callously reject any notion of active cooperation with Satan. If asked, people on the side against God will insist that they are actually on the side of good (the side of humanity, equality, morality, freedom, justice, and all the rest of it), and that they are actually fighting against dehumanization, inequality, slavery, injustice, and all the rest of it.
Christians do not have the luxury of such delusions. All serious Christians understand that being on the side of God and Creation is a spiritual position. As such, all conflict with evil is spiritual conflict. Yes, the conflict may involve material and societal factors, but these factors do not and cannot override spiritual realities and considerations.
Those opposed to God and Creation are free to blind themselves to the inherent spiritual dimensions of the war they wage. Authentic Christians find it nearly impossible to adopt this "freedom". They understand that if they do, they run the risk losing perspective - the risk of neglecting or forgetting just what it is they are truly "fighting for".
When Christians neglect or forget what it is they are fighting for, the spiritual motivation behind any confrontation with evil weakens. In such cases, Christians may find themselves preferring to fight against rather than fighting for. All confrontations with evil are rendered anti-spiritual from the perspective of Good when "against" eclipses "for" in Christian motivation, .
When a Christian enters into confrontation, what he or she is fighting for must always be greater than what he or she is fighting against.
Always. Even during these unprecedented times.
When Christians resort to fighting against rather than fighting for, they stop confronting evil and begin actively cooperating with it.
RSS Feed
