Changes

Words just point at different aspects of [[reality]]. And when you get to words like [[good]] and [[evil]], you must remember what they are pointing at, what they stand for. A very sincere question came up the other evening where a student was trying to grasp this meaning and mention was made of good and evil being just opposite sides of the same coin. And I am sure you have all heard this sort of attempt to relate these two. Then you have to ask yourself, "What is this coin?" The most profound [[difference]] between good and evil is that goodness itself has a [[spiritual]] [[reality]] in [[our Father]], where as evil is more or less an abstraction derived from specific, concrete [[acts]] that some [[personal]] [[being]] has committed, has done. So there is almost no similarity between them at all, except they are at times actions that in your sphere human beings do. Otherwise there is no relation.

Words just point at different aspects of [[reality]]. And when you get to words like [[good]] and [[evil]], you must remember what they are pointing at, what they stand for. A very sincere question came up the other evening where a student was trying to grasp this meaning and mention was made of good and evil being just opposite sides of the same coin. And I am sure you have all heard this sort of attempt to relate these two. Then you have to ask yourself, "What is this coin?" The most profound [[difference]] between good and evil is that goodness itself has a [[spiritual]] [[reality]] in [[our Father]], where as evil is more or less an abstraction derived from specific, concrete [[acts]] that some [[personal]] [[being]] has committed, has done. So there is almost no similarity between them at all, except they are at times actions that in your sphere human beings do. Otherwise there is no relation.

You have that wonderful saying that a man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child, out of the simple [[goodness]] and [[joy]] of his [[heart]]. And you have all probably heard of recently, you had a terrible act where a man, for whatever reason, or whatever [[state]] of [[mind]] he was in, did the evil act of [[murder]]ing a number of young children whom he had no other connection with before that terrible time. So when you wrestle with these [[concepts]] of good and evil, keep your philosophy down to [[earth]]. Think in terms of specific acts that people do.

You have that wonderful saying that a man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child, out of the simple [[goodness]] and [[joy]] of his [[heart]]. And you have all probably heard of recently, you had a terrible act where a man, for whatever reason, or whatever [[state]] of [[mind]] he was in, did the evil act of murdering a number of young children whom he had no other connection with before that terrible time. So when you wrestle with these [[concepts]] of good and evil, keep your philosophy down to [[earth]]. Think in terms of specific acts that people do.

* '''''Evil''''' ([[Theodicy]])

* '''''Evil''''' ([[Theodicy]])

I mentioned several weeks ago that another profound difference between good and evil is that goodness does represent, along with [[beauty]] and [[truth]], these are the manifestations of higher [[spirit]] that human beings are most capable of recognizing, and respectively, the [[physical]], the [[mental]] and the [[spiritual]] realms, [[beauty]], [[truth]] and [[goodness]]. These spring as from a fountain from the Father himself, this is his [[nature]]. But endowing men, immature imperfect beings with a degree of [[freedom]], of [[free will]], in other words, freedom from His will, the ability to do other than what He would do, carries with it the ability, first of all, to conceive out of your own [[creative]] spirit. You are capable of conceiving acts that are quite apart from God's will. This, if you will, is the very [[proof]] of your free will, that you can depart from His. And we needn't concern ourselves with any hard and fast final definition of evil. Suffice it to say this would be the deliberate, conscious harming another. This is quite sufficient, and it is possible. This is in the realm of how God created individuals that can do such things out of their own creative ability to come up with an [[individual]] [[intention]].

I mentioned several weeks ago that another profound difference between good and evil is that goodness does represent, along with [[beauty]] and [[truth]], these are the manifestations of higher [[spirit]] that human beings are most capable of recognizing, and respectively, the [[physical]], the [[mental]] and the [[spiritual]] realms, [[beauty]], [[truth]] and [[goodness]]. These spring as from a fountain from the Father himself, this is his [[nature]]. But endowing men, immature imperfect beings with a degree of [[freedom]], of [[free will]], in other words, freedom from His will, the ability to do other than what He would do, carries with it the ability, first of all, to conceive out of your own [[creative]] spirit. You are capable of conceiving acts that are quite apart from God's will. This, if you will, is the very [[proof]] of your free will, that you can depart from His. And we needn't concern ourselves with any hard and fast final definition of evil. Suffice it to say this would be the deliberate, conscious harming another. This is quite sufficient, and it is possible. This is in the realm of how God created individuals that can do such things out of their own creative ability to come up with an [[individual]] [[intention]].