Deliver us from evil: Stark County area pastors define the word's meaning in today's world

"In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousandfold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers...we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations."

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist

CANTON – The existence of evil is one of those existential, dogged questions that intellectuals and theologians have wrestled with for millennia.

Current wars in Ukraine and Yemen and conflicts in other parts of the world have many people using the word to describe the violence inflicted on civilians, particularly children.

Throughout history, the term is has been applied to individuals, from Caligula, to Lenin, to Adolf Hitler to Pol Pot, and most recently to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It's been used to describe such systems as slavery, lynching and genocide.

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But the notion of evil's existence and its definition depend on who's being asked and what they believe.

In her blog, "The Cottage," theologian and author Diana Butler Bass recently wrote:

"War is a sin. War is evil. And yet it continues. War is one of the rare things in human history that doesn’t vary. It is what humans do. Since before recorded time. Through the centuries. Now. You might say that our inhumanity to others is a sobering characteristic of being human. That’s really depressing. And it is painfully true."

The Rev. Brad Meyers, senior pastor at Cross Pointe Church in Canton, is certain evil exists.

"Is there such a thing? Absolutely!" he said. "Evil is usually thought of as something that is morally wrong, sinful, or wicked; however, the word evil can also refer to anything that causes harm, with or without the moral dimension. What’s going on in Ukraine for instance. "

Citing Psalm 54 and 1 Kings 17:20, Meyers said the word is used both ways in the Bible.

Pastors: Evil is real

"Anything that contradicts the holy nature of God is evil," he said. "On the flip side, any disaster, tragedy or calamity can also be called an 'evil.'"

Meyers defines evil as "sin committed against other people, like what we’re seeing in Ukraine."

"Evil is also committed against God," he said. "The Bible speaks that man/woman is held responsible for the evil they commit. So essentially, evil is a lack of goodness. The Bible says 'God is love'; the absence of love in a person is un-God-like behavior and therefore is evil."

Meyers said moral evil is wrong done to others, which can exist even when unaccompanied by external action.

"Murder is an evil action, but it has its start with the moral evil of hatred in the heart," he said. "Here lies what we are all seeing in the Ukraine and other similar conflicts throughout the ages."

The Rev. James Chester, pastor of United Praise Church of God in Christ, said evil is real and simply put, it is the opposite of good, the definition of which, is found in Scripture.

The Bible contains 87 references of choosing good over evil.

"'God said, `I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death,'" Chester said, citing Deuteronomy.

The war in Ukraine is a clear example.

"What (Vladimir) Putin is doing to those people, killing innocent children, is evil," he said.

Chester said he believes many of the world's conflicts could be resolved if people would "disagree agreeably."

"Another word I like to use is armistice," he said. "Let's stop for the good of everyone involved. Let's stop this madness. People are dying."

Marilyn Feldman, a retired Plain Local Schools teacher, is a Holocaust educator and an early advocate of the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial & Education Commission.

"There is definitely such a thing as evil and I believe that there are different types," she said.

Feldman said there is inanimate evil. Evil also can be defined by an act, or behavior such as gossip, violence, theft, or rape.

"Evil is, for individuals, a total lack of morality or depravity," she said. "I believe that there are people who are intrinsically evil, sociopaths .... They act on their basic instincts, with no regard for the consequences. It’s as if they are born without a conscience or moral compass."

Feldman said she also believes individuals can become evil due to their life experiences.

"Growing up under adverse circumstances can lead to evil behavior; however, this is a situation which can be reversed," she said.

'The Devil made me do it'

The Very Rev. John Kennerk, pastor of Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Canton, said evil is not an independent entity but rather a perversion of that which is good.

"We experience evil, personally and communally. But evil has no existence on its own," he said. "Every evil is a perversion of a good. Lust is a perversion of love. Rage is perversion of conviction. Control is a perversion of freedom. The devil is a perverted angel. Death is a perversion of life."

Monsignor Lewis Gaetano, pastor of Christ the Servant Catholic Church, said the reality of good verses evil has been a constant throughout human history.

"All through history our image of God and our personification of evil has justified persecutions, pogroms, segregation and isolation, intolerance of others race, creed, language, and ethnic backgrounds," he said.

Gaetano noted that, at the beginning of Lent, Matthew's account of Jesus being in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, and tempted to freely choose power, prestige and position over his mission, is often read.

"Even in the telling of the story Jesus could have easily said, 'The Devil made me do it,'" he said.

Gaetano said humans throughout history have misused God to justify "persecutions, pogroms, segregation and isolation, intolerance of others race, creed, language, and ethnic backgrounds. "

"We have burned witches, and 'sinners' at the stake in efforts to eradicate evil rather than recognizing that evil resides within our freedom to choose – sometimes creating a living hell," Gaetano said.

The Rev. Sarah Taylor Peck, senior pastor of the North Canton Community Christian Church, said evil flourishes when people defy God's most basic commandment.

"I believe evil emerges when we do the opposite of God’s greatest commandment," she said. "We are told to love our neighbors as ourselves, but so often we are tempted to judge, reject, exclude, and hurt our neighbors by what we do and what we leave undone. When we forget to care for the vulnerable, when we fail to remember that we belong to one another, that’s when evil can take hold."

Kennerk said evil can be remedied through a redemptive relationship with God.

"Our life, then, can become a correction of this perversion through Christ," Kennerk said. "This occurs personally when our perversions are reformed in Christ. It occurs communally by the life of Christ, who corrects every evil by means of his life and death. He is the good that heals the wounds of evil."

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pastors discuss the notion of evil's existence and its definition