EVIL AND DARKNESS

     I asked my bible instructor once if he thought that there was more evil in the world today than before.  His answer sticks with me today and I can never forget it.  "The amount of evil is the same today as the beginning". 
     We wonder why such bad things happen and as always there will be many who will try to place blame or find solutions.  Is it the times?  Or is it the nature of man to pursue evil?  These are questions that have been asked for eons.
     Can we be surprised at the happenings of today.  We cloak ourselves in the assumption that we are civilized.  Yet we are one minute away from chaos.  We use the superficial idea that we, somehow, are better than others.  When something bad happens we puff up our chest and say this cannot happen here.  We are civilized it is someone else that is not.
    In our area we have a rash of car thefts and burglaries.  It is a shock because this happens someplace else.  We are aghast that someone would walk into a movie about a comic book character and shoot fifty people.  What is happening?
     It is about being human.  There has always been insanity and insane acts.  Can we point to many causes?  Of course.  When a young person tunes out of the world to constantly text and cannot even have regular conversation with others.  When text spelling is invading documents and everyday lives.  When a violent game is more important than learning or helping some one out.  When groups and political figures use divisiveness as a way to promote their election and grab for power.  When fascination with the Internet substitutes for living and reasoning.  Can we be surprised?
     A wise man said if everyone would clean up their own backyard they would be too busy to meddle in others affairs.  Small vocal groups set the agenda and can force positions that have no place in common sense.
     When God is forced out of every institution and the everyday discourse of people, why should we be surprised?  Evil and Darkness is the alternative to Goodness and Light.  There is no middle ground.  As long as there is a rejection of what is positive the negative will prosper.
     The thing about the concept of sin is not so much about what we do but what we don't do.  As long as good people do nothing Evil and Darkness will have it's way.