a short answer to the age old question of evil

Friends looking at the light from on top of Cerro Negro in Nicaragua (c) Gabe Korinek

I don't know of any one question that has captured the thoughts of so many through the years, decades, millenia:  what is the nature of evil, and why are we aware of it?

An answer came to me recently, knocked and simply stated - the reason we are aware of evil is that we are not aware of good.  So, all you prayer warriors out there, walk with me on this one.

The reason we are aware of evil is that we are not conscious of or awakened enough to the allness of God.  It is kind of like saying, the reason we are in the dark is because we can't see the light.

So that puts the full weight of the issue on understanding the light - God.  To unravel the snarls of evil thoughts, motives, and strategies, one turns on the light.  No time needs to be wasted on finding the cause for evil, its history, its prospects for the future, its power. The eradication of evil happens when we engage with omnipotent good.

A few ideas from MBEddy's writings help bring this lesson home (these are all from her book Unity of Good):

"By knowing the unreality of disease, sin and death, you demonstrate the allness of God." (page 9)
And the allness of God is all good.

"God says 'I am too pure to behold iniquity, and destroy everything that is unlike Myself'" (page 18)
Just as the light destroys darkness.

"A lie (another word for evil) has only one chance of successful deception, - to be accounted true." (page 17)
This puts us in the driver's seat.  Don't give away the power.  Don't believe the lie.

Here are some other posts that demonstrate this principle of destroying evil (evil includes anything bad here: sin, disease, death, lack, etc.) by understanding the light, God.

Stripping off the disguise of evil

Since God exists, what about evil?