Today is Youth Sunday, which means that our youth are participating in the leadership of our worship, and that our focus is on them and their concerns. Two weeks ago, I invited the youth to propose a topic for today's sermon--what question would they like answered, or what issue would they like me to explore. The first issue that emerged was the question of doubt about the existence of God. The more urgent issue is the question of evil, and specifically the relationship of God and evil. The terrorist attack on 9/11, the repressive regime of Saddam Hussain, and the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, are the world events which make this question relevant for all of us.

In the Bible, and in the history of Christianity, there are 4 ways this issue has been addressed. I will describe each one briefly, and indicate what it means in practical terms. And of course, I will tell you which one I find most persuasive. I'll be interested to hear from you, at the picnic, which one you find most persuasive.

The oldest idea about the origin of evil, in the Old Testament, is that God creates both good, and evil. This is pure monotheism--there is only one God, there are no other spiritual forces in the universe, and God is all mighty. In the Old Testament, we read in many places that God has sent punishments of famine, disease, defeat in battle, and death. In the prophet Isaiah, God says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things." (45:7) Weal is an old-fashioned word for well-being, and woe means disaster. These ideas led to the theology of retribution, which can also be found in many places in the Old Testament, especially the psalms. The basic idea is that God rewards good behavior, by giving wealth, children, success, and long life. And also, God punishes bad behavior by sending poverty, failure, infertility, and disease. Already within the Old Testament, there are questions about whether this is true: the book of Job in particular is a long conversation about whether disaster is always and inevitably a punishment from God. There are still people today who think along these lines. Perhaps you remember after 9/11, Jerry Falwell called the terrorist attack God's punishment for allowing "pagans, feminists, abortionists, gays and lesbians, and the ACLU" to secularize America (700 Club, Sept 14,01, CNN).

The second way the issue of God and evil has been addressed is to assume that there are two equal spiritual forces or supreme beings: one is good and one is evil. This belief is only found at the fringes of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. For example, the Zoroastrian religion which began in Iran in the 7th century BC believed that the God of Light, Ahura Mazda, was in an ongoing conflict with the God of Darknesss, Ahriman. Similar beliefs appear in the apocalyptic literature of Judaism during the 300 years before the birth of Jesus. The Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls expected a great battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness; and some early Christians called Gnostics thought this world was ruled by an evil god. Later in the 13th century in southern France, a group called the Cathars had similar ideas. The appeal of this belief is that it seems to explain why bad things happen to good people, and it gives people someone to blame for those bad things. In our era, moviemakers are especially fond of this belief: think about the cosmic forces of good and evil in Star Wars, Spiderman, Harry Potter, and the Lord of the Rings. In each movie there is an evil being with supernatural power, who controls armies, peoples and technology for destructive purposes. And in each movie the good guys must struggle against great odds to prevent the evil being from taking over.

The third way this issue of God and evil has been addressed, is a variation of the previous one. There is an evil being, but it is not the equal of God; it is subordinate, and God will triumph in the end. If you read any one of the Gospels straight through like a novel, you might be surprised at how often Satan is mentioned. Jesus seems to have accepted the existence of Satan, and of demons, and referred to this evil being by several other names: Beelzebub, prince of darkness, Belial, and the ruler of this world! According to 3 of the Gospels, Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days in the desert at the beginning of his ministry. Quite a few of the healings of Jesus are exorcisms, in which Jesus casts a demon out of a person, who is then restored to health. When the New Testament authors are telling how Jesus saves us, they have 4 or 5 explanations, two of which involve Satan. One explanation is that Jesus was given to Satan as a ransom for sinful humanity. A closely related explanation is that death is a punishment for sin, so when a sinless man, Jesus, was put to death, the power of death was broken. The resurrection of Jesus is proof that evil is fighting a losing battle. In C.S. Lewis' book, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, this explanation is retold as a children's story, with the figure of Jesus played by a talking lion, Aslan. Obviously, this third version of the relationship between God and evil is the historic and traditional Christian understanding.

In the 20th century, however, with the development of human psychology, many Christians have come to believe that the whole idea of Satan is a fabrication, which people use to avoid responsibility for their actions. Especially with the discovery of the unconscious mind, and with the scientific analysis of mental illness, many strange behaviors that were explained in the past by the influence of the devil, now can be understood without that belief. It is interesting to note that the prophet Jeremiah would fit in better with modern psychology than with the idea of a devil. He said, "the heart is devious above all else, it is perverse--who can understand it?" Jeremiah is referring to the complex desires people have, some conscious and some unconscious, to exert control, to have things their own way, to look good or to be popular, to get revenge, to compete, and to be respected, or feared. That might be a description of Saddam Hussain, or of the 9/11 terrorists . . . but it might also be a description of any of us! Some people become devious or perverse because they are treated badly or abused, and others become perverse in the name of loyalty to a cause, which they think justifies any harm they might do.

The answer I find most persuasive is built on that analysis of the human heart. The evil we see in the world can be explained by human beings who have chosen to do harm for their own perverse reasons. Then the question becomes, why doesn't God prevent the hijacking of airplanes or the massacre of civilians? Is God in control, or not? Over the centuries, the church has made much of the idea that God is omnipotent, which means, all-powerful. There are many places in the Bible which use the language of omnipotence, from Noah's flood to the parting of the Red Sea, to Jesus' walking on the sea. What I have come gradually to believe, is that God is not all-powerful. God's real power is his power to create, and his infinite ability to love. I do not think God has the power to destroy, and I do not think God has the power to stop a human being who is firing a gun or hijacking an airplane.

What this means in practical terms, is that God has created a world full of unique human beings, each with special talents and abilities, and EACH WITH FREE WILL. When one of us turns aside from using our talents for good purposes, God is powerless to prevent the evil that is done. But because of God's love and creative power, we often see very good things happening after tragedies, because that divine love and creativity flow into people who direct that spiritual energy to good purposes. This analysis also explains why our religion is focussed on the crucifixion of Jesus. Even though God became incarnate in Jesus, he did not have the power to prevent the crucifixion. What he did have the power to do, was to create a whole new reality, namely resurrection from death.

If my analysis is correct, it means that each one of us, has enormous power within ourselves, to create and to love, OR, to do great harm. It seems that some people will always chose the way described in Psalm 10, "the wicked arrogantly persecute the poor" or the way of Judas, who betrayed Jesus. Evil is a choice we make, and good is a choice we make. In the end, it is as much a question of what kind of person do I want to be, as it is a question of what God is like.

Amen