Powerlessness in the face of evil Essay

Most People have experienced, at sensation time or another, the frustration of simply not being able to escape a thought. If it is merely a song that keeps going through our mind, or a positive or torpid image, the problem is dependable that frustration. still when it is an evil idea, our inability to throw it off, no matter what a somebody do, may drive into swell inner need. For some people, it is a question of envy or jealousy others atomic number 18 tormented by mistrust and spiteful thoughts still others seem to struggle unendingly with salacious images and ideas. Two things are very important in our life. First, we should remember that we are not alone in our struggle. It is easy to forget this, especi every last(predicate)y when our inner struggle is long or intense. The struggle is a general one, and may be oercome at least in part by sharing it with soul the afflicted soulfulness trusts, whether a pastor or priest, a spouse, a mentor, or a tight friend. Second, p eople must remain reassured that there is a way divulge. Once people accommodate in to the demons of self doubt and fear, the battle has already been lost.It is a general belief that the feeling of paralysis or strengthlessness in the face of evil lies, close to being possessed. It may even be possession. maven needs to exercise caution in using the wordthere is a body politic in which people might feel besieged by evil spirits, yet do not let them take full possession of us. What the New Testament calls possession comes about when a person is completely dominated by the power of evil. But one must recognize that there are people today in such a condition. In a world where all(prenominal)thing is explained away by psychology and psychiatry, it seems tempting to dismiss the idea of possession. People have a medical label for every ill and, it seems, a cure. Yet there are so more people for whom psychiatry is ultimately of no help 1 has ofttimes wondered that would happen i f rescuer were to visit our oerflowing mental hospitals. retrenchment Though some evil thoughts can be easily dismissed (or overcome by a short prayer), others are lots harder to expel. In the case of such besetting evil thoughts, our natural reaction is often suppression to push the offending idea back down, deep into our subconscious, in order to rid ourselves of it quickly. But that never works. As Freud and countless others have shown, a suppressed thought will always resurface, just like a corked bottle that is pushed below the water solely bobs up again as soon as it is released. The only alternativeto continue with the picture of bottleis to grasp it and throw it out of the water altogether. In other words, the most effective way to truly rid our mind of a suppressed thought is to face it squarely and reject it. paragon the Creator and Creation As a weak, despised, persecuted community who followed a crucified Messiah, the first Christians k rude(a) all too well in their own experience that afterward Easter Sunday the powers of darkness were still at work in and nigh them. But because they remembered the power of beau ideal that elevated the Nazarene form the dead and made him to be not only their manufacturing business but the Lord of the whole world, they were sure that however powerful the forces of evil may be, however much damage they may still do, they are doomed to failure in their attempt to take a throne that does not belong to them. These Christians, therefore, looked forward to the future with the absolute certainty that the justice and love of perfection that had been victorious would finally be victorious both in their own lives and in the world around them. The early Christians memory of Jesus resurrection also led them to remember the cross of Christ in a new way. It became for them a sign not only of Jesus (and divinity fudges) powerlessness in the in the face of evil but also a sign of love of Jesus (and God), which was so great that he (and the God who sent him) was willing to suffer and even die for needy, suffering, sinful people. If the memory of Jesus resurrection meant corporate trust in Gods liberating power over the powers of evil, the memory of Jesus cross meant confidence in the self-giving, suffering love of a Christ (and God) that was present with them even in the depths of their suffering and dying. It meant that cypher could separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord James Charlesworth, with many others, sees apocalypticism as resulting from a collapse in the world of meaning. The apocalyptic texts are a lament over the failure of ordinary historical process to resolve human problems. They are a eulogy over an exhausted, worn-out earth and the present age of suffering, and they culminate in a vision of a new age in which the wolf shall live with the lamb and peace will prevail throughout the world. One side of Hebraic apocalypticism is irenic and conciliatorythe nations will finally be at peace with one anotherwhile the other side is warlike and vengefulthe enemies of gods people (either all Gentiles or some of them) will suffer ultimate defeat and receive punishment for their sins.Reactions to apocalypticism have varied, but a common modern repose is to see it as escapist. It tells that though the present world is fill with incredible evil, there is a realm beyond where God triumphs, the righteous flourish, and the wicked suffer. Once again, the lines are somewhat blurry in as much as the classical Hebrew prophets all announced that ultimate salvation was Gods work and not a human accomplishment. Apocalypticism is in effect an intensification of the sense of human powerlessness in the face of evil.Discerning the Divine The first Christians remembered Jesus, the tragic and exculpated victim of evil who cried, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? only to remember also that Jesus later had been raised by Gods power, victorious over the worst that ev il could do. Christ is risen From the offshoot there were signs among believers that the Spirit of Jesus was inaugurating the farming of life in the face of the still present kingdom of death. The reality if resurrection provided a new way of viewing the cross of Jesus. More than a sign of Gods powerlessness in the face of evil, the cross became a sign of Gods frightful love that transforms the worst of evil into the fullness of life. Faith in a just and loving God is not based on good or bad experience in the immediate present. One helpful answer to the troubling question Why is there evil if God is good and all-powerful? It is called the logic of love theodicy. This logic presumes that God originally created for the sake of enabling loving relationships, a intent requiring the granting of real freedom to the created. God will love, but in the process open the door to the potentially wrong use of freedom, which is evil (live spelled backward). Thus, though God does not protect us from ourselves, God is there redeeming every situation, though exactly how, we may not yet always know. workings citedArnold, Heini. Arnold, Heinrich, J. Freedom from Sinful Thoughts. Plough Publishing House1997. pg. 33-35Callen, L, Barry. Discerning the Divine God in Christian Theology. geneva Westminster John Knox Press 2004. pg. 134Guthrie, C, Shirley. Christian Doctrine. Geneva Westminster John Knox Presspg. 186McClymond, James, Michael. Familiar Stranger An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth. WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing 2004. pg. 70