The Agony and the Irony
Quiz time:
Evil and Righteousness have a common root, which is the all-consuming desire for... what?
Add a comment to this post, and make your best guess. Let me know if you need a hint.
Posted at 12:29 PM
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God. Evil seeks out God in something other than God.
That's actually very close. Partial credit.
The reason I would say that it's not the exact right answer, is that, to seek God (in whatever form), one has to seek a higher being. And much of evil springs from not wanting any being to be higher than you.
I probably should have written my answer in a different way. You asked what Evil DESIRES (not seeks). People desire God. Evil is the seeking out of something else besides God to satisfy that desire. So isn't evil partially about the desire for God (but the seeking of something besides Him).
Okay, can I just guess? All consuming desire for: life, righteousness, peace, joy, good mexican food,
You could argue your point pretty well, and be correct. But I think you will like my answer better.
Here's a hint: The Agony begins at Genesis 3:5, and the Irony is expressed very succinctly in Philippians 2:5,6. Compare verses 5 and 6, and ask yourself what is ironic, or paradoxical about their juxtaposition (especially in light of Genesis 3:5.)
Without reading the Script, the first thing that popped into my mind was Lucifer. Lucifer was (at one point in Eternity) God's most righteous and beloved Angel. Then Lucifer wanted to be not only like God but also higher than God. His desire was to be the God of the Universe.
We all know what happened to that Angel!
Evil and righteousness had a common root when referring to, what we now call, "The Prince of Darkness".
You nailed it!
The answer is... Godlikeness.
I did like your answer better but not at first.
Jesus didn't even consider being like God something to be grasped - that's amazing.
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[Feel free to delete the original comment if this ends up getting posted twice. I encountered an error while publishing and my comment wasn't showing up.]
Point well made! While Christians are commanded throughout Scripture to "be imitators of Christ" and "be holy in all you do...because I am holy" and "have the same attitude as Christ Jesus", the Psalmist as well as Paul in his letter to the Church in Rome hammer the point that God is in heaven (i.e. infinitely transcendent above us) and we are on earth. There are most definitely God-like characteristics which, if we even attempted to claim for ourselves (let alone obsessed over) we would be in grave sin-- things such as pronouncing eternal condemnation or salvation on people, claiming to be infallible, demanding ultimate and unbridled authority for ourselves, hoarding wealth and possessions (God owns everything!), believing that we are in complete control of our own lives (God is, to some extent), and so on.
It's also noteworthy, I think, to mention the difference between being consumed with being 'Godlikeness' to the nth degree and being consumed with righteousness itself. For one, God has mandated that we 'obsess' over righteousness, so it's not a matter of what is or isn't helpful from a sociological point of view. It also helps, I think, to recognize that being consumed with thinking and behaving righteously does not put all one's eggs in one basket, so to speak. It's not as if preoccupation with holiness keeps one from focusing on anything else or enjoying most of the 'things' of life (i.e. friends, family, career, leisure, cultural appreciation, social activism, community development, etc.). Although it is certainly possible to go to such an extreme (a la, early Christian ascetics/monks), this would hardly be typical.
Great conversation, bro! And great comments, Caleb and Ariel. Nice chatting with you all.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things]. Isaiah 45:7 KJV
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