Obviously we’re going to disagree on some of the specifics – especially if you’re going to invoke Galatians 5:20 I’m Pagan and therefor practice what Christians refer to as witchcraft.

That point aside, you have a valid point in that evil or wickedness may be being accepted and embraced by modern society. I think though that this acceptance is based on being afraid to confront evil. If you can’t beat them, join them.

Wow, the feathers were really ruffled, huh! Just wanted to add an additional thought to “I blame it on a sick society who’s too afraid to face evil.”

I’m not so sure that part of the problem is a society that’s afraid to face evil,as much as it is a society that has just accepted and, or embraced evil as the norm, thus embracing evil period.

Evil covers a wide area indeed, but I myself view even some of the “minor” evils such as borderline soft-core porn on TV, the glamorization of violence in some of the music that permeates the culture, to the commonplace practice of verbal, psychological & physical disrespect to one another in movies and via the internet as both signs and contributors to the moral decay of society.

It’s not all just media mind you, and it certainly is not a reason to excuse nor rationalize why anyone would kill, mame, abuse or degrade another human being; however these venues do seem to both set as a precedence & reflect an increasing attitude within society to devalue one another.

As you eluded to in another comment; some people gravitate toward evil, some love evil (slaves to the “flesh”). Ultimately it comes back to Biblical truths about the corrupt & sinful nature of man as expressed in Galations 5:19-21 (KJV):

“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such…”

Too much anger and not enough love.

The “poor baby” isn’t so cute in his pathos when he’s on a killing spree.

Thanks for the post.

We’re no longer willing to demand that people be responsible for themselves.

Exactly.

And while there are those out there who are mentally ill, there are others who choose, as you and others have pointed out, to carry out evil intentions and who are not some poor byproduct of actions done to them – we choose how to respond in life, and we may have a more rough time to work through things than others, but ultimately, we still are responsible for our behavior.

I am exasperated at those who are so quick to remove individual responsibility from the shoulders of ourselves, of others’. Yeah, life is messed up and sometimes we face things we should never, ever have had to face, but difficulties, pain, and brokenness do not give us a free pass to wreck havoc on whomever we please as a result. We do not have carte blanche to do whatever we will, nor should we make excuses for others when they do so. That kind of thinking only further spawns irresponsibility – we want to blame everyone else but ourselves for our actions, and we’re just as willing to excuse others, saying effectively, “poor baby.”

There is evil, there is wickedness, and some people choose both. Let’s start calling a spade a spade.

I believe that describing individuals as evil doesn’t dehumanize them – except to the people who refuse to accept that evil is a human trait. I believe labeling them as sick actually dehumanizes them more, since we do not expect the ill to be responsible and treat them as their illness rather than as a person.

Nightbird16, Welcome to Reflections From A Murky Pond

Yeah, my first comment on your blog was a “rant”; the tendency for people to blame wrong or evil behaviors on mental illness or a societal sickness sets me off like a bomb. Sorry.

I’ve seen a lot of people turn to darkness as well. I don’t think that’s indicative of a sickness. I think it’s indicative of poor choices, weakness of will, and a desire to blame someone or something – anything – for their problems.

I’d like to point out that I’m not talking about self destructive individuals. Such behavior may be weakness or actually illness. I’m talking about people like Dawkins and Murrey who weren’t satisfied with harming themselves, or even just people who had specifically harmed them, but chose to go on a killing rampage instead. The evil wasn’t the suicidal depression; it was the decision to try to slaughter other people as well.

A killing spree isn’t a cry for help; it’s a selfish power trip rooted in evil.

Brian, welcome back again

I’ve already asked myself why – answered myself to some extent in this post as well. My belief is that part of the reason America is so violent is that we equate antisocial and/or evil behavior with mental illness. We’re no longer willing to demand that people be responsible for themselves.

I’ve seen too many young people turn dark and self destructive from bullying, rejection by kids, violence in gangs, rape, kidnapping, perverts kidnapping, using and killing small children, and kids killing kids for no reason whatsoever. I’ve seen too many parents who become parents not knowing how to be parents or handle their children’s problems or crises. I’ve seen too many people who didn’t want to be bothered unloading on kids who couldn’t handle their lives, manage relationships, meet expectations, handle their sexuality. I’m tempted too to point my finger at kids doing ridiculous acts like these. Kids are not equipped to handle overwhelm, and parents are too often not equipped to handle kids in overwhelm.

Are they responsible for what they do? Certainly. No question. I’d like to see these issues handled before they get to the point when the guns come out though. In the end, I see these situations as a preventable tragedy and not as “evil” in the person. The evil was done when nothing was done to prevent this.

You are right though. It IS best to be up front and discuss our disagreements…if that is what we have. Actually, you sound like a worldly and experienced person.

And this is the problem with simply labeling individuals “evil.” It dehumanizes them, and more importantly, prevents us from seeing that their desires and their actions are fundamentally human.

Killing innocent people is wrong, but it is possible to understand why someone would do that, and understanding is really the only to prevent these things from happening. Pretending that those actions are inhuman only serves to heighten are surprise when they do, and deludes us into thinking that we would never do the same.

I do think there exists evil, and I think those acts were evil, but I don’t think the individuals were evil.