One question that consistently comes up in terms of spirituality (or possibly more properly, for folks coming from a Christian background) is the notion of good vs evil. Now, if you’re coming to this post from a Christian perspective, the notion of good and evil is inherent in the religion. (Check out previous posts on spirituality, religion and cults at the links!)
OK, so Catholics add on the notion of “original sin”, so that humans are technically more inclined towards evil.
(1) the sin that Adam committed;
(2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.
Catholic Encyclopedia
There has been one person in this entire history of the world born without original sin, according to Catholicism, and that’s the Virgin Mary. Cos she had to be “perfect” to bear the son of God. Yes, misogyny permeates certain religions…
Anyway, back to good and evil. Evil is not submitting to God’s will according to some. All goodness flows from God and evil is working against him.
What about non-Christian backgrounds
Well, if you take the definitions mentioned above, with “good” meaning submitting to God’s will and “evil” meaning fighting against it, it’s difficult to consider good and evil outside of a monotheistic belief system.
Here’s the thing though. Plenty of people in this world exist outside a monotheistic belief system. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 72% of people believe in God. Only 62% of them said they were religious though. 59% believe in Heaven; 53% believe in Hell.
Now, of course, if someone asked me to I believe in God as part of a high level poll, I’d probably answer “yes”. The actual answer is a bit more nuanced though. And this feeds into my beliefs around good and evil.
Most societies in the world have ideas around good and evil. Whether it’s correct behaviour, manners, courtesy, politeness, right & wrong… whatever it is, pretty much all societies have these sorts of rules.
We classify certain people and actions almost universally as evil. Hitler is usually a good one for this. (Although he still has his supporters…) Anyone killing babies indiscriminately is usually good for this. (Aside from some wars raging around the planet right now, anyway.)
Right Relationship
Well, in Irish spirituality, we have a notion called “right relationship”. Now, this concept, I’ve seen best explained by Lora O’Brien, over at the Irish Pagan School blog:
This concept, rooted in respect and reciprocity, helps us navigate the complex world of cultural appreciation versus appropriation. It’s more than just a set of guidelines; it’s a mindset that fosters deeper understanding and ethical interactions with the rich diversity of global cultures.
Lora O’Brien, at link above
Now, this concept of “right relationship” is more complex that good vs evil.
No one can come out and say “This is for definite absolutely wrong in any and all circumstances”. (Well ok, we can probably go back to baby-killing here. It’s not the only example of something I consider absolutely, no exceptions wrong. But it’s the easiest one to sell to people…)
There is always nuance. There are always considerations to be considered. (Oh yeah, I did that!) There is context, history, social norms, all sorts.
What does this look like?
In short – it’s complicated. And, it’s not always equally balanced. I don’t expect my relationship with Brigid to be a transactional tit-for-tat type thing. I have my jobs and she has hers. Sure, I can ask for help, same way she can and we can both say yes or no. To be fair, the consequences of me saying no are probably greater than for her to say no, but then her perspective and vision are far different from mine as well.
But for me – it means keeping to my end of the bargain. I have my jobs to do and I do my best to get them done. Just because I don’t do something, doesn’t mean I’m submitting to evil though. Neither does doing something make me “good” somehow. The concepts of good and evil just don’t enter my daily life in the same way as a pagan.
I think of things like positive action, supporting this or that cause, making the world better. I think of actions I’d prefer weren’t taken, illogical or hurtful laws. Good and evil don’t really enter my consciousness too much.
Problems with good and evil
Well here’s the thing. By attributing “good” and “evil” to God’s will alone, we kinda let humans off the hook. I’m fairly certain God didn’t call on Hitler to murder 6,000,000+ Jews. (Not to mention all the other people he killed. Maybe not personally, but y’know…)
I’m fairly certain no positive force in world wanted their people to go on Crusade, attack innocent villages, rip families apart, lock women up for book reading, and all the other horrible things that have been done in God’s name. And I’m in no way limiting this to just Christians by the way. If you look at China and the Uighurs, China and most religions, Burma and Sri Lanka with Buddhism vs Islam… and that’s just from memory.
Christianity isn’t the only deity based religion that does plenty evil by any manner or means. But it does happen to be the prevailing religion in the West shall we say (Europe and North America to be more exact) So, considering good and evil under the Christian guise is kinda important, I’d say.
Usually, the trouble comes when religious leaders renounce nuance and start making authoritative statements. “Killing is wrong”. Absolutely. What about self-defence?
To be fair, there’s usually a fair bit of hypocrisy coming from these authorities as well. How many Princes of the Church (thinking Catholic cardinals here) live in actual palaces? Think of the uproar Pope Francis caused when he refused to live in the usual papal quarters but took a small apartment in Rome instead. Uproar because he has sworn a vow of poverty… and there’s no bloody way the papal apartments in the Vatican represent poverty.
So, is hypocrisy evil? I don’t think so, in and of itself. But it’s not exactly good either, now is it?
Putting it to bed
Well, we’ve not gotten very far here. But there are a few things I would finish up with.
Most spiritual paths that aren’t established religions or cults in the negative sense encourage you to consider nuance and make your own decisions. Basically, do your own thinking. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t similar paths within established religions as well. It’s just, they tend to be more difficult to find. And, in my experience, it can take a lot of time and energy to find someone to discuss these things with.
Equally, “good” and “evil” are only useful concepts in terms of how they are defined. And there’s so little in this world that we can universally agree on that is 100% good or 100% evil.
In the end, it comes down to you. You have to step up and do your own thinking here. It comes down to doing your work, finding what facts you can, putting your energy where you feel it will do the most good.
There are no simple answer. As practitioners of Brigid, we should be used to living in the liminal. But, oh, there’s times it’s bloody hard! That’s no reason to give up though!
