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Was Evil Good For Mankind?

Is it possible that in some sense evil has been good for mankind? I have written a fair amount on evil in the past, for example:

If one is rational … evil does exist. If one believes in God or a Supreme Being who created the universe then it is hard to deny that this God is the author of [some kinds] of evil. In the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament this is made clear:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Isaiah 45:7

Is Evil Real?, April 11, 2015

To really understand evil we must understand that it does have a purpose. Without evil good could not exist. Without hate love could not exist. We live in a world of duality and whether it is an illusion [or not] is simply irrelevant.

Are Good And Evil Real?, May 3, 2015

For there to be purpose in existence there has to be a “purpose-er,” the one who has a purpose, an intention, and a goal in mind (and therefore intelligence). My belief, and you may share it, is that there is a greater life and greater intelligence that has a purpose in existence and what we call “evil” is part of that purpose.

Is Evil Necessary?, April 25, 2015

Life and human evolution has a direction, a purposeful direction, towards greater complexity and interdependence. We can see this as we look at the history of humanity. In pre-history there were small bands of hunter gatherers which evolved to tribes which evolved to even larger and more complex chiefdoms to city states and to nation states. In each case we have societies that are larger, and more complex than those that preceded them.

Currently we are on the verge of planetary governance (or planetary destruction if we don’t). Maybe not in the lifetime of everyone reading this, but in terms of human history we are closer than we have ever been before.

One of the most powerful forces leading to larger and more complex human societies was evil, a very specific kind of human evil, the evil of human’s robbing, killing, raping, and enslaving other human beings. Humans learned to organize into larger and more complex societies, where for example, some could concentrate on making better weapons. They did this for self-protection, banding together to defend themselves or to defeat their enemies . But as one group formed a larger group others imitated them. It was literally an “arms race.”

As far as we can tell humanity has been in an arms race for as long as their have been humans.

Without the evil that motivated humans to come together into larger and more complex groups many things that are good would not have come either. Trade, farming, science, mathematics, writing, and the list goes on and on are things that humans learned to do as their societies became larger and more complex, with more specialization, and especially more cooperation with the trick being to ever expand the sphere of cooperation.

This evil was one powerful force drawing people together. There was another force, not of evil, but of good that worked in the same direction. That was the good of humans learning that life did not have to be a zero-sum game (where one side is a loser and the other is a winner). A life of interdependence, cooperation, trade, and mutual support can be a “win-win” game for everyone, a non-zero-sum game.

Cultural anthropologists have characterized these as “push” and “pull” forces and argued over which was most important. The “push” force is the evil of human’s preying on others and the “pull” force is human’s learning how much more they can benefit from working with each other instead of killing each other.

Capitalism, whatever some may see as its defects, was undoubtedly one of the greatest “pull” forces of all time. If humanity is to survive it is the “pull” forces of global trade and cooperation that will largely determine that. A country deeply invested in building our iPhones and other toys is less likely to want to bomb us out of existence.

It will be interesting to see how this works out as humanity explores even greater forms of mutual interdependence . The Jesuit priest, philosopher, and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin theorized of an Omega Point, a point of ultimate evolution and divine complexity.

In a very real sense evil may have been necessary, and ultimately good for humanity if we can reach that point without blowing up the planet first.

The Antichrist of Alice A. Bailey

While searching through the writings of Alice A. Bailey (AAB) I came across a number of references to the Antichrist (or anti-Christ). Some critics of AAB claim that she doesn’t believe in an Antichrist as understood in the traditional Christian thinking. In that I think they are probably right – you can judge yourself from the following quotes. Nevertheless it does seem clear that she did believe in a duality of good and evil.

Below are all of the examples I found of “Antichrist” or “anti-Christ”:

The dark forces work with the form side of expression and with the founding of a centre of control which will be theirs entirely and which will subdue all the living forms in all kingdoms to their peculiar behests. It is the old story, familiar in Biblical phraseology, of the kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of the Christ, of the power of anti-Christ and the power of Christ. – Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology II – Chapter II – The Ray of Personality – Problems of Disciples and Mystics

“The work of what in the West is called “the Christ Principle” is to build the forms for the expression of quality and life. That is the characteristic work of the second aspect of divinity. The work of the Antichrist is to destroy forms, and this is essentially the work of the first expression of divinity. But the work of the destroyer is not the work of black magic, and when ignorant humanity regards Antichrist as working on the black side, their error is great. His work is as beneficent as that of the building aspect, and it is but man’s hatred of the death of forms which makes him regard the work of the destroyer as “black,” as being against the divine will, and as subversive of the divine programme. The work of the representatives of that mysterious power which we call cosmic evil, and their responding representatives, is indeed worthy of the word “black”; but it is not applicable to the work of Antichrist. It might be added that the work of the black forces wells up from below, whilst the work of the destroyers is impelled from above.” –Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology Volume 1 – Synopsis of a Treatise on The Seven Rays

Continue reading “The Antichrist of Alice A. Bailey”

Islam Is Not Just A Religion – It Is A Government

It would be a mistake to view Islam as just a religion. Islam contains in its core teachings the belief that proper government is an Islamic government and that government should be run exclusively by and for Muslims. Islam teaches that government, the Islamic state, a state under Sharia law, should discriminate against non-Muslim Zimmis and force them to pay a tax – the Jizya – for the right to live as a 2nd class citizen with far fewer rights than a Muslim.

Abul A’la Maududi (1903-1979) , a prominent Islamic scholar, wrote:

“An Islamic state is essentially an ideological state, and is thus radically different from a national state.”

“An Islamic state is a Muslim state, but a Muslim state may not be an Islamic state unless and until the Constitution of the state is based on the Qur’an and Sunnah.”

From “Rights of Non-Muslims in an Islamic State” by Samuel Shahid:

According to Muslim jurists, the following legal ordinances must be enforced on Zimmis (Christians and Jews alike) who reside among Muslims:

Zimmis are not allowed to build new churches, temples, or synagogues.
Zimmis are not allowed to pray or read their sacred books out loud at home or in churches, lest Muslims hear their prayers.
Zimmis are not allowed to print their religious books or sell them in public places and markets.
Zimmis are not allowed to install the cross on their houses or churches since it is a symbol of infidelity.
Zimmis are not permitted to broadcast or display their ceremonial religious rituals on radio or television or to use the media or to publish any picture of their religious ceremonies in newspaper and magazines.
Zimmis are not allowed to congregate in the streets during their religious festivals; rather, each must quietly make his way to his church or temple.
Zimmis are not allowed to join the army unless there is indispensable need for them in which case they are not allowed to assume leadership positions but are considered mercenaries.

Non-Muslims in western democracies need to fully understand that the ultimate goal of Islam and its followers is not only to make their religion the dominant religion in the world, but also to subjugate anyone who is not a Muslim under Islamic (Sharia) law.

Islam is not just a religion. It is a blueprint for a totalitarian state that allows no criticism or dissent. Not all enlightened people, those on a spiritual path, believe in concepts of dark and light, of good and evil. Nevertheless these are realities of the world, whether real or illusion, that we must live and work in.

The light seeks to give individuals more freedom. One cannot progress without the freedom to choose. All that which enslaves the individual under strong authority does not belong to the light.