People have often asked me if I believe in the Devil or if evil exists. I respond by saying no to the Devil and absolutely to evil. My understanding of an Evil being is one who blatantly and intentionally disrespects those entities around itself. I have to stress the word blatantly because accidental acts of disrespect don’t constitute evil as much as mistake. I guess I should also define my vision of disrespect as well. To me a disrespect to a fellow entity constitutes an intrusion into their reality be it from a physical act or psychic in nature. Every entity has the right to live as they wish and make their own choices for that life as they see fit. When an outside force blocks certain paths then they are disrespecting the others right to freedom of choice.
Examples of acts of disrespect in my eyes would be murder, judgment, isolation, or any other action that thwarts another entity from following their own choices. The tricky part is that those life choices entities make should not be disrespectful of another’s choices. The pagan Rede of “Harm none” says you can do as you wish as long as you do so only to harm no being other than yourself. If you are able to stay within those boundaries and choose life choices as so the effects of that choice are felt only by you then you are, in my opinion, respecting all around you. As you are free to make choices so should all other entities, including rocks and trees and all other parts of the universe.
It’s no mark of attitude that children often see their parents as evil beings because guidance is very disrespectful. Necessary in most cases but disrespectful none the less.
Necessary evil acts do exist and I recognize them and in most cases welcome them as I have to eat too. I kill animals for meat, I stop plants from growing further for fruits and vegetables, and cut down trees for warmth in the winter months. I stop water from reaching the earth by creating roads and parking lots and change air currents using large forces of positive pressure so that I can fly like a bird in a large tin can. I do many things that disrespect other entities and for those acts I try to offer condolence but that is only for my own benefit. When I eat an apple I thank the tree for its gift and apologize that I have stunted its reproductive system. I eat a hamburger and thank the cow for a protein source and tasting so good and apologize for not allowing it to continue living.
Its very hard to balance it all out but easily maintained if enough people start thinking straight. Its also quite humbling if people were to actually look at the impact their single life here is making on so many other instances of life. Tomatoes don’t grow so that we might have a tasty treat, it grows so the plant can live on in new growth. Kind of brings things into a new perspective to know that eating a tomato robs a plant of a potential child huh. Now switch everything around and see what happens if you try to respect all things unconditionally and without evil. You die from starvation or dehydration or exposure. Some evil is necessary and the entire natural world understands this. The cows rob grass from life by eating the blades and limiting its exposure to sunlight. Squirrels rob trees of their reproductive seed to fill their winter caches. Trees rob the soil under them of direct sunlight so that different plants might grow there.
Now to reverse the tables once again, that same cow offers nutrients so that more grass might grow, the squirrel keeps the area clean and controls the tree population from overgrowth, and those trees offer shade so that different plants that can’t handle direct sunlight can grow. The evils that we must act upon can be contradicted by replenishing the source from which we must take to live. The circle of life, as some call it, has to be completed in order for things to move smoothly. If we put ourselves in the circle and do nothing but take, then soon the resources will be depleted as will our population. To do so deliberately and without heed to the consequence to others makes the act truly evil in nature.
I’ve heard more times than I care to that the “road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In my opinion I feel that is a load of crap as good intentions don’t always end up poorly. To try to persuade people away from good intentions because the road to hell is paved with them is robbing society of many positive things. You may be able to avoid failure by not trying but you also avoid positive progress. I urge you to not fear evil but respect it and treat it as you would a sharp blade. The world may require evils and tragedy to continue but it sure doesn’t need a surplus.
Rev Peter M. Semadeni
