Evil 2.3

Sam,

First, your thoughts on dogma are interesting. CS Lewis makes some similar comments in some of his writings. I especially appreciated when you wrote that an "individual’s perception over time can become so conditioned by principles and rules that they are unable to see the greater fullness of that truth they originally sought to understand." This is something I have thought about in different ways for quite some time, but I don't know that I have ever put it so concisely. You are right on, the Truth is Jesus himself. Truth is not a series of propositions about him, as important as they are. One thing, however that I often come back to, no matter how nuanced I want to be in my view of the world in terms of culture, politics, crime, interpersonal relationships, etc., sometimes black and white and right and wrong emerge; sometimes they exist no matter how sophisticated (or honest) our understanding is. Its just that whenever we venture into the territory of making assertions that an action, an issue, an event, an idea, and so on, is black and white or right and wrong, it is in these moments that we must hope and pray the most fervently for humility and openness to the Spirit.

You wrote: "Christians fall so often into the trap of striving to live life by the Law – spiritual and behavioral disciplines – in order to attain intimacy with Christ." Sometimes I wonder if trying to attain intimacy with Christ for my own sake is like seeking to be happy. Happiness cannot be attained by seeking it directly, because true happiness comes from living a life that is worthwhile (laughing with children, spending time with the lonely, serving the poor, diligence in your work, investing in friendships, caring for family members, loving your wife and kids, etc.). I know this can be overdone because in some senses, seeking my intimacy with Christ is good for its own sake. But it is worth considering why God says to a king in Jeremiah, "caring for the poor and lonely, that is what it is to know Me." And Jesus echoes this in Matthew when He says, "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for Me."

You wrote: "As self recognized sinners, and believers of the redemptive power of Christ’s blood, scripture says that the Spirit of God indwells in us. As such, do we have an innate spiritual response to evil that others (non-believers) fail to have? If we do have an innate spiritual response, then how is it we are able to separate ourselves from any cultural conditioning (or even dogmatic conditioning) on how we perceive the evil in this world?" -- This is a very difficult question and one that there is no great answer to. But I have some thoughts. First, just because those who confess the name of Christ are given God's Spirit to "indwell" us, this does not mean that we are forced to be responsive to this Spirit. It is difficult and requires much of us to begin to shed the cultural lenses with which we see the world in order to see the world through the lense of Christianity. I do think that being formed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the whole narrative of Scripture gives us a sensitivity to evil that others do not possess, maybe in part because they give us a sensitivity toward the Spirit of God living in us. But it must be remembered that transformation out of our sinful nature into even the palest reflection of Christ is participatory on our part with God and is lifelong. It does not happen in a moment of becoming "born again" as some Christians may seem to imply. And this means that even with God's Spirit, some of us may still lack the sensitivity to perceive evil when it rears its head.

Nathan