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The Origin of Evil and Suffering
The tragic shooting of 35 students
and teachers in Colorado last month are a graphic reminder of the struggle between
good and evil in the world. Witnesses reported that when one of the teenage gunmen
asked a trapped student, "Do you believe in God?," the girl answered yesñand was
executed.
This senseless massacre is an unnerving reminder of the unease we feel deep inside,
the unexpressed fear for our personal safety and security and that of our loved ones.
We want life to be predictable and safe. We don't want to fall victim to crime, social
unrest, terrorism or that greatest of tragedies, war.
Where and how did evil begin?
Jesus Christ spoke of one He called "a murderer from the beginning" and "a liar and
the father of lies" (John 8:44, New Revised Standard Version). Here Jesus identifies
the origin of evil and suffering, a being who initiated lying, deceit, hatred and
murder--the enemy, the adversary of mankind, the devil (1Peter 5:8).
We wonder, and rightly so, what happens in the mind of a criminal that transforms
him into a sadist, mass murderer, a savage beast with no compassion. Such a change
took place in the mind of the being who became the devil.
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