Why are People so Evil - Three Biblical Reasons

Why are we so Evil?

My day job is at Howard University. Back in the Summer of 2023, We all received an email note from the Department of Public Safety - the campus police. It included the following:

Two students residing in off-campus housing reported being robbed of wallets and other personal property by a Black male. The suspect is described as 5'5" in height, dark complexioned and wearing a black mask.

The email note then gave guidelines to students, faculty, and staff on how to be safe and hopefully avoid such encounters.  

Howard University is one of the nation's premier historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). Thus, it is highly probable that the two students who were robbed were black. Many call this a black-on-black crime.  If you know me, you know that I am black and I am saddened by what a significant number of young black people in my community are doing with their lives.  I hate the lies from Satan about human sexuality, drinking, and marijuana.  I hate the lack of control surrounding the normal passions of all humans for sex and fun that easily entangle the young (as well as many of the old!).  I am sad by the despair and lostness that many young people - especially young black people, actually endure.  I am also saddened by the lack of knowledge and general ignorance many young black people have about how the world really works. This is true about the young, in general. Oh sure, many understand that the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and racism in our country was evil, but to extrapolate that to hating all white people is ridiculous.  To be sure, many white Americans lack cultural and social awareness about other cultures but it is a logical fallacy to categorically associate racism with all white people, or any given person based on a general lack of cultural and social awareness of Americans.

But I digress.  The question here is why do people treat each other this way?  Why are people so evil?  This black-on-black crime is ridiculous but inevitable. Crime is inevitable.  White-on-White, Asian-on-Asian, Black-on-Black, Hispanic-on-Hispanic, and every permutation you can think of is going to happen.  My atheistic friends have some utopian dream that if they eliminate religion, then they can build a loving and crime-free society.  Sorry, but even in the imaginary future Earth of the world of Star Trek where money is not needed, there are all kinds of crime and evil going on. Not to mention, if the human mind can go awry or be defective, fractured, or broken in some way, just like any other part of the human body, then people hurting each other - purposeful or not - will continue forever! Eugenics for example was (is?) a very bad attempt to remove evil and other "undesired traits" from mankind.  Evil behavior is inevitable and will be with us until Jesus returns.  Why is this so?

Reason 1 - The Fall (Genesis 3)

There are three biblical reasons human beings can hurt each other and act on that capability, often in some really dark and sinister ways.  The first is obvious - mankind fell into sin in the Garden of Eden and was somehow substantially changed by God based on a curse. In addition, because of Adam's sin, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and experienced a separation from God physically and relationally.  As it is written, 

So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)

The curse (See Genesis 3:16-19) somehow affected Adam and Eve physically (they would now experience death - which, theologically, is a type of separation, their being banished from God's presence was a type of immediate death), but all of creation was also cursed.  As it is written, "Cursed is the ground because of you..."

Reason 2 - Rebellious Watchers Group 1

Most Christians understand this as The Fall and tend to see it as the reason the world has so much crime, evil, pain, and suffering.  However, two more incidents impact humanity's ability to do evil as well as experience pain and suffering.  The first is the dividing of the nations in Genesis 11 at what is commonly known as the Tower of Babel. It's subtle, but the scattering of the nations based on different languages was a curse.  Humanity was arrogantly building this city and this tower/ziggurat to make a n ame for themselves.  They did NOT want to be scattered over the face of the whole earth (Gen 11:4) In response to this selfish, ego-driven arrogance, God said the following:

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

Thus, the confusion of the languages and the resulting scattering is also a curse. (By the way, the pronouns in this passage are plural, and so who else God was talking with is debated amongst biblical scholars).  What is NOT explained is that in the ancient world, "gods" were territorial and so with the scattering, God had assigned spiritual beings to oversee various territories. Many years after this incident, Moses warns Israel not to lift up their eyes to the "gods" in the land they will possess. (Deuteronomy 4:19–20).  In Psalm 82, God judges these other "gods" because they allowed, maybe even encouraged people to worship them and not worship the one true God most High, Yahweh, the creator of heaven, and earth, the creator of people, and the creator of the other spiritual entities. God says that because these beings did not care for the people in their territory, they would "die like mere mortals, ... fall like every other ruler." (Psalm 82:7)

Thus, these other spiritual beings, these "gods" were not doing what they were supposed to do - watch over and care for the people in their territories.  Instead, they wanted to be worshiped as gods, and thus they are being condemned.  This is the third and final reason the world is filled with pain, suffering and sorrow.

Reason 3 - Rebellious Watchers Group 2

There is one final reason man is violent, hate-filled, evil, and sinful toward each other, robbing, raping, enslaving, and killing each other and constantly having bloody and terrible wars.  That reason is mentioned in Genesis 6:1-8 but it is very strange.  The text explains that the sons of God married the daughters of men who were beautiful and had children who became "the heroes of old, men of renown." (Gen 6:4).  These great heroes and men of renown from the very ancient world - remember, this is before the flood of Noah - were half-breed human and "gods" if you accept that "Sons of God" is a reference to angelic or supernatural beings - and I do.

What is amazing is that there are New Testament references to these sons of God doing this thing - marrying and having children with humans, but it's subtle.  2 Peter 2:4-5 makes a reference to this, as the text sequentially places the "angels when they sinned..." right before the flood.  Jude, likewise refers to "the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling..." (Jude 1:6)  Jude goes so far as to actually reference the book of Enoch (Jude 1:14).

1 Enoch, Section II goes into great detail about this situation.  You can download a copy of the text from the website, "https://www.holybooks.com" and read it for yourself here ==> [The Book of Enoch].  Section II starts on page 33 in the PDF.  See chapters 6 through 10 add lots of detail to Genesis 11 and the entire flood story.  In this text, these beings teach women charms and teach men how to make war.  They teach mankind all kinds of things including how to make and wear "bracelets and ornaments, and the use of rouge, and the beautifying of the eye-brows." (1 Enoh 8:1)  Amazing!

Now, as a Christian, I do NOT accept Enoch as God's word, and I'm sure Jude didn't either. But I do think there is something very ancient about the narrative, handed down in writings that we don't have and in oral tradition that we don't have. In addition, there are many things in the Bible that we will simply not fully understand.  However, there are plenty of things that we can understand, including lying, stealing, robbing, cheating, killing and raping is wrong. We can easily understand that showing love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and offering grace are all good. We can also know that wisdom must be applied to life because people will take advantage of you if you let them - a reference to the fact - yes, the fact - that human beings can do really evil and terrible things to each other.

Where did Reason 2 and 3 Come from?

These last two theological reasons for pain and suffering, rebellion, crime, hatred and other terrible things - these last two reasons are not talked about in church and are minimized in academic circles. The late Dr. Michael Heiser strongly promoted these other two influences for evil, but many in the academy minimized or even rejected his arguments. Jewish writings from around the year 300 BCE until the time of Christ explained these issues clearly, especially 1st Enoch.  In this text, the first part, the Book of the Watchers, we get detailed explanations of the Genesis 6 narrative.  The Ethiopic Beta Israel community of Haymanot Jews (or simply Beta Israel) accepts this book as canon - to them, it is a part of sacred scriptures.  In addition, The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church also accept 1 Enoch as legitimate scripture.

There are other writings from this same period, specifically, Jubilees where Jub 4:15 explains that the Watchers were "the angels of the Lord [who] descended on the earth that they should instruct the children of men, and that they should do judgment and uprightness on the earth." However, all the details are in 1 Enoch.

All of this - Reason 1, 2, and 3 are purely supernatural in essence. Modern non-Christian scholars who reject religion in general, and specifically reject the idea of a supernatural realm see all of this as ancient  Jewish mythology. It is put in the same categories as Greek and Roman mythology.  

Yet, although the writings may be only from the 3rd century BCE, the stories are much older.  Most cultures have creation myths and flood stories.  Most cultures have Noah figures and super-men, "heroes of old, men of renown."  If Noah's flood actually dates back, say, 100,000 years ago, and not 5,000 BC as some Christians who hold a young-earth creation view believe, then these stories are linked to something that happened in real history, where the "gods" were more likely to overtly interact with mankind. It does not sound scientific, and it does not sound comfortable to our modern sensibilities, but according to the Bible, these events occurred in the past.

Conclusion 

So then, why are people so evil?  Because we were cursed by God such that life is hard and we don't like that, so we rebel.  Not to mention, that curse somehow changed our base nature so that we are bent towards doing bad things.  You really don't have to teach a baby to be selfish or greedy - they come by it naturally!  Then, there are evil forces that in some kind of supernatural way, take advantage of our cursed base nature. These beings wanted to take the place of God. They taught women how to beautify themselves to make men want them, and they taught men how to make war.  We have learned the lessons well and we have strong desires that trigger our hearts and our behavior to rob, steal, hurt, fight, and do all manner of evil against each other.  

For me, the only hope is Jesus Christ and him crucified.  As it is written, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." This is "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade." (1 Peter 1:3-6)

 

Human Nature

What do you think? 

Can people ever stop killing each other?

I just watched a TED talk from back in 2013 by a young man named Zack Kopplin.  It was entitled, "The Cost of Teaching Creationism."  There were many comments lauding and praising him as a young person being willing to stand up for what he believed and be an activist against what he considered to be pseudoscience.  I'm confident that he has matured and improved his craft over the past 10 years.  A cursory Google search shows that he went to college and became an activist, promoting science over religion based on a naturalistic (non-supernatural) methodological empiricism approach to life.

He seems to believe that such a stance would be better for mankind. Yet, such a position ignores huge parts of reality and sociological phenomena.  Many people who do not believe in any form of supernatural realities ultimately reducing human beings - by definition - to exceedingly sophisticated biological deterministic machines. I can appreciate such idealism and hope for mankind, but taken to it's logical extreme is dangerous and harmful. In addition, our shared human experienced lives can not function based on this position. 

Historically we have always had wars, muggings, rapes, human trafficking, slavery, and many other dark and terrible activities.  I am an optimist, but I do not think such things will disappear from mankind.  I hate thinking this way but the history of mankind tells me otherwise.  Of course I can not see into the future but I am convinced that we will not stop evil and Kopplin's idealism seems to not take this into account.

You see, Zack and others in his circle would like to discredit (and thereby shut down by lack of support) organizations like the Discovery Institute and right-wing "Christian" churches and or organizations.  To be sure, I too stand opposed to certain "Christian" ideas that strive to philosophically force science and reason into their limited understanding of the Bible in the name of what we call in Christian circles, inerrancy. I can easily argue that ridged young-earth creationism sometimes hurts and not help the cause of the faith community.  Even so, removing or rejecting a worldview that includes the supernatural would make evil worse.

The 20th century is an example of what happens when societies and movements use purely naturalistic approaches to justify programs and solutions to their understanding of human problems and to life itself.  In his book, "The Greatest Show on Earth", Richard Dawkins promotes the idea that we can breed human beings just like we can breed other animals to get better, stronger, and smarter human beings^[1].  That is a very dangerous idea, but logically, there is nothing to morally prevent it if enough people promoted such ideas. Ultimately, if we are exceedingly sophisticated biological deterministic machines, then by nature, we have no intrinsic value.

Promoting such ideas that ultimately eliminate religion from society would likely make the problem of evil get worse, not better. To make the song Imagine by John Lennon a reality would likely require incredible violence and inhumane policies and laws to bring it about and it would not last even one generation. But, as I said, I don't know the future - no one does, but there is no reason why theist and atheist alike can't work together to try to make life better for each other and for our children and grandchildren.

Human nature allows for cognitive dissonance so that the non-theist, the naturalist, the humanist and the atheist can sincerely and authentically embrace morals, goodness, love, and purpose. These values are borrowed from the theist and in Western society, ultimately borrowed from Christianity.  It also allows for the Christian believer to inconstantly practice things that are patently in conflict with a Christian worldview such as human slavery or promoting an immoral political candidate in the name of God as opposed to being prophetic and calling for change. (When key people from the faith community try to hold society accountable, they loose their heads, like John the Baptist, or they get shot, like Marin Luther King, Jr.)

Human nature as understood theologically from a Christian perspective is flawed and damaged because of what we call the fall of mankind.  We do not consider human nature to be natural.  We do not embrace the idea that our psyche was being developed in the Serengeti some 200,000 years ago, in our ancestors learning to avoid the saber tooth tiger while hunting and gathering food, and mating like animals!  For all of recorded and known history of mankind, the conflict that occur between people that often spill blood have required intervention from others to stop.  The intervention is sometimes more violent than the original conflict. 

Without police and without armies, chaos regularly occurs.  When police were removed or ineffective during the  2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, some people acted out on their selfish, evil desires^[2].  When the riots occurred in 1992 because police officers were acquitted after being charged with excessive force, people lost control^[3]. When the soldiers reached Baghdad in the 2003 Iraqi war looking for weapons of mass destruction, the police were not to be found and the people rioted.  The solders had no training nor instructions on policing^[4].

My point in the three examples above is that, by our nature, we will continue to selfishly do things that hurt each other, often causing death and destruction. Human being are not, by nature, good.  Not to mention that in the West, the definition of good is borrowed from some form of Christianity.  Christians are accused and blamed for terrible things and asked to defend God for not stepping in and preventing such violence^[5].  Even so, the idealism of the young Mr. Kopplin (and I assume and hope he still has) can not account for my premise that human nature will not change.  To attempt to eliminate the bad part of our behavior will require, in my assessment, bad things to happen, just as they did in the 20th century because powerful people brought into an ideal that was impossible to achieve. 

Finally, if persuasion and reason should prevail in convincing people to NOT act on their selfish proclivities but instead to show more altruistic and good behavior, there will still be a need for policing and courts, and laws.  There will still be a need for hospitals and soup kitchens and shelters.  Most utopian ideas would likely become dystopian realities.  I love Star Trek and the idea of the United Federation of Planets, but before the Vulcans and Klingons show up, we first need to figure out how to live with our flawed human nature and figure out how to get along as one species, and live in peace with each other.

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[1] From Chapter 2 of his book, entitled, "DOGS, COWS AND CABBAGES" Dawkins writes, "Political opposition to eugenic breeding of humans sometimes spills over into the almost certainly false assertion that it is impossible. Not only is it immoral, you may hear it said, it wouldn't work. Unfortunately, to say that something is morally wrong, or politically undesirable, is not to say that it wouldn't work. I have no doubt that, if you set your mind to it and had enough time and enough political power, you could breed a race of superior body-builders, or high-jumpers, or shot-putters; pearl fishers, sumo wrestlers, or sprinters; or (I suspect, although now with less confidence because there are no animal precedents) superior musicians, poets, mathematicians or wine-tasters. The reason I am confident about selective breeding for athletic prowess is that the qualities needed are so similar to those that demonstrably work in the breeding of racehorses and carthorses, of greyhounds and sledge dogs. The reason I am still pretty confident about the practical feasibility (though not the moral or political desirability) of selective breeding for mental or otherwise uniquely human traits is that there are so few examples where an attempt at selective breeding in animals has ever failed, even for traits that might have been thought surprising. Who would have thought, for example, that dogs could be bred for sheep-herding skills, or 'pointing', or bull-baiting?"

[2] See NPR story as an example, on some of the violence.  Click here: ==> [Post-Katrina Chaos]

[3] This is where Rodney King asked his famous question, "Why cant we all just get along".  Click here: ==> [1992 Los Angeles Riots]

[4] This Baltimore Sun article explains that a week after US soldiers entered Baghdad in the 2003 war, "...virtually every government ministry here in flames, Baghdad and the entire country were operating essentially without a government, public services or police protection [emphasis mine]."  Click here: ==> [Mayhem is Amok in Baghdad]

[5] This short post does NOT begin to address natural disasters that have often killed thousands.  One of the worse was the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 which killed approximately 250,000 people!  Think about it: a quarter of a million souls lost in one disaster!  Where was God is a natural and reasonable question to which Christians,. by definition - if there really is a God - are not able to and logically cannot answer.