Evil

GINNY:  During the Christmas time I was with a friend of mine. We were talking about the September 11th disaster. She looked at me very intently and said, "Well, you know, Ginny, there is evil in the world. You know that, don't you." I was just so taken aback by that statement. I even forget what I said. I think it was something to the effect that I did not believe (I tried to make it personal, on what my believes were, because I have a tendency to dump my beliefs on other people). I said that I believed that there was no longer a personified evil in the world, and that I thought that there's a lot that's going wrong in our world that is not really evil, and that people that we call evil, I don't look at as evil, I look at as misguided. And I felt a little sad that she would still be attached to that personified evil in the world. 

I don't want to be silent when people say something to me like that, for fear that I will offend them. I want to be more aggressive and more assertive in what I believe, but at the same time I really fear starting an 
argument and spoiling a relationship with another person because of our different beliefs. But I did want to discuss that with her. So I guess my concern is not so much about the concept of evil in the world as how can we find a way to discuss things, especially religious things, without hurting each other or without starting arguments? That is so difficult. 

DOLORES: Thank you for your question. The season and the circumstances of which you reference, presented indeed an opportunity to grow as a teacher and as a fellow, and we are comforted when you bring these questions to our attention for this is how the apostles once did with Jesus and he would sit and discuss their concerns. In this way they are shared with the other apostles and your experience becomes then the experience of others.  

The evil of terrorism, that which your country was hit with on September 11, was a great evil indeed. When your friend suggests, "You know, there is evil in the world, don't you?" the truth is, "Absolutely! All imperfection is evil in some measure because it is imperfect." But this means you must define your terms. If your friend, by looking into your eye was saying, "You know, the Devil exists," which is what I perceive you understood her to mean?

GINNY:  Yes.

DOLORES:  Then you missed an opportunity by accepting her premise. And it might have been an opportunity for you to pause and ask her to rephrase or to reiterate what she was saying, for in saying "There is evil in the world" you could have agreed with her and become one with her, even with those who 
experienced the travesty of 9/11 and those who perpetrated the travesty of 9/11, allowing the concept to be a universal concept of anything less than ultimate perfection. You personify evil by diverting it to the icon of old, giving him power, bringing him back into her consciousness as a confirmed and viable reality.  

It is a peculiarity of modern man that "the evil one" is implied by the nature of the existence of evil, as if to say there's no room for growth. You are either saved or not saved. You are either on God's side or on some other side. This either/or approach to theology is inadequate; it sets up a polarity that makes communications difficult.  

Yes, there is evil in the world, and what is this but fear and ignorance. As the light of truth is able to cast out doubt and darkness, the light can shine. In this light is spirit luminosity. There is only God and those infinite shadows of degrees of not knowing God, but there is none beside him.

You will have other opportunities to discourse with your friend because you have not alienated her and have allowed her to express her raw feelings and reactions to something as terrible as what your mutual concern is about. But use your knowledge of Our Father and this planet's history to bring a new perspective to the table, a new dimension to your relationship. If you so choose.

GINNY: I have a tendency to be more concerned (I learned this by another exchange I had with my sister), to be more interested in whether a person is theologically correct rather than try to empathize with the fact of their sharing, that they are sharing of themselves with me. I do that quite easily, and it's something I would like to correct. So thank you for your advice and insight.

DOLORES: I will comment upon your remarks to say your tendency is a remnant of your competitive practices. As you begin to look with a new view, you will relinquish your need to function tit for tat and your dimension of operation will provide you a great new range of operation. You'll have much more fun investigating the subject of spirituality as compared to religion, and you'll trigger in your hearers, in your associates, that which will enable you to become a fisher of men.