Nonexistence of Evil
At which I, in my ignorance, was much troubled, and departing from the
truth, seemed to myself to be making towards it; because as yet I knew
not that evil was nothing but a privation of good, until at last a
thing ceases altogether to be.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 3)
For I had not known or learned that neither was evil a substance.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 4)
For hence I believed Evil also to be some such kind of substance, and
to have its own foul and hideous bulk; whether gross, which they
called earth, or thin and subtile (like the body of the air), which
they imagine to be some malignant mind, creeping through that earth.
And because a piety, such as it was, constrained me to believe that
the good God never created any evil nature, I conceived two masses,
contrary to one another, both unbounded, but the evil narrower, the
good more expansive. And from this pestilent beginning, the other
sacrilegious conceits followed on me.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 5)
And it seemed to me better to believe Thee to have created no evil
(which to me ignorant seemed not some only, but a bodily substance,
because I could not conceive of mind unless as a subtile body, and
that diffused in definite spaces), than to believe the nature of evil,
such as I conceived it, could come from Thee.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 5)
But I also as yet, although I held and was firmly persuaded that Thou
our Lord the true God, who madest not only our souls, but our bodies,
and not only our souls and bodies, but all beings, and all things,
wert undefilable and unalterable, and in no degree mutable; yet
understood I not, clearly and without difficulty, the cause of evil.
And yet whatever it were, I perceived it was in such wise to be sought
out, as should not constrain me to believe the immutable God to be
mutable, lest I should become that evil I was seeking out. I sought it
out then, thus far free from anxiety, certain of the untruth of what
these held, from whom I shrunk with my whole heart: for I saw, that
through enquiring the origin of evil, they were filled with evil, in
that they preferred to think that Thy substance did suffer ill than
their own did commit it.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 7)
Therefore, if they shall be deprived of all good, they shall no longer
be. So long therefore as they are, they are good: therefore whatsoever
is, is good. That evil then which I sought, whence it is, is not any
substance: for were it a substance, it should be good. For either it
should be an incorruptible substance, and so a chief good: or a
corruptible substance; which unless it were good, could not be
corrupted. I perceived therefore, and it was manifested to me that
Thou madest all things good, nor is there any substance at all, which
Thou madest not; and for that Thou madest not all things equal,
therefore are all things; because each is good, and altogether very
good, because our God made all things very good.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 7)
For either they must confess (which they fain would not) that the will
which leads to our church is good, as well as theirs, who have
received and are held by the mysteries of theirs: or they must suppose
two evil natures, and two evil souls conflicting in one man, and it
will not be true, which they say, that there is one good and another
bad; or they must be converted to the truth, and no more deny that
where one deliberates, one soul fluctuates between contrary wills.
(Confessions of St Augustine, Book 8)
THE NONEXISTENCE OF EVIL
The true explanation of this subject is very difficult. Know that
beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual, those perceptible to
the senses and those intellectual.
Things which are sensible are those which are perceived by the five
exterior senses; thus those outward existences which the eyes see are
called sensible. Intellectual things are those which have no outward
existence but are conceptions of the mind. For example, mind itself is
an intellectual thing which has no outward existence. All man?s
characteristics and qualities form an intellectual existence and are
not sensible.
Briefly, the intellectual realities, such as all the qualities and
admirable perfections of man, are purely good, and exist. Evil is
simply their nonexistence. So ignorance is the want of knowledge;
error is the want of guidance; forgetfulness is the want of memory;
stupidity is the want of good sense. All these things have no real
existence.
In the same way, the sensible realities are absolutely good, and evil
is due to their nonexistence?that is to say, blindness is the want of
sight, deafness is the want of hearing, poverty is the want of wealth,
illness is the want of health, death is the want of life, and weakness
is the want of strength.
Nevertheless a doubt occurs to the mind?that is, scorpions and
serpents are poisonous. Are they good or evil, for they are existing
beings? Yes, a scorpion is evil in relation to man; a serpent is evil
in relation to man; but in relation to themselves they are not evil,
for their poison is their weapon, and by their sting they defend
themselves. But as the elements of their poison do not agree with our
elements?that is to say, as there is antagonism between these
different elements, therefore, this antagonism is evil; but in reality
as regards themselves they are good.
The epitome of this discourse is that it is possible that one thing in
relation to another may be evil, and at the same time within the
limits of its proper being it may not be evil. Then it is proved that
there is no evil in existence; all that God created He created good.
This evil is nothingness; so death is the absence of life. When man no
longer receives life, he dies. Darkness is the absence of light: when
there is no light, there is darkness. Light is an existing thing, but
darkness is nonexistent. Wealth is an existing thing, but poverty is
nonexisting.
Then it is evident that all evils return to nonexistence. Good exists;
evil is nonexistent.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 263)
The Nonexistence of Evil
According to Bahá?í philosophy it follows from the doctrine
of the unity of God that there can be no such thing as positive
evil. There can only be one Infinite. If there were any other
power in the universe outside of or opposed to the One, then
the One would not be infinite. Just as darkness is but the
absence or lesser degree of light, so evil is but the absence or
lesser degree of good?the undeveloped state. A bad man is
a man with the higher side of his nature still undeveloped. If
he is selfish, the evil is not in his love of self?all love, even
self-love, is good, is divine. The evil is that he has such a poor,
inadequate, misguided love of self and such a lack of love for
others and for God. He looks upon himself as only a superior
sort of animal, and foolishly pampers his lower nature as he
might pamper a pet dog?with worse results in his own case
than in that of the dog.
In one of His letters ?Abdu?l-Bahá says: ?
As to thy remark, that ?Abdu?l-Bahá hath said to some
of the believers that evil never exists, nay rather, it is a
nonexistent thing, this is but truth, inasmuch as the greatest
evil is man?s going astray and being veiled from truth.
Error is lack of guidance; darkness is absence of light;
ignorance is lack of knowledge; falsehood is lack of truthfulness;
blindness is lack of sight; and deafness is lack
of hearing. Therefore, error, blindness, deafness and ignorance
are nonexistent things.
Again He says: ?
In creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities
and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy
are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning
of his life you can see in a nursing child the
signs of desire, of anger, and of temper. Then, it may be
said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and
this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation.
The answer to this is that desire, which is to ask for
something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it
is used suitably. So, if a man has the desire to acquire
science and knowledge, or to become compassionate,
generous and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises
his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who
are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he
does not use these qualities in a right way, they are
blameworthy. ...
... It is the same with all the natural qualities of man,
which constitute the capital of life; if they be used and
displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy.
Therefore it is clear that creation is purely good.?Some
Answered Questions, pp. 250, 251.
Evil is always lack of life. If the lower side of man?s nature
is disproportionately developed, the remedy is not less life for
that side, but more life for the higher side, so that the balance
may be restored. ?I am come,? said Christ, ?that ye may
have life and that ye may have it more abundantly.? That
is what we all need?life, more life, the life that is life indeed!
Bahá?u?lláh?s message is the same as Christ?s. ?Today,? He
says, ?this servant has assuredly come to vivify the world?
(Tablet to Ra?is), and to His followers He says: ?Come ye
after Me, that We may make you to become quickeners of
mankind.? (Tablet to the Pope.)
And yet, in the physical reality, Evil exists as a result of Good?s
nonexistence, absence, or under-developed state.
Indeed the chief reason for the evils now rampant in society is the
lack of spirituality.
(Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 86)
?The civilization so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts
and sciences will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation,
bring great evil upon men... If carried to excess, civilization will
prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when
kept within the restraints of moderation...?
(Baha'u'llah)
Capacity is of two kinds, natural capacity and acquired capacity. The
first, which is the creation of God, is purely good?in the creation of
God there is no evil; but the acquired capacity has become the cause
of the appearance of evil.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 320)
In creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities and
natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in
reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a
nursing child the signs of desire, of anger, and of temper. Then, it
may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this
is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to
this is that desire, which is to ask for something more, is a
praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So, if a man
has the desire to acquire science and knowledge, or to become
compassionate, generous, and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he
exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are
like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use
these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy.
Then it is evident that in creation and nature evil does not exist at
all; but when the natural qualities of man are used in an unlawful
way, they are blameworthy.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 320)
800. Evil does not exist. Death is only the lack of life; therefore
death does not exist. Darkness is only the lack of light. Evil is only
the lack of good. Ignorance is only the lack of knowledge. Poverty is
the lack of wealth. Misleading is the lack of guidance. Miserliness is
the lack of generosity. The non-existence of light is darkness. The
lack of sight is blindness. The lack of hearing is deafness. All these
things are non-existent. God did not create any evil thing. God did
not create a man poor. Poverty is only the lack of wealth. Guidance is
the gift of God, and if a man is deprived of it, he will be misled;
but he is not misled by God?it is only the result of the lack of
guidance.
(Compilations, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 439)
?We know absence of light is darkness, but no one would assert
darkness was not a fact. It exists even though it is only the absence
of something else. So evil exists too, and we cannot close our eyes to
it, even though it is a negative existence. We must seek to supplant
it by good??
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 512)
As to thy question, ?That Abdul-Baha hath said to some of the
believers that evil never exists, nay rather, it is a non-existent
thing:? This is but truth, inasmuch as the greatest evil is (man?s)
going astray and being veiled from Truth. Error is lack of guidance;
darkness is absence of light; ignorance is lack of knowledge;
falsehood is lack of truthfulness; blindness is lack of sight; and
deafness is lack of hearing. Therefore, error, blindness, deafness and
ignorance are non-existent things. If we say that according to the
text of the Bible, ?God hardened Pharaoh?s heart? that he might not
believe in Moses, this signifies that, verily, He did not soften his
heart. And when we wish to say that God hath not guided a certain one
of His servants, this would be interpreted (by people) that God led
him astray. The darkness spoken of in the Bible as being created by
God, signifieth that, verily, God hath not caused light to shine;
inasmuch as where there is no light, there will be darkness; when
there is sight, there will be blindness; when there is no life, there
will be death; when there is no riches, there will be poverty; and
when there is no knowledge, there will be ignorance.
Consequently, it is proven by indisputable argument and clear
explanation that, verily, evils are non-existent, but people have not
understood the meaning of the verses of the Bible.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 609) |
