The Nature of Evil

"The members of the congregation belonged to the Ibo tribe, and the traditional religion o the Ibo, like that of the majority of African communities, does not know the concept of sin. The African belief system has a radically different understanding of guilt from that espoused by Christian theology. In Africa, the notion of metaphysical, abstract evil - evil in and of itself - does not exist. A deed first becomes evil when it is discovered, and, second, when the community or the individual declares it to be evil. Moreover, the criterion here is not axiomatic, but practical, concrete: that which does harm to others is evil. Evil intentions do not exist, because evil is not evil until it materializes, assumes an active form. There are only evil actions." - Ryszard Kapuscinski, The Shadow of the Sun


I really like the idea that "that which does harm to others is evil." That is a truth, I feel. I align himself along with the Christian belief that evil does exist in an external form, that we can think evil thoughts (for is not thinking an action?), but that we are not evil simply by breathing, existing. In my belief system, Christ overcomes all else, if we allow him to.