CONTAGION OF EVIL

I have avoided use of the term “evil”. I attempted to convince myself that there is no evil. Circumstances have changed my mind.

What is evil? It is defined with other vague terms like immoral, bad, wicked, associated with the Devil, etc. I think of it as randomly, carelessly destructive, usually in personal, greedy, uncaring self interest, mean, hateful, and totally untrustworthy. Really bad.

Often we project on to others our own dark, repressed traits. We reject consideration of any possibility that we might harbor in our Shadow sides the repugnant and totally disgusting characteristics of people we find “evil”.

With evil being identified with the Devil, I have a doubly hard time accepting the term as relevant. “Come on, the Devil? That red-faced, horned creature ready to jump out and get me? Nah. Superstition. Something to blame, to scapegoat for our own stupidity. A totally fictional character”, I tell myself.

Then, through my study of Jung, I discovered the Archetypes. After grappling with that mysterious concept, I finally realized the profound truth and power of these very real entities. The Devil is one of them, so look out.

Not creatures manifested in matter, the Archetypes are spiritual entities of extraordinary power, morphing into unnumbered forms and characteristics covering every human experience.

So, I find myself having to admit the reality of a power that is pure evil, constantly attempting to influence our lives in destructive ways…