Essay Sample about Evil

Evil- Profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force. 

Evil is a cause of human suffering. It can be catagorised into two types: Moral Evil- The acts of humans which are considered morally wrong, and Natural Evil- Natural disasters caused naturally or what some people believe to be the punishment of God. These two types of evil, however different they may seem are met by a range of views from different religions, people and atheists. One view most agree on is that evil should be both minimised and opposed. 

Religious views on Evil 

There are three major religious alternates to explain Evil. You have pantheistic views, as well as dualistic and monotheistic religions too. 

Pantheistic views... 

The word Pantheism derives from Latin. The word theism translates to God, and the Latin word pan to all. God is all. This point is supported by the Pantheistic view that God is equivalent to the universe, and the universe is equivalent to God. As pantheists believe God is the joint Substance, Forces and laws of this world, The word God is mainly just a term to summarise all the Good that has happened. However, as God as seen as good, there is no room for evil. Therefore, evil is seen as merely something made up by humans. 

Evil is believed to be something we give meaning to, an illusion. It is what humans use as a getaway to blame something bad happening on divine realms, or say that it is ‘Gods will’, while pantheists say that the divine is equal to reality. Evil is seen as a concept created by humans, something used as justifying our imperfect faculties, the wrong options that we make. In conclusion, Pantheists believe evil does not exist. 

Dualism 

People with dualistic views believe the mind and the body are not separate. Infact, they work together as one in unison to form the decisions made by us. On the contrary, Good and evil are independent, rival forces. Neither created the other, and each acted according to their own nature. They cannot be described as opposites, as they are both completely different things altogether, however they work in separate ways allowing people to commit good and evil. An example of this is the concept of Zoroastrianism. Based on the concept Ahura Mazda (the wise lord). People believed Ahura to be their source of goodness, the creator of all, but against Ahura Mazda was Angra Mainu, viewed as a destructive being who brought evil to the world. In this story, good and evil were represented by two different sources. Ahura- the ‘hero’ and Angra- the villain who caused destruction too what was good. In my opinion, I think the way I interpret this story is also proven to be a great metaphor on how I partly think evil affects people. Although Ahura created the world's perfect valleys and smooth land, Angra tried to destroy it, creating crevices and holes- making the world's surface uneven. We as humans start with a pure soul- however with every decision we make craters can form, depending on how they affect us and the world, and depending on if they are perceived as morally right or wrong. 

However perhaps one of the most common summarised viewpoints is monotheism. Belief in one God. 

Islaam 

Islaam believes that humans have free will. Our minds are designed to tell the distinction between right and wrong, and it's how we use this advantage to make our decisions. This inner sense of righteousness is known in Islam as ‘fitrah’. 

Muslims believe in Allah and Shaytaan. Allah being God and Shaytaan being the cause of suffering and evil. However, although Shaytaan can lead people astray, he was still created by Allah- Not as a punishment to humans but as a test, as People true to Islaam should be able to push through their struggles and hardships and emerge as better people.                                            As well as this, many Muslims believe in something called ‘The right path’. By following the right path set out in the Quraan (The holy book for Muslims) they can overcome difficulties in their own lives and help ease suffering in others. But although all this is true, Allah can still punish you. 

The difference between Shaytaan and Allah are actions done by people and how they are met differently by the two. Shaytaan would take advantage and lead you astray, whereas Alah will punish morally wrong actions. Islaam Is a religion of trust. By putting your trust in Allah and believing your way of life is right, good will come to you and Allah will give 10x the love you give to him. But it can also work in the opposite way. Live your life as a bad person and make wrong decisions. Allah won’t cause evil to you, but he will punish you. 

Take this as an example: Say there was a mother and a son. The son had committed a crime and for some reason the mother was the only judge available. Although it might pain the mother to do so, to be fair and just she would have to punish the son- whether she wanted to or not. That is one of the many differences between Allah and Shaytaan, and between acts of justice and acts of evil. 

Christianity 

Similar to Islaam, Christians also have monotheistic views on evil. Christians believe that the origin of evil came from the Story of Adam and Eve. When they ate the apple from the tree even though they were forbidden to do so, it was classed as an act of evil and God punished them for it. After that, Christianity sys humans are born with a tendency toward evil, however it is how you control the urge and make the right decisions that matters. In Christianity evil isn’t just a supernatural being although Satan can lead you toward wrong- it's almost like ‘Satan’ is a metaphorical term to sum up evil in itself. Adam ate from the tree because Satan compelled him to do so, meaning Christians believe all bad acts are considered evil, anything that can be called ‘the will of Satan’ is evil. It is how you respond to that. Christianity and Islaam both teach to have moral values and be good people who abide by the law and the holy books, and to not steal, murder or commit acts that are against the law or frowned upon by society, because acts of ‘wrong’ are considered ‘evil’. 

Adolf Hitler was known to possibly be one of the evilest people in history. But to Hitler, what he did wasn’t wrong. He committed these acts of evil with upmost enthusiasm and pride, even though it resulted in him being the cause of over 70 million deaths. 

Hitlers views of God have been controversial, but what we do know is that from an early age Hitler grew up in an anti-Jewish society. But it was Adolf Hitler conforming to these ideas and not questioning them that led him to win the elections in 1932. From here on, thoughts of being a great leader took over, leading him to take societies views to the extreme in a bid to get people to like him. It resulted in almost the exact opposite, with great suffering and war. 

In my opinion, Adolf Hitler was indeed an evil person. Anti- Semitism views were already horribly wrong, and as a society we can see that now- however back then people couldn’t. I think although disgusting, these ideas could be justified by just how many people thought the same thing, and how people lived by the fact it was normal, but also evil in the way it was never questioned. Hitler didn’t question it or think about the consequences. It was all about being in the moment, having someone listen to you, about having power. It was greedy and stupid, we can see that, Hitler didn’t. He became evil, a person who inflicted evil and fear upon others. By repeatedly committing acts of sin without even repenting or reflecting on what he had done, without stepping back to see the full picture he created a whole chain of wrongdoing. Small acts of kindness or fakery to the media can in no way shape or form justify murder, yet Adolf Hitler thought it could. The acts he did were wrong, and he used these acts to define him so we call him Evil. 

In conclusion, I believe evil is somewhat like a seed. We plant something bad in society, and the seed slowly grows as more people do this immoral act, influencing others to do it too. It may start as evil, but things nowadays become so normalised when we see that someone has stolen something or murdered somebody, the next day we forget as there is something else to worry about. Evil is real, but it is different for everyone. It is the superlative of a morally wrong act we can do as humans. But if we don’t justify something wrong we have done, but instead reflect and use it as a lesson to become better people, we are not becoming evil-we are becoming better people by learning from past mistakes. Indeed, after all- things must get worse before they get better. 

“Evil begins when you begin to treat people like things”- Treat people how you want to be treated. Understand their thoughts and help them, not scorn them.