Kill in the name of God

Dear David,
My understanding of what you mean by ‘evil’ improves. With the lack of anything better , that is a word that can be used. I would like to quote you again.

“If I understand correctly, different traditions agree that at the highest level good and evil are no longer in opposition or do not exist or are irrelevant. But "down here" I have noticed something about good and evil:
Where there is a good thing, bad things accrete around it, as though trying to choke it, hem it in, cut it off, render it ineffective. Certainly opposites do tend to attract. There was a core of good in "hippiedom" which in a short time was overwhelmed by the evil it attracted to it. Same for Christianity” ( vide previous post).

While it would be naïve to think strictly in terms of black and white , when most of it is in shades of gray, your words above are relevant for not only the 60s movement , but all Change initiatives, resistance to change , consequences of change and the downside risks of change. We face this in our practical day to day lives and in the organizations that we may be associated with. And some person’s good is also some others’ evil. ( not so easy though). Without doubt , there are pure strains of evil. I would consider the hijacking of religion as a reason for violence and death of innocents , surely one of them. I cannot comprehend why some would not accept this as one of the universal 'core values'.

Ultimately , the imperfect ‘we’ of society have to come to terms with it and though very difficult , take risks and try to change. I quote you again,
“I am thinking of it in terms of Matthew 13:33, wherein Jesus tries to show us something about the nature of the coming of the kingdom of heaven:

"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven [that is: baker's yeast,] which a woman took and hid in three measures [a very large quantity] of meal till it was all leavened."

"We….changed our society by being mixed in with it like baker's yeast in a large quantity of flour".

Great stuff David, perhaps the time has come for many to turn into baker’s yeast once again.