The Origins of Evil

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Where does evil come from? The Billy Graham Organisation knows:

…the Bible does reveal two important truths about where evil comes from. First… evil comes from the Evil One — that is, from Satan… Satan is a powerful spiritual being who is absolutely opposed to God, and is far stronger than most of us realize. He isn’t equal with God, but is totally evil, and repeatedly works against God. Jesus called him “a murderer from the beginning…. a liar and the father of lies”.

No, not really. Evil is not a supernatural being cavorting around an unseen, undetectable spiritual realm while inflicting havoc on our reality (see here). Satan is not the embodiment of all evil for the simple expedient he and his minions do not exist.

What else does the Bible have to say about the origin of evil? Fake Paul in 1 Timothy 6: 9-10 claims that ‘…the love of money is the root of all evil’. He goes on to say, ’while some coveted after (money), they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows,’ which sounds suspiciously like a snipe at early Christians who refused to hand over their worldly goods to the cult.

Now, while greed and avarice can undoubtedly lead to wickedness, the love of money is not the root of all evil. Vindictiveness, spite, fear, ignorance, stupidity, hatred, lust for power, sexual lust, jealousy, coveting another’s property or territory, religious beliefs and deceit (take note, fake Paul): all can, and do, lead to evil.

Let’s give the Bible one last chance.

The author of Mark’s gospel has Jesus say:

What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man (Mark 7:20-23 NKJV).

While ‘Mark’ is talking about ritual purity in this bizarre mix of low-level immorality, religious offences and actual wickedness, he nails it as far as the source of evil is concerned. It emanates from human beings, most often, from men. While women are also capable of committing evil acts, and children too sometimes, most are perpetrated by men. 

It’s not easy finding evidence for this online, where misogynistic, religionist have taken over, claiming women are more evil than men on account of Eve eating the forbidden fruit. They also argue that women are more evil because they ‘hold a grudge longer’. However, a little digging dispels this ridiculous notion. Consider:

Are most dictators men or women? (Men, almost exclusively);

Are most genocidal acts initiated and carried out by men or women? (Men, almost exclusively)

Are most murderers men or women? (Men: 98% of murder convictions are of men);

Are most rapists men or women? (Men; 99% of convictions are of men);

Are rape gang members men or women? (Men, almost exclusively);

Are most child abusers men or women? (Men make up 88% of perpetrators);

Are most school shootings carried out by males or females? (Males, on a ratio of 145:4);

Are most terrorists men or women? (Men, on a ratio of 5:1);

Are most crime lords, drug barons and death-cult leaders men or women? (You already know the answer…)

Are most victims of sexual abuse male or female? (Female: 1 in 5 compared with 1 in 7 males)

Almost all malicious and unnecessary infliction of harm on others, nearly every evil act ever committed has been and is committed primarily by men. Only a small number are carried out by women. However, just because most evil is committed by men, not all men are evil. More than this, most human beings don’t commit ‘evil’. Neither do most Christians, though there does seem to be an inordinate number who are prepared to sexually abuse others. Nonetheless, many are happy to blame Satan for what evil there is, including their own. Attributing human evil to a malevolent fantasy figure is a duplicitous attempt to evade both responsibility and culpability.

In any case, according to true believers Satan’s main occupation is sowing the seeds of doubt in the minds of Christians, in an attempt to lead them away from Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:30). Satan is, when all is said and done, a pretty hopeless prop, not ‘a powerful spiritual being’ but an enfeebled metaphor for the evil that some humans engender.

Afterthought:

Where does goodness come from? That too is human. All compassion, kindness, consideration, empathy, helpfulness, love, joy and peace come from us.

Or not, as the case may be.

50 thoughts on “The Origins of Evil”

  1. As an indie-fundie 5+ years ago, I did believe Satan to be an entity of evil. The Source. However, in mulling over the Bible view, along with scholars, philosophers, etc, I agree with you: it’s us. It’s me. (If the word “evil” is too strong or biblical, think along the lines of bad or hurtful.)
    The Hebrew word “Satan” means “to be or act as an adversary, resist, oppose.” That would be me, vs God or Jesus Christ (anti-christ). So I see “Satan” as a construct crafted by bible writers to help explain evil. Likewise, goodness is from us.

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    • You’re right about the origin of the word Satan, though in the hands of Christians ‘he’ has become more than a mere adversary.

      Being an adversary of the idea of God or Christ does not equate with evil. Harming others unnecessarily does. I thought I’d defined this in the previous post.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • In my opinion, opposing God IS the source of evil. Or sin, badness, wrongdoing. The Bible wrestles with sins and laws and theology, yet to me God’s solution is simply, “Return to me.. come unto me.”

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      • Do you think it might be lazy speech to just through out that opposition to God is the source? Are you suggesting we ourselves are the “source” of evil?

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      • Yes, that’s what Adam said too: “It was the woman you gave me..” We’ve exploited God for our antics from the get-go.

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      • If you believe the myth, I suppose this might be the case. But it is just a myth.
        May I say that, like every other Christian. you’re very fond of picking and choosing which bits of the Bible you believe in. You end up with a wishy-washy faith based largely on your own feelings that you then try to foist on others.

        Liked by 3 people

      • Jesus is the light of the Bible’s wishy-washy ambiguity. There’s no pick-and-choose in him. I’m not foisting on others, I’m telling you what I see.

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      • You “hear” her, but you deny her comment.

        To believers like yourself, God is the source of everything since “He” is the Prime Creator. So logically, he has to be the source of sin and evil as well.

        Liked by 2 people

      • I think so, because it makes sense (and nonsense). That God created us knowing he’d become one of us and experience stuff.

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      • It’s about presenting evidence, not merely spouting unsupported opinion, which is what you do. Your statement that you’ll take God’s reliability over the Bible’s is nonsense. Where do you think you get your ‘knowledge’ of God from if not the Bible? All of your feelings about ‘him’ derive ultimately from the Bible. This is where your idea that God ‘shouldered the blame’ for evil comes from.

        Liked by 2 people

      • This, if it gets you to anywhere, is to theism only. It’s a big leap from seeing a god in ‘the life all around us’ to the Almighty God who sent Jesus to die for our sins. You don’t get to this character by observing ‘the life all around us’. He comes entirely from the Bible.

        As much as you think your beliefs spring from a personal relationship with the god within, they are actually from the indoctrination you received from whichever church you were entangled with.

        Liked by 2 people

      • I don’t think ‘my beliefs spring from a personal relationship with the god within,’ but rather, my relationship with God springs from believing Jesus Christ. From reading between the lines of his life and relationship with the Father. My life tests his model.

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      • So, you’re not convinced by the actual lines in the Bible but you’re somehow able to read between them to discern what Jesus really said. Amazing. And also absolute nonsense.

        What you believe comes from the Bible you say you don’t believe in, filtered through whatever preaching you were subjected to in your church days.

        Liked by 1 person

      • No I’m not. I think the writers etc constructed their view of Jesus as Yahweh. But I haven’t researched much of Revelation, not being a fan of fantasy. From what I gather so far, the symbolism is of past history.

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      • God created us knowing He was/is the Author of Evil. He knew He created sin. He created Lucifer and the fallen angels. He is 3 X’s Omni. He knew. His plan.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Your argument is based on a literal reading of the bible. And I don’t trust its authors. Even though they were inspired by a God to write what they did (and sometimes fill in the blanks), I think their best guesses are often wrong.
        For example, if there was an exodus from Egypt it was on a much, much smaller scale. And there’s no evidence of a conquest of Canaan. I’ve been reading and YouTubing scholars. Even though I may be wrong, these are the evidences I base my life on.

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      • To me the Bible is so much metaphor, hyperbole and symbolism. And Jesus used some outrageous parables. To understand the Bible I think we need to delve into it physically, open up to the Jesus of Nazareth personally. Believe him, over and above what is written about him. It would be interesting to see where Christianity would have gone if nothing had ever been written. If the story continued by word-of-mouth only.

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      • If the only access to the character Jesus of Nazareth is via the gospels and there is tremendous doubt whether what he is claimed to have done or said is anything but invention then what is the point of worrying over him in the first place?

        Liked by 1 person

      • You miss the point.
        You have acknowledged how unreliable the gospels are, and the strong liklihood nothing written about him or the deeds and teaching he is claimed to have said/done are genuine.
        Therefore how can you possibly get to know a character who may very well simply be the product of an anonymous author?

        Liked by 1 person

      • To follow the exploits of character, who is likely to be a narrative construct in a ‘book’ you have acknowledged has little credibilty?
        For what reason? What is your goal in doing so?

        Why don’t you abide by the teachings of someone such as Gandhi, who you know was a genuine historic figure?

        Liked by 1 person

      • I hear you saying that God inspired the Bible writers/scholars to present His case via metaphor, hyperbole, symbolism and if I may, I will add fantasy re: the book of Revelation.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Zoe, the book of Isaiah cites God as saying, “I make peace, and create evil..” Of course, I think bible writers put words in God’s mouth. In fact, choosing between God’s reliability and the Bible’s, I’ll take God every time.

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      • I don’t know, Zoe. I understand your argument, I have doubts now and then. Yet, I want to, and do, give God the benefit of the doubt based on a neverending universe and life itself.

        So, by kind of reading between the lines of the bible (yes, picking and choosing), I base my life and walk on Jesus’s way. My life is a business decision, a best guess scenario.

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      • I’m curious, Arnold. Why do you cling so tightly to your conception of God when the source of his claimed existence is full of contradictions? Trying to sidestep by saying you doubt the veracity of the bible writers is an extremely weak excuse since they are the ones writing about the God/Jesus you claim to believe in. 🤔

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      • Because it works for me. If the spirit of Jesus is indeed in me, I’m comfortable testing it/ him in everyday circumstances.

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  3. Does “evil” really exist? Or is it simply a word/trait that Christians have assigned to certain actions … and then parlayed it into human nature to support their beliefs in a god and satan?

    Certainly humans can perform abhorrent and abominable actions, but are they doing so because they are “evil” or because it is in their genes?

    Liked by 2 people

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    • I’m thinking aloud here, Nan, but can’t ‘evil’ be used without any religious connotation (the Christian go to word being ‘sinful’?) Hitler, to use the most obvious example, was surely evil.

      A young man who burst into a little girls’ dance session in a seaside town here in the UK and fatally stabbed three of them while injuring many more – for no apparent reason – was described by the judge who sentenced him last week to 52 years imprisonment as evil. Whatever the cause, his evil behaviour necessitated punishment.

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/28/rudakubana-proved-evil-is-all-too-real-southport-murder-uk

      While genetics, upbringing or radicalisation might explain evil they don’t justify it, do they? Just as a kind and honest person’s honesty and kindness isn’t negated because it’s genetic or the result of a loving upbringing.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Yes, of course the word “evil” can be used outside of religion. But at its core, it’s a word that DOES have “religious connotation.” A Cambridge Research paper says this: “The grand story in Scripture begins in Genesis with a conflict between good and evil.”

        As you may have noticed, there has been considerable discussion related to the word on my blog. Most want to define it according to its modern usage.

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      • I hadn’t noticed the discussion of evil on your blog but have just read it as well as your post (of course).
        I take your point that the concept of evil has been taken over by religionists who’ve given it a very narrow definition (i.e. evil is whatever displeases God).
        I suppose my posts were an attempt to uncouple it from that definition by suggesting evil originates from (some) human beings, principally men. I don’t think there’s another word in the English language that can adequately replace the moral horror that ‘evil’ conveys.

        Liked by 1 person

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