Evil

This one is for you Christians out there.

When presumptive presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama participated in a forum August 16th hosted by Pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church, perhaps the most revealing questions and answers concerned “evil.”

When asked about evil in the world, Senator McCain said that it should be defeated. Senator Obama said that it is God’s job to defeat evil but that we could be soldiers in that fight.

Because this was a “Christian” forum, it’s instructive to read what Christian Scripture says about what we should do about evil in the world:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. (Romans 12:17.)
Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good. (Romans 12:21.)
Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult. (1 Peter 3:9.)
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. (3 John 1:11.)

I think that what Saints Paul, Peter and John are all saying to us is that, if we have to resort to evil deeds to combat evil, then we have ourselves become evil. In the words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

Senator McCain’s hell-for-leather approach demonstrates his unfamiliarity with Scripture. What he proposes may or may not be good foreign policy, but it’s very bad religion. Senator Obama’s attempt to balance what he as a Christian believes with the practical problem of defending our beloved country shows his superior knowledge and understanding of Scripture.

That the so-called Christians in the live audience liked Senator McCain’s answer to “evil” better than they did Senator Obama's illustrates that they, like Senator McCain, must be ignorant of what Scripture says about dealing with evil.

Senator McCain talks a lot about “Judeo-Christian” values. Maybe he should spend some time learning about them.