I don’t know why, but the subject of evil has come up several times during the last few weeks. I’ve heard discussions about whether the devil is an external entity or if evil exists as an unembodied force. It seems like the Protestant view has the devil nipping at your toes or slinking in the corner ready to nab you, and the Catholics have the devil inside you constantly luring you to misbehavior. I’ve always liked the joke that goes, “the devil doesn’t show up much in the Old Testament, because with that God they didn’t need one.” When I was little and going to Catholic school, we used to torment ourselves with the horrible prospect of selling our souls to the devil. Could it be done without conscious agreement? Could it happen in your sleep?

I have not done a great study of the subject, but I have given it some thought. When I think of the disasters that fall upon us, mostly they have to do with accidents, natural disasters, and illness. While all of the above can ruin a life and create great suffering, there isn’t anything inherently evil at work. The evil we see in the news has to do with physical, mental and emotional cruelty, dished out not by the cloven-hoofed one, but by mere mortals. In my mind, the only evil force that haunts our world lives in the form of humans. Humans rape and murder. Humans cheat old ladies out of their life savings. Humans allow laws that benefit some while stealing from the rest of us.

You might argue that evil lives inside those who do harm. Maybe, but when you hear the stories of the worst of us, you often find early lives filled with dehumanizing abuse, heaped on them by adults who experienced the same. Or else mental illness is present, and we’ve gotten beyond labeling that as evil spirits.

I don’t offer any solutions. I’m not sure there’s really much protection from harm. I do hope that we are evolving, and that we can eventually come to a point where all people born grow up knowing their value. As time goes on, perhaps we’ll find cures for those whose misfiring brains cause them so much trouble. I believe there’s a spark of divinity in each of us. We can realize our own spark, and reach out to the same in others. I love those stories where the intended victim is moved to speak to the real person behind the criminal and greatly mitigates the crime or stops it completely. A world where evil exists only in the hurting hearts of man can be healed; a world that contains a devil—I’m not so sure.