How Evil Can Society Become?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

It is very difficult for me to actually picture just how bad society was back in Noah’s day (Genesis 6 – 9), when God saw what He saw as recorded for us in Genesis 6:5.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

I cannot imagine that from God’s perspective. Moses (the writer of Genesis) tells us that “every intention of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually.” That’s not only sad, but thoroughly tragic. It really hadn’t been that many generations since the fall of Eve and Adam that sin had found its way through to the fabric of society. Yet, by the time we get to Genesis 6, things had gotten severely out of hand. God made the choice to eliminate all life on the planet except for a few human beings and the animals that would fit inside an Ark made of wood and sealed tight from water with pitch.

Of course, if you know how the story continues, you know that within a very short time after the Great Flood of Noah’s day, evil continued. Why? It is due to the fact that Noah and the other humans with him on the Ark all had what we also have – a sin nature. That sin nature prompted sinful actions. Within a year after disembarking from the Ark and started anew, a vineyard was grown and Noah got drunk (Genesis 9). Remember that the Mosaic Law had not yet been given so this would not necessarily be seen as a sin. However, the consequences of it were bad.

It was also at this time that God gave Noah the law of capital punishment and permission to eat other animals (which had not yet been the case; Genesis 9:3-6). If human’s were not allowed to eat animals, animals would have soon overtaken the earth. Beyond this, there are proteins and other benefits that can be gained from eating meat, as opposed to a strict vegetarian diet (though I know vegetarians would disagree with me).

But why did God tell Noah about capital punishment? Why was that also part of the picture now for human beings? The answer is provided to us in Genesis 9:5-6.

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Basically God tells Noah that when a person deliberately and with malice a forethought takes the life of another human being, he is actually doing more than simply ending someone’s life. The person who willfully in anger kills another is actually striking out at God Himself (“for God made man in his own image”). The person who kills another human being is attempting to kill God. This is the way God sees it and this is why He initiated capital punishment.

Now, we can argue about the whys, wherefores, and reasons as to whether or not capital punishment is a deterrent to crime. As far as God is concerned, that isn’t even the point. However, the person who is caught, tried, found guilty, and executed will never harm another person. The point that God is trying to make is that human life is sacred and for those who strike out at others (and we’re not talking about self-defense here, but willful and hate-filled murder), are striking out at God and God decreed their execution should come to them swiftly.

It is interesting that God gives this part of what would eventually become the Mosaic Law to Noah, long before Moses arrived on the scene. This tells me that the events leading up to the Great Flood were terrible times indeed, filled with violence and murder. There was no real “government” or body of leaders who were able to step up and tackle the problem. Life (and death) continued, come what might.

Not too many chapters later in Genesis (starting with 18), we learn of two cities on the plain – Sodom and Gomorrah – which were cities filled with evil people who continually did evil as they saw fit. We learn how God goes down to see things as they were, not because He was unable to see things from heaven, but because He wanted it on record that He physically and visibly saw the way things were in that area of the world. Because of it, judgment needed to come. If He failed to judge those two cities, the evil would spread to other areas.

In a world where people are constantly trying to tell us that humans are evolving to a better and better place, our actions, which are based on our thoughts, constantly give us away. We are not getting better at all. Though technology improves, though we can look clear, cosmopolitan, upright, and even righteous, too often our hearts give us away and though this can be hidden from other people, God sees it always.

Are we better off today than people were in Noah’s or Lot’s day? It doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, there are many well-written articles and books that detail life in America alone since the late 1800s or early 1900s with respect to violence (homicides and suicides). One such article was written by David C. Stolinsky, MD in the Spring of 2001. He notes many things and what I appreciate about his presentation is the valid attempt he makes throughout to be as unbiased as possible. His article – Homicide and Suicide in America, 1900-1998 – is well worth the read. While you might not agree with his conclusions regarding gun control, the reality seems to be that in some ways violence has increased in some quarters and gone down in others. The fact remains though that violence continues to be part of the fabric of American (as well as foreign) society. It is due to the age-old problem that affected everyone following Adam and Eve.

I was doing some research on this yesterday and watched an interesting documentary on the creation of the electric chair as used as an implement of execution for criminals. It seems – according to this documentary – Edison, who was falling behind with his particular form of electricity and would normally have been against using electricity as a means of executing people – got on board with the idea when the thought came to him that by using Westinghouse’s version of electric current in the electric chair, he could show it to be horrible and win the day back from Westinghouse. Of course, lots of testing went into the creation of this implement of death and in order to do so, Edison had to obtain animals. Though the humane society would not give him any, he paid young boys to capture stray dogs and cats for twenty-five cents each in order to test methods of electrical execution on them. It was all for science, right? No, actually, it was all for money because Edison was determined to ensure that his version of electricity was the favored version.

The first person to be executed in the United States was William Kemmler in 1890 in what many called a death by torture. He was executed for killing his common-law wife with an ax. Since that time, over 4,000 people have been executed in this manner and many others in various states throughout America await their date with the executioner. This country – as well as numerous other countries – has had its share of serial killers. Almost all are eventually caught, tried, and either executed or die in prison.

One such extremely notorious serial killer was a man known as Albert Fish (The Gray Man), who did unspeakable things to children in Depression-era New York. He admitted to killing at least one child in each state in which he had lived (23 total), but was eventually tried and convicted on just several. He was executed in 1936.

Fish’s own early life was abysmal and horrendous. As an adult, he would often take Bible verses mixed with his own understanding of things as a way of believing he gained penance through his murders. The tragedy is that there are plenty of people like Fish as well as average murderers who make up part of society.

Clearly then, whether we can argue that society has gotten worse or simply not better is moot. Murder, psychopaths, serial killers, and the like exist in society today and are a constant reminder that we are not well; that judgment upon this earth is justified and coming.

In fact, Jesus points out as He looked toward the end of this age just prior to His second coming that if the final coming days were not “shortened,” no flesh would survive (Matthew 24:22). That’s a pretty dismal thought from our Lord isn’t it?

Just a few verses prior to Jesus noting the intense violence of the coming day, He also tells us quite pointedly that it is directly due to the increase in violence (toward the end) that the love of most will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). As global society moves toward the end of this age, demonic oppression and violence will become more and more apart of human society. It will foment the type of violence that Jesus is referring to and we will see that more and more as time goes by.

If you find yourself having a hard time loving people and wanting to reach out to them, it may well be due to the increased violent intensity throughout society that exists now and will only get worse. Admittedly, I find myself having somewhat of a difficult time. People are becoming more and more self-centered. They seem to not care about anything except themselves. They love only themselves. They see no point in the other person unless that person can help them in some way.

Selfishness abounds. Violence in society stems from that. The more people seek to elevate self, the greater the violence in society will become. We can argue until we’re blue in the face about the fluctuation of crime and why this exists. We can talk about whether stronger gun laws would help or if the ability to carry a weapon becoming easier would help. In the end, it doesn’t matter because what we are seeing taking place in society is the growing phenomenon of relentless selfish pursuits. The more selfish people become, the less they will care about anyone other than themselves.

Certainly, an economic downturn can exacerbate that problem. Living in the slums can also make that worse. Not having a decent job can breed self-contempt and hatred of society. The bottom line is that the one underlying thing that guides all of it is born of self. It is the same today as it was in the days of Noah and the days of Lot: self, selfishness, and even self-loathing.

Jesus has told us it will worsen and it will do so as self is given more leeway, more precedence, more of the spotlight. As Christians, it is our duty to act in a way that – in spite of how much of a hold self gains in society – brings glory to God. Brothers and sisters, I wish I could say that this is easy but we know it is not. As difficult as it is or may become for us, we must be wise as serpents and as gentle as doves (Matthew 10:16), because that is how Jesus lived.

If we call ourselves Christians, then we must emulate the Master. God knows that this is not easy at all. To get there we must submit our lives to Him and allow (plead if necessary!) His grace, His strength, His energy, and His wisdom to provide what is lacking within us.

In this life, we have but one road to walk and it is framed as The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). There is no getting around that. Regardless of how evil grows and pervades and permeates society, we must continue to walk this road that can bring light to those living in darkness.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective