tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post7305318686486908345..comments2024-03-28T21:32:26.550+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: In 2021, we cannot 'fight evil' - we must be-Good, 'do' GoodBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-81659241887754600352021-07-30T01:16:35.013+01:002021-07-30T01:16:35.013+01:00"Only when the rejecting of evil is set aside..."Only when the rejecting of evil is set aside and The Good is embraced positively have we learned the lessons of evil."<br /><br />Well put.<br /><br />I've been thinking about this post and what it would mean in practice. The movie "Groundhog Day" came to mind. What I like about the movie is how we see the narcissistic protagonist (Bill Murray) come to understand that he is stuck repeating the same day over and over in a small town in Pennsylvania. He tries living badly (embracing Evil), only to realize that to "pursue real and positive value [by doing] Good" is the only way to really live, finally allowing him to "break free."<br /><br />Finally, the other nice part about the movie is that we see after his embrace of the Good that he begins to literally use every minute of his day to "manifest different positive Goods." At the end of the final repeated day, he comically accumulates a lifetime of good works in a single day. It's a worthwhile movie for some light entertainment (would be painful as a book), but also to consider how we can all choose to live better, to actually do Good, minute by minute.MagnusStouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16975404335377881030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-50993369133071057902021-07-29T06:20:02.995+01:002021-07-29T06:20:02.995+01:00@Frank - I was trying to draw a distinction betwee...@Frank - I was trying to draw a distinction between 'fighting evil', which is not possible; and fighting 'beings on the side of evil' - which is often necessary. Fighting beings on the side of evil (which is most people in the world, after all) - however necessary - isn't actually fighting evil. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-14786229846559248402021-07-29T05:15:46.185+01:002021-07-29T05:15:46.185+01:00An excellent and timely post.
The problem with f...An excellent and timely post. <br /><br />The problem with fighting evil is instigation. Evil often demands to be fought. It strives for reaction. It purposefully taunts in a manner that will elicit a fighting response. This is often little more than a ruse to motivate people to engage with evil at its own level of un-freedom. The purpose of the agitation is to weaken alignment with God and Creation. <br /><br />Of course, fighting evil is sometimes necessary, perhaps even unavoidable, but there is a big difference between lured into a fight by evil like a push-button automaton and freely choosing to fight evil on your terms. <br /><br />Either way, fighting involves active engagement with evil whereas doing Good focuses on active engagement with Good, which is the very thing evil is attempting to deny and destroy. Doing, being, and thinking Good knocks evil out of its comfort zone of instigation. Doing, being, and thinking Good forces evil to engage with you at the level of God and Creation, which may make evil think twice before committing to any sort of engagement with you. <br /><br />I get the sense that evil very much wants to instill the (false) belief that it has become impossible to remain fully aligned with Good - that the best one can hope for is fighting and/or suffering in the name of the Good. In light of this, perhaps the best way to "fight" evil is to do all that one can to prove this contention wrong. Francis Bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11063224017320651978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-54737463927009084742021-07-28T15:04:57.421+01:002021-07-28T15:04:57.421+01:00I needed this this morning.
Thank you.
The focus o...I needed this this morning.<br />Thank you.<br />The focus on the good/God is so important, rather than the constant fight.Jacob Gitteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10559764359800682222noreply@blogger.com