The Reality of Evil 

   When was the last time your priest or pastor spoke of evil?  How often are you warned from the pulpit of the devil and his desire to bring you to hell with him?  I suspect evil and Satan are rarely spoken of and yet recognition of evil and the devil are absolutely necessary if we are to attain the kingdom of God.

   There is no question that evil exists in the world, history records its presence quite well.  Rome had their coliseum where barbaric battles between humans and animals were held for entertainment.  Gladiators were to fight to the death and if they refused to kill their opponent could be killed themselves at the whim of the crowd.

   Hitler’s regime murdered millions of Jews along with gypsies, homosexuals, Catholics, and any other group he considered inferior or opposed to his “final solution”.  Many were subjected to horrible medical experimentation prior to being incinerated in the furnaces of the death  camps.

   Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, spoke openly and proudly of her belief in eugenics, insisting that those who were considered unfit should be eliminated.  Abortion was one of the tools she saw as instrumental in eliminated those she considered unfit to live, a burden on society.

   Evil continues today and will continue until the Lord comes again in glory.  We cannot eliminate it, but we must speak of it, recognize it, and resist it.  If not, we become part of the evil.  “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil:  God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).