Evil is always someone or something else.  It seldom has anything to do with us who are often the innocent victims. We become observers of the evening news and shake our heads.

The Devil is the author and creator of evil in the world.  This prince of darkness stalks us, tempts us and turns nation against nation.  The objective of this evil force is to compete with God for the souls of humankind.  The purpose of this being is to capture every soul possible so that each can spend eternity in Hell surrounded by everlasting torment.

Evil is easily recognized.  Children's cartoons always distinguish the hero from the villain.  We see Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker as the two poles that epitomize darkness and light.

Evil is what Hitler did to the Jews.  It was like a crippling disease of the mind that warped people's thinking so that even doctors, who once were dedicated to the preservation of life, found themselves experimenting on live subjects with a sense of purpose that was deemed appropriate.

The "war on terrorism" is an example of righteous indignation.  Good people cannot stand by and do nothing. Evil must be rooted out and destroyed.  Perhaps murder is not murder when it is committed for "just" reasons.

As we examine many of our "heroes," e.g., James Bond and the various characters portrayed by Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, we are being conditioned with the idea that fighting fire with fire can be a righteous act.  The images of evil suddenly develop many gray areas.  The cause of "justice" overrides the amoral character qualities and skills of spirit exhibited by our "saviors."  This image is a deep rooted archetype that goes back to David and Goliath.

There is no "Evil Being" called Satan. Questions: Who created this being?  What would be the purpose of Hell or any endless suffering and abandonment of souls by a God who exhibits unconditional love?  Have the fears and perceptions of ancient writers been transported into the thought patterns of every subsequent generation because of how they idolize the Bible?  Evil originates with a judgment made through the perception of each person's belief system.

Evil is nothing more than thoughts and deeds created by people who are making mistakes in their decision-making processes, e.g., "I can have something of value by taking it."  "I can gain power through hurt, fear and intimidation." "I can destroy my enemies by creating and spreading a virus for which there is no cure."

Evil begins in innocence. We become hurt and in response, our minds begin to create various judgments, e.g., "I don't like this person."  "One day I will stand up for myself and 'settle the score'."  "He cannot be allowed to get away with this."  "Beauty is only skin deep, besides, she's an air-head."

Without a mentor or teacher to intervene and correct what we are creating with our judgments, our thought patterns will create a response pattern.  Response patterns can become addictive, shaping our worldview. Good and evil become very clear to us.  We associate evil with what causes us pain and suffering.  We are not aware that pain and suffering are responses that come from choice patterns we have created.  We begin to blame others for our circumstances and resulting torment.  We are capable of creating response patterns that will display similar results as those of students' during the Columbine High School mayhem.

Evil begins with innocent fantasies, e.g., elementary school boys looking up the dresses of their female classmates.  If remained unchecked, the desire pattern grows and inspires the impulse to plant hidden cameras in dressing rooms.  Voyeurism becomes a pleasurable obsession.  Or, physically attractive girls begin using their charms to lure and control boys.  As women they may begin to rely on and use their physical attributes to achieve success and power.  Their confidence rests in their external form, which unavoidably deteriorates as they age.

Evil begins with innocent ambition.  Rather than developing marketable skills and character qualities that would make them the "employee of the month" every month, some learn to manipulate, compromise, and connive to achieve their goals.  The intense desire to have what this world offers, blinds them to the path that would give them everything.  Such persons often achieve their material goals without leaving the starting gates in their spirit's quest for refinement.  Through a sequence of decisions, they silence their conscience, inner voice and gyroscope that were designed to provide guidance.  Evil does not need a Devil or Satan to sink its manipulative tentacles into the core of what motivates us.  All it takes is the desire to have the fruit without growing the tree.

What we have labeled as "evil" flourishes when loving energy is absent in people.  The mistake is in the belief that one can gain something of lasting value by pursuing and acquiring anything that belongs in and to our physical world, a world that is constantly changing.  The reality is that the wealth and prestige achieved during success in the material world cannot be applied in the realm of existence one eventually enters when one leave the body, a realm where all physical symbols and their meaning cease to exist.

Our actual identity will remain unknown to us.  We were born "spiritually blind" in order to face the life issues that will come, issues that provide the means for our refinement.