The Myth of Good and Evil

by Lady Lee 10 Replies latest jw friends

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    Most of us, if not all, have grown up in a world where good and evil are opposites of each other. Not only are they opposites they are at war with one another.

    Old western movies depicted "good" as the fellow in the white hat while the "bad" guy wore the black hat. The Bible depicts evil as darkness and everything that is good as white.

    These beliefs are so ingrained in us from very young ages. We expect what is bad to look one way and what is good to look another way.

    But this is so incredibly inaccurate and causes such tremendous confusion for people who base their beliefs on this perspective of the world.

    When my daughters were young I refused to let them read stories like Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and all the other "chiuldren's stories". As a JW we were taught these stories with mythology and were therefore evil. But I had a more personal perspective on these stories.

    Sometimes what is good can look dark and scary. What is bad can come to us in clean and comforting arms. I learned very young that a parents' "love" for their child could be something to run from and hide. It wasn't comfort that my parents doled out upon their children. But I was conflicted with the notion that parents always do what is in the best interests of their child. My world was inside out and upside down.

    Then my mother became a JW.

    The WTS presented this "religion" as good, clean, blessed and led by God. A part of me desperately needed the comfort offered by JW who surrounded me with acceptance and love. Over and over we were told that a parent loves their child by instructing them and disciplining them when they err. Leaving the WTS and the "safety" of the WTS would spell doom both in the short term (to have a life of depravity, illness and unhappiness) and in the long-term - eternal destruction.

    It took me many many years to finall awake to the fact that my mother's love was far more harmful than I knew. And even more time to begin to see that the clean good-looking books that carried WT teachings were so far off the mark that they were harmful to those who believed what was printed in them

    It was scary to begin to realize the depths of deceipt of WT teachings. We were told repeatedly "Where shall we go?" as if without their protection we would be doomed. It takes courage to really look at what we were told was good and recognize the real truth.

    The instinct to be loved and to belong somewhere is tremendous. Leaving family, friends, and our "religion" wasn't easy.

    But freedom from tyranny, lies, manipulations and controls is crucial if we are to grow. It means learning that good things can come in unknown packages. And bad things can be dressed in finery to look their very best. The snare needs to be appealing. Otherwise who would fall for it?

    I'm sitting here with the TV on and Lord of the Rings. Yup the bad guys are ugly and slimey, They growl and hiss.

    But that is the myth and we really need to look at things on the deeper level; to look for real truth; not absolute truth.

    Things are not always what they seem

    .

  • Narkissos
    Narkissos

    Great post LadyLee

    We are thirsting for simplifications of life which is nothing but simple.

    We want to be "good" -- by standards which are always others' standards -- and when we fail to we easily fall for being "bad" by the same standards, rather than questioning the standards.

    It took me some time to understand the wisdom of Ecclesiastes (7:16ff): "Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself? Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of the one, without letting go of the other..."

    Black and white is colour-blind.

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    Too often we think in black and white. Some say there are many shades of grey.

    A few years ago a client of mine said "Between black and white there are all the colors of the rainbow"

    We really do need to actively change the thinking from black/white. We need to see the rainbow. We need to see the contradictions and all that is in between

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    Lady,

    One thing I have come to understand is that good and evil are just points of view. What one person calls evil another calls good. There is no universal Good and Evil except in the minds interpetation which is imaginary. Without the imagination, with its learned or inherited concepts, the universe is a pretty much indifferent, we add the colors to it, be they black and white or or any color, and as reguards colors, these too are non existing except in the minds interpetation of light frequencies, no red exist outside us, we add the color interpetation.

  • Gretchen956
    Gretchen956

    The way I look at it every light makes an object cast a shadow, so light and dark are complements of each other. You can look at dark as a time of rest or you can see it as a time of bogeymens under your bed. Its all in the perspective. For a lighthearted look at this same subject, read "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, its what happens when good isn't quite as good as we've been led to believe and evil isn't quite as bad. Very tongue in cheek and hilarious.

    This is really a good reminder too when we get to thinking we own the whole truth when it comes to spirituality. That whole "whoever isn't with me is against me" mindset. Until we get over that the world will be full of war, hatred, and discord.

    Peace - Out

    Sherry

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    Sherry

    This is really a good reminder too when we get to thinking we own the whole truth when it comes to spirituality. That whole "whoever isn't with me is against me" mindset. Until we get over that the world will be full of war, hatred, and discord.

    That is so good to remember.

    Normally I would say killing someone is wrong. But regardless of how much I believe it is wrong, if a person was to attack one of my family I would act without stopping to consider the right or wrong of it.

    People - or organizations - can always justify their actions

    No one or thing owns truth

  • gaiagirl
    gaiagirl

    Movies and TV have often portrayed "evil" as less than human, and usually accompany their presence on screen with ominous music as well. LOTR is a very good example, although some of the bad guys are kind of borderline, such as Christopher Lee playing the wizard who turns to the side of evil. Kind of hard to tell with him at first. When I was very young, I remember sometimes watching Popeye cartoons which were already ancient, made during the second World War. Sometimes Popeye would fight Japanese sailors who were always drawn with huge protruding buck teeth, thick glasses, and walked with a curious scurrying shuffle. But they were also shown to be shrewd and clever, therefore dangerous. Bluto/Brutus was very large and strong, but his ungroomed beard, at a time when beards were no longer fashionable for men, showed him to be more "primitive" than Popeye, therefore less human. Dehumanizing the enemy helps draw the lines between good and evil clearly, and prevents the audience from feeling sorry for the ememy when they are eventually defeated. This is one of the interesting things about the Star Wars series, in which Darth Vadar is the personification of evil, but we eventually learn about the horrible and tragic circumstances which led to him turning to "the Dark Side" and aligning himself with the forces of evil, and in "Return of the Jedi" he does sort of redeem himself before he dies (apologies if that is a spoiler for anyone).

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    those are all perfect examples of my point.

    The WTS does a great job of dehumanizing the rest of the world and especially apostates. And as less than human we are deserving of eternal destruction

    Maybe those guys sitting at their round table have been watching too many good vs evil movies

  • Snoozy
    Snoozy

    Speaking of Myths...I just got two books for my brother on Joseph Campbell.

    He writes about Mythology and religion.Transforming Religious Metaphor.. The first one is "Thou are that"..and the second one is "The power of myth".

    I almost feel like reading them before I mail them to him..Looks like some interesting reading..anyone here familiar with his works?

    Snoozy..

  • Apostate Kate
    Apostate Kate

    {{{LadyLee}}}

    Well put!

    I remember going through a post JW faze and realizing this aspect of JW indoctrination. I learned to find value in places I had previosly judged as having none.

    I have found the answer to good and evil!

    Babies and puppies are good, too much chocolate is evil

    Life is so much simpler now

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