On the “Demonic Nature of Social Evil in Our Time”

Last updated on: July 17, 2015 at 10:29 am by Kyle Roberts

On the “Demonic Nature of Social Evil in Our Time” 2015-07-17T10:29:24-05:00 Kyle Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

While working my way through Ernest Becker’s splendid book, The Structure of Evil, I came upon this gem (I have edited the section to incorporate gender inclusive language, and have split the text into more paragraphs for ease of reading):

Demon Seated, by Mikhail Vrubel

Humanity must confront the underlying alienation that exists in every age, and alienation exists wherever the individual does not have a commanding view, a unitary critical perspective by which to take in hand and react to the determinants of his social existence.

Having failed to do this, the twentieth century gathered all the evils that could seem possible to befall humanity: genocide of millions, recurrent world war, race and hate riots, famine and world-wide misery for the vast masses of humanity. And the outlook for the future is more of the same: atomic war, violent revolutions, mass starvation.

In our time, we have seen the demonic emerge in all its starkness, and we have learned why it emerges: the demonic comes into being for man whenever he is manipulated by large impersonal forces beyond. Thus, when modern people set in motion vast social institutions but do not take critical control of them, the institutions assume their own momentum; the people who run the institutions become like ants mechanically doing their duty, and no one dares to question the routine to which the institutions conform.

The result is that there is no way of breaking through the uncritical fictions that control society and that are embodied in vast and powerful, faceless organizations. Responsibility is nowhere; grinding power everywhere.

Where are the “centered” persons–as Tillich called them–who should guide and shape this impersonal machinery, according to an ideal vision of humanity? Where is the responsible dissent, the continued review of the ends of action? Without these the world of ineluctable movement assumes its own laws, and, like a black widow spider of science-fiction proportions, it turns on and consumes the very people who give it life.

This is the demonic nature of social evil in our time. It is a fitting culmination of the failure to heed the Enlightenment lesson: if humanity fails to introduce critical reason into the realm of human affairs, they must be prepared to suffer evils which they could have prevented (141-142).

Stay in the loop! Like / follow Unsystematic Theology on Facebook for more theology and society related posts and discussion.

Previous Post

July 16, 2015

The Trouble with Women in the Church (Leaving Evangelicalism #6)

Next Post

July 21, 2015 Trump's "Winner's Only" Approach is Utterly Anti-Christian

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2020 November 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 December 2018 July 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz