Evil is Absolute

[Dimmesdale]

Evil in its essence is Absolute. It is not a mere privation or distortion or a parasitical hijacking of the good. It is Itself. And it Is-As-It-Is: Evil.

The Christian naive notion that Evil is merely a perversion of the good is not tenable. It is a superstition that does not treat evil with the gravitas proper to it. It avoids the essence of evil, and, therefore, causes one to be blind not only to its controlling effects, but to its pernicious non-being, focusing instead on the good that is the object of those beholden to it, rather than to it itself.

Contrary to Evil is the Light of Creation. Evil destroys. It is destructive in its essence. No life can be said of it. No reason can be said of it. No redeeming quality can be said of it. The fact that evil wills take as their goals minor goods is not testament to evil's dependency. Evil construed as itself is Independent - without even a Self. It is nihility compassed by a concept. The fact that goods and goals are aligned with it, is only due to the maladjusted intellect that does not know Evil's controlling and enslaving extent. Agents, therefore, are themselves not Evil-In-Itself. But because they come under the compass and duress of evil, they progressively are dehumanized and turned into empty shells.

Perversions are really denials. Denials of the true Infection of evil.

[Dimmesdale]

But does this mean, then, that Evil is the Opposite of God, or that it is Co-Absolute with God? The answer is a firm “No”, except “yes” in a different sense altogether....

It is true that everything existent shares in divinity to one extent or another. If I see two apples in a basket instead of one and one-quarter, that distinction holds absolutely. Physical givens yield mathematically accurate statements. Therefore this factual state of affairs shares in the divine nature as one of the Divine’s related energies. Everything that IS is absolutized by relation to the One Sole Absolute.

Evil, however, though it is Absolute, does not share in the category of Being. Evil remains non-being in essence. So how can a non-being be absolutized? It is Absolutized by virtue of retaining the Form of Absolute Nature, but not the Substance. Substantial Absolutism inheres when the object stands in an actual relationship to being. But evil, being nihility, does not possess such inherent value anymore than a rope can be taken to be a snake. It is due to the illusory superimposition of a being, that evil has an apparent being. But the fact is, such a superimposition, although an act born in ignorance and not a being, holds sway nonetheless. This is because it is actively and seriously willed by evil-doers. The more one feeds into an illusion, to that degree it has staying power. It is our loyalty to this shadow-nature that engenders all its power and fools us into taking it seriously - whence comes its growing potency. But only in relation to us. Hence, Evil receives its Absolute Nature from consenting rational beings. It is dependent on intellect and will gone awry, in other words.

It is this state of affairs that renders Evil as a competitor with God. It cannot be said to be God’s opposite substantially, because it is dependent on the contingent and inconstant wills of rational beings who will eventually become liberated and forget evil. However, due to befooled souls willing in this way, an ape of God is indeed created, forming a negative feedback loop sending us such images. The fact is, however, that all this is an illusion. And nothing more consoling can be said, except that Dharma reigns triumphant over this illusion, time and time again, ad infinitum, forever and ever.... The true Good is vindicated, and the evil which destroys, is itself destroyed.

Hence the greatest irony is also the divine comedy. God’s “rival” is eternally humiliated; as it were in jest....