The problem is that we have believed the oldest lie
Tuesday, 7 Jan 2025, 10:14
Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Jim McCrory, Tuesday, 7 Jan 2025, 10:15
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist."
Charles Baudelaire
Image generated with the assistance of Microsoft word
The
problem is that we have believed the oldest lie
Tell me this, why is there so much evil in a world where there is much good? Why do we use the word evil if we are just dancing to our DNA? The word evil has no place if we are accidents of evolution. Something sinister is going on.
*****
In
the quiet recesses of human history, morality was a compass rooted in the
sacred. Guided by the belief in a higher power, humanity once grappled with the
existence of good and evil as realities woven into the fabric of existence. Yet
as the centuries rolled forward, the Enlightenment's clarion call proclaimed
the triumph of reason and the liberation of mankind from the so-called shackles
of superstition. God was declared obsolete, and with Him, the devil was
dismissed as a relic of primitive imagination. In this brave new world, man
stood alone, master of his own destiny. But in the details of this
self-proclaimed enlightenment, the devil quietly lingered.
The
modern age prides itself on its achievements—science, technology, and
individual freedom are celebrated as hallmarks of human progress. Yet the moral
infrastructure that once underpinned civilization has frayed. Gratitude, once a
cornerstone of community and faith, has eroded into entitlement. The modern
self sees itself as the centre of the universe, its insatiable desires dressed
up as personal fulfilment. What was once condemned as vice is now marketed as
virtue under the guise of self-care and self-expression.
But
can humanity truly be enlightened if it loses sight of its own darkness? The
rejection of God and demons has not eradicated evil—it has merely blinded us to
its presence. By dismissing moral absolutes, we have unmoored ourselves from
the concept of sin. Yet evil persists, thriving in our apathy, selfishness, and
pursuit of pleasure. The devil, it seems, is no longer an external tempter but
has found a home within the human heart.
Gratitude,
the antidote to pride and selfishness, has become a rarity in this age of
excess. We consume without reflection, demand without humility, and live as
though the world owes us its riches. Ingratitude breeds discontent, and
discontent gives birth to bitterness. It is no coincidence that, as gratitude
diminishes, so too does goodness. Selfishness, that most insidious of evils,
fills the void where compassion and selflessness once thrived.
Goodness,
once a virtue celebrated in religious and philosophical traditions alike, has
been reduced to a hollow concept. It is no longer about moral character or
sacrifice but about optics—how one appears to the world rather than who one is
at the core. Acts of charity are often transactional, performed for social
clout rather than out of genuine love for others. And when goodness becomes
performative, it loses its power to transform.
At
the heart of modern man’s moral decline lies the unquenchable thirst for
pleasure. Hedonism, once condemned as the enemy of the soul, is now the creed
of the age. In our pursuit of happiness, we have sacrificed meaning. The quick
dopamine hit of instant gratification has replaced the deep satisfaction of a
life well-lived. Yet the pursuit of pleasure, like all idols, demands
sacrifices. Relationships, integrity, and even our own mental health are laid
on its altar.
But
pleasure, unmoored from purpose, leaves us hollow. The more we consume, the
less satisfied we become. And in this endless cycle of desire and
disappointment, the devil whispers his lie: "You are free."You can choose what is good and bad.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 (BSB).
The
Enlightenment’s promise was that man, freed from the chains of religion, would
ascend to moral and intellectual heights. But what has been the fruit of this
liberation? Wars more devastating than any before, inequalities that deepen
even as we preach equality, and a planet groaning under the weight of human
excess. We are blinded by our own actions, unable to see that our rebellion
against God has not led to freedom but to bondage—to greed, pride, and a host
of evils that masquerade as progress.
Without
God, we lose the very foundation for morality. In rejecting the divine, we have
also rejected the devil—but not his influence. For evil does not cease to exist
simply because we refuse to name it. The devil, cunning as ever, thrives in the
details of our self-deception.
In
the end, the problem is not that mankind has become too enlightened to believe
in God or the devil. The problem is that we have believed the oldest lie: that
we can be like gods, defining good and evil for ourselves. This hubris, this
rejection of the divine order, is the root of our moral decay.
Yet
even in this bleak landscape, there remains hope. For as long as we have the
capacity to reflect, to question, and to seek, we have the capacity to change.
True enlightenment lies not in the denial of God but in the recognition that we
are not the measure of all things. It lies in humility, in the willingness to
acknowledge our dependence on something greater than ourselves.
Perhaps
the devil’s greatest triumph is not in the overt evils we commit but in the
subtle erosion of our sense of the sacred. To combat this, we must reclaim
gratitude, rediscover goodness, and reorient our desires toward what is eternal
rather than fleeting. For in the details of our lives—the small acts of
kindness, the quiet moments of reflection, the choices we make daily—we can
resist the devil’s influence and realign ourselves with the divine.
In
doing so, we find not only morality but meaning. We become, not gods, but truly
human—creatures capable of love, sacrifice, and a goodness that reflects the
image of the Creator. And in this lies our ultimate hope: that the darkness is
not the end, but a prelude to light.
The problem is that we have believed the oldest lie
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist."
Charles Baudelaire
Image generated with the assistance of Microsoft word
The problem is that we have believed the oldest lie
Tell me this, why is there so much evil in a world where there is much good? Why do we use the word evil if we are just dancing to our DNA? The word evil has no place if we are accidents of evolution. Something sinister is going on.
*****
In the quiet recesses of human history, morality was a compass rooted in the sacred. Guided by the belief in a higher power, humanity once grappled with the existence of good and evil as realities woven into the fabric of existence. Yet as the centuries rolled forward, the Enlightenment's clarion call proclaimed the triumph of reason and the liberation of mankind from the so-called shackles of superstition. God was declared obsolete, and with Him, the devil was dismissed as a relic of primitive imagination. In this brave new world, man stood alone, master of his own destiny. But in the details of this self-proclaimed enlightenment, the devil quietly lingered.
The modern age prides itself on its achievements—science, technology, and individual freedom are celebrated as hallmarks of human progress. Yet the moral infrastructure that once underpinned civilization has frayed. Gratitude, once a cornerstone of community and faith, has eroded into entitlement. The modern self sees itself as the centre of the universe, its insatiable desires dressed up as personal fulfilment. What was once condemned as vice is now marketed as virtue under the guise of self-care and self-expression.
But can humanity truly be enlightened if it loses sight of its own darkness? The rejection of God and demons has not eradicated evil—it has merely blinded us to its presence. By dismissing moral absolutes, we have unmoored ourselves from the concept of sin. Yet evil persists, thriving in our apathy, selfishness, and pursuit of pleasure. The devil, it seems, is no longer an external tempter but has found a home within the human heart.
Gratitude, the antidote to pride and selfishness, has become a rarity in this age of excess. We consume without reflection, demand without humility, and live as though the world owes us its riches. Ingratitude breeds discontent, and discontent gives birth to bitterness. It is no coincidence that, as gratitude diminishes, so too does goodness. Selfishness, that most insidious of evils, fills the void where compassion and selflessness once thrived.
Goodness, once a virtue celebrated in religious and philosophical traditions alike, has been reduced to a hollow concept. It is no longer about moral character or sacrifice but about optics—how one appears to the world rather than who one is at the core. Acts of charity are often transactional, performed for social clout rather than out of genuine love for others. And when goodness becomes performative, it loses its power to transform.
At the heart of modern man’s moral decline lies the unquenchable thirst for pleasure. Hedonism, once condemned as the enemy of the soul, is now the creed of the age. In our pursuit of happiness, we have sacrificed meaning. The quick dopamine hit of instant gratification has replaced the deep satisfaction of a life well-lived. Yet the pursuit of pleasure, like all idols, demands sacrifices. Relationships, integrity, and even our own mental health are laid on its altar.
But pleasure, unmoored from purpose, leaves us hollow. The more we consume, the less satisfied we become. And in this endless cycle of desire and disappointment, the devil whispers his lie: "You are free." You can choose what is good and bad.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 (BSB).
The Enlightenment’s promise was that man, freed from the chains of religion, would ascend to moral and intellectual heights. But what has been the fruit of this liberation? Wars more devastating than any before, inequalities that deepen even as we preach equality, and a planet groaning under the weight of human excess. We are blinded by our own actions, unable to see that our rebellion against God has not led to freedom but to bondage—to greed, pride, and a host of evils that masquerade as progress.
Without God, we lose the very foundation for morality. In rejecting the divine, we have also rejected the devil—but not his influence. For evil does not cease to exist simply because we refuse to name it. The devil, cunning as ever, thrives in the details of our self-deception.
In the end, the problem is not that mankind has become too enlightened to believe in God or the devil. The problem is that we have believed the oldest lie: that we can be like gods, defining good and evil for ourselves. This hubris, this rejection of the divine order, is the root of our moral decay.
Yet even in this bleak landscape, there remains hope. For as long as we have the capacity to reflect, to question, and to seek, we have the capacity to change. True enlightenment lies not in the denial of God but in the recognition that we are not the measure of all things. It lies in humility, in the willingness to acknowledge our dependence on something greater than ourselves.
Perhaps the devil’s greatest triumph is not in the overt evils we commit but in the subtle erosion of our sense of the sacred. To combat this, we must reclaim gratitude, rediscover goodness, and reorient our desires toward what is eternal rather than fleeting. For in the details of our lives—the small acts of kindness, the quiet moments of reflection, the choices we make daily—we can resist the devil’s influence and realign ourselves with the divine.
In doing so, we find not only morality but meaning. We become, not gods, but truly human—creatures capable of love, sacrifice, and a goodness that reflects the image of the Creator. And in this lies our ultimate hope: that the darkness is not the end, but a prelude to light.