“It is finished!”
-John 19:30
Unlike with the concept of Yin and Yang, good and evil in my worldview are not in balance. Good is a trait of God, and God is infinite and has no equal. While evil is an opposite of good, evil does not need to be in existence in order for good things and good actions to exist. On the other hand, because evil is a corruption, evil needs there to be good in order to be sustained. Evil is a parasite that feeds upon things that are good. It cannot create–only destroy. The more evil is present, the faster that destruction takes place.
What happens to someone who burns wheat fields for fun? He will have nothing to eat. What happens to a warlord who makes everyone his enemy? He will get a dagger in the back. What happens to the glutton? He gets sick.
On top of this, evil is what is used to attempt to attain something that is perceived as good. Yes, the love of money is the root to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but money itself is meant to be a fair reward to be traded for honest goods. A car thief wants a functioning car. A usurper to the throne wants a functioning kingdom. A villain will use evil practices to attain what he wants, but he can’t be too evil lest he destroy the very object of his desire.
Evil cannot exist without good, but good can exist without evil. It logically follows that evil can be ultimately defeated.
The Problem and the Solution
In our world, the process of ending evil has already been started. From the day that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they were cursed with the penalty of death. Aside from being a natural outcome of separation from God, this penalty was at least twofold in purpose. First, it was a punishment. Second, it was a limit. Can you imagine what it would be like to have a world filled with evil humans who never die?
So death and sin are intertwined. Yet God tells us that there will be an end to death. The first step of this was Christ’s death on the cross. God entered into His creation as a man, lived a sinless life, and died through crucifixion. In doing this, He took on the punishment of death in our place. He then rose bodily from the dead, showing that He has life to overcome death, and that He has the power to raise us up from death. To those who believe in Him, He gives the Holy Spirit of God, which works to transform the believer into a new person with a nature of good.
Of course, the transformation doesn’t complete on this earth. While the soul will have a new nature, it is still encased within a physical body that is corrupted by evil. What this ends up meaning, however, is that death is no longer something for the believer to fear. For someone who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, death is something that takes both body and soul. For one who has the Holy Spirit, death is the shedding of the body and its sinful influences to allow the soul to be free. Following this, we will be given new bodies that are completely uncorrupted and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:35-58).
But the changing of believers alone is not enough to defeat evil. After all, there are still those who will choose to forever reject God and remain in evil. Well, there is going to a time when God’s period of longsuffering mercy will come to an end. The whole earth will eventually be subject to the final judgment. On that day, every single soul will be separated into the category of those who chose good or those who chose evil (Revelation 20:11-15). The good will live on, and the evil will be disposed of. From there, the death we know will be no more and everything will be good in a remade universe (Revelation 21:1-22:5) (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). Evil will be defeated and good will reign supreme.
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
-Revelation 22:5
The Impact on Narrative
This is awesome and all, but what does it have to do with my fantasy settings? Well, this is my mindset with which I view the world. Even if I craft a fictional universe, my views on good and evil in our reality will shape how I treat them in my narratives. This is my cohesive understanding of what good and evil are and how they interface with each other. If I were to stray from these definitions and natures, that will likely lead to internal inconsistency and confusion. This in turn is a powerful source of writer’s block.
If you are a writer, you don’t have to hold to my fundamental views to put out a masterfully written book. What I hope you will find valuable in these articles is an appreciation for the importance of understanding your own philosophy and how it shapes and drives your writing. Take some moments to think about what you believe and why you believe it. What are good and evil to you? What is the meaning of life? What is truth? Have a solid grasp on your answers to these questions and you’ll be in a better place to communicate your ideas to the world.