This is http://www.essayz.com/a9307201.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %ESSENCE EVIL ULTIMATE CONCERN WORSHIP SACRIFICE+930720 %ADDICT ALCOHOLIC DRUG CODEPEND IDOL WORSHIP ACCEPT+930720 %THREAT INTEGRITY FIXATION MEANS ENDS TECHNIQUE SIN 930720 It is not easy to say in one unambiguous statement just what is the essence of evil. It is easier to make many different statements, in all of which we do as well as we can do to point to what we experience as the essence of evil. Each of us is different from each other person in significant ways. Thus, each of us will make many different statements, each of which will for each of us point as well as we can point to what we experience as the essence of evil. Behind all of our differences as regards what we try to point to as the essence of evil to us - - - is likely to be a common feature: what we point to as the essence of evil to us is always a threat to what we regard as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice. We point to different threats - - - because we differ as regards what we view as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice: 1. The alcoholic is fixated upon the acquisition, ownership, storage, access to, use, and abuse of alcohol as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice. The alcoholic perceives evil to be anything or anybody who threatens such acquisition, ownership, storage, access to, use, or abuse of alcohol. Pointing to the essence of evil accurately is complicated by the difficulty we experience in distinguishing means from ends, technologies from goals, motives from procedures, etc. 2. As with the alcoholic - - - the drug addict is fixated upon the acquisition, ownership, storage, access to, use, and abuse of the drug of choice. 3. As with the alcoholic and drug addict in general --- the addict is fixated upon some "fix" which is viewed as the way to fix whatever is perceived to be wrong, lacking, broken, imperfect or otherwise the cause of their own experienced lack of: love, acceptance, affection, success, achievement, fellowship, etc. 4. As with the addict in general - - - the codependent is fixated upon "fixing" some addict who is viewed as in need of a "fix"; and the provision of which "fix" by the codependent will "fix" whatever is perceived to be wrong, lacking, broken, imperfect or otherwise the cause of the codependent's own experienced lack of: love, acceptance, affection, success, achievement, fellowship, etc. 5. The focus of "fixation" may be of many sorts: alcohol, drugs, work, sex, romance, persons, laws, rules, regulations, prohibitions, taboos, religion, scriptures, rituals, traditions, institutions, organizations, cities, states, nations, professions, knowledge, science, technology, skills, etc. Pointing accurately is, however, complicated by the difficulty we experience in distinguishing means from ends, technologies from goals, motives from procedures, etc. This we need to keep in mind. It is not easy to say in one unambiguous statement just what is the essence of evil. It is easier to make many different statements, in all of which we do as well as we can do to point to what we experience as the essence of evil. Behind all of our differences as regards what we try to point to as the essence of evil to us - - - is likely to be a common feature: what we point to as the essence of evil to us is always a threat to what we regard as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice. We point to different threats - - - because we differ as regards what we view as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice - - - when it is threatened. When that which we view as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice is threatened we instinctively seek to protect it from harm. That which we worship demands of us loyalty, sacrifice and service. We must fight that which we perceive to be evil because it threatens what we perceive to be worthy of ultimate concern. We seek to protect the "ground of our being". We rush to defend our "God", our "Savior", our "Redeemer", our "Christ", our "FIX." We often feel that we must fight "EVIL" in order to survive. The tragedy is that we often regard our patterns of dishonesty, deception, false appearances, collusions, addictions, codependent supports and related realities as worthy of ultimate concern, interest, service, worship and sacrifice; as patterns which are our "God". We worship our fixes as God. When we worship our fixes as God we are willing to sacrifice our personal and communal integrity in the service of our "God" and we totally disintegrate - - - unless we respond to the true God's call to repent from worshiping our fixes as false "Gods", and accept the true God's unconditional acceptance of all of us into true and honest dialogue within the Community of the Holy Presence. In open and honest dialogue within the Community of the Holy Presence we discover that there is no evil which must be fought in alienative ways. We find that the roots of our evils are nourished by our beliefs that we must fight evil in alienative ways in order to maintain our integrity. Such beliefs are central to our confusion, alienation, and sin. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================