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And to the extent that we surrender the language of evil, we also surrender a vision for the good. Among all the religions of the ancient world, the worship of Yahweh stood out as an ethical religion. The worship of Aten and of Ahura Mazda were pale reflections, while most religion was essentially the appeasement of the hostile forces of nature.

Israel's religion, on the other hand, was about imitating the character of God. Because the children of Israel were Yahweh's special people, they were to reflect his holiness, to create a just society, and to be a light to the nations. Christians see the world through that same lens and have a calling to be light to the world. Ultimately, God (and good) triumph. But we know that we cannot now be light unless we know where to locate darkness.

David Neff is the editor of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today Movies reviewed Hotel Rwanda, and in our sister publication, Leadership, Brian McLaren called it a more Christian film than The Passion.

CT interviewed Os Guinness about his book, Unspeakable.

An abstract of Farid Abdel-Nour's article, An International Ethics of Evil? is available from International Relations. The article is available for purchase.

Gary Haugen's story is available from the CTLibrary.

The story of International Justice Mission is available from their website.

Other Christianity Today stories on evil include:

The Evil In Us | Prisoner torture in Iraq exposes the ordinary face of human depravity.—A Christianity Today editorial (June 10, 2004)

Operation Evil Power | If Christ has truly defeated the powers of Satan on the Cross (Col. 2:15), why do the powers of evil effectively operate in this world? (Feb. 16, 2004)

Reflections: Sin and Evil | Quotations to stir heart and mind. (Oct. 18, 2004)

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April 2005, Vol. 49, No. 4