Evil Is Rational, and Evil Is Madness

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Lindsay Clancy takes us all a step further into the madness. It's possible to have sympathy for the murderer and to demand justice. It's possible to recognize that everyone of us has a heart of darkness and still call for justice. If not for the grace of God, there I go? Well, that's true. The one who has hatred in his heart is liable to murder, at least in God's eyes. And yet that does not mean that murder should not be punished. And it's not just about Lindsay; it's about all the Lindsays to come. It's about all the children who have been and will be the victims.

Would I do what others have done? The truth is that such things are possible, for one common sin infects us all. And for that reason, the law puts curbs, barriers, and guardrails. It is possible to have sympathy of Lindsay's madness and to recognize that justice calls for her to remain in prison for the rest of her life. But what makes all of this so disturbing is that many wish to exculpate Lindsay, to deny the horror of her actions. Justice in this life is never perfect, can never be perfect. We leave that up to God. But when justice is ignored, precedents are set, and we can expect more of such behavior. Does not abortion lead to partial birth abortion? And does not partial birth abortion lead to infanticide? Heck, there are well-known ethicists who argue that children up to a certain age, perhaps two, have no real right to life.

But then, as long as we have no atonement, no Christ on the cross, we live in a land of self-justification, of wanting to claim that we are on the right side of justice. And if we cannot maintain that by our lives, we will do so by our causes. By our victimhood. By our solidarity with those who perform the kind of acts to which we ourselves might be prone. When the law is spoken of, it must be silenced when it hits home, or at least as long as there is no payment for sin.

And yes, there are evil masterminds, but evil does warp the mind. Abortion goes against everything that is in God's created natural order, and yet in the fallen order, it makes sense. Others get in our way and must be disposed of. That's a hard truth, but there's no denying it, even if you have taken part of such things. Forgiveness is offered by the One who paid for it. But denying justice does no one any good, and if we are unable to rise to the challenge, the clever and conniving will see an opening, and the Lindsays will be multiplied, as will the Coras, the Dawsons, and the Callans.

 

The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is chairman and professor of Exegetical Theology and director of the M.A. program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

 

Be Informed
Listen in as Dr. William Toffler, a family physician and professor at Oregon Health Sciences University, examines how physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia threaten to transform medicine from a vocation committed to healing and compassionate care into one increasingly authorized to intentionally end life.

 

Be Equipped
What is life? What is its purpose? If God created us for life, why does it feel like so much of our existence is all about death? Read about the real and abundant life found only in God, the author of life Himself.

 

Be Encouraged
“Whether the sin of aborting one’s child or the sin of remaining silent and not speaking on behalf of our unborn children, whether the sin of neglecting an aging parent or even—God forbid—encouraging them to consider physician-assisted suicide as an option, whether the sin of apathy toward the gross evil and immorality in the world—turn to Jesus! There is forgiveness to be found for every sin, but it is only found in Jesus. Only in that holy blood, shed for us on the cross, do we find the antidote for the poison of sin.” –Rev. Paul Clark, Lutherans For Life of Michigan

 

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