We have seen how the Sinful Nature seeks to gain control of the soul, and how it negatively affects people who do not adequately resist it. Let us now look at this internal enemy from the viewpoint of evil, since the Sinful Nature is an embedded agent of evil inside every person which affects thoughts and beliefs in a negative way, which is why controlling it is so important. Then we will also look at outside evil influences on thoughts and beliefs.
The word "evil" is commonly used to describe a depraved person who engages in vile actions, such as a cruel and oppressive dictator, a mass murderer, a satanic cult leader, or some similarly very disagreeable person who engages in wanton and heinous misdeeds. Therefore these people and the acts they commit are both referred to as being evil in common usage. While all of this may be true, that view of evil is too narrow to align with God's view. The Bible defines evil as being much more complex, inclusive and pervasive than common usage would suggest. So what exactly is evil and how does it affect our thoughts and beliefs?
Evil at its core is about opposition to God and His plan. The Bible includes thoughts and beliefs within the category of evil, as well as actions, therefore all can be evil. It helps to understand the subject of evil by describing those creatures, both angelic and human, the Bible calls evil. Evil is mentioned very early in the Bible in Genesis when Adam and the woman were in the Garden of Eden, but evil began way before that, long before there were humans. As one might suspect, it began with Satan, an outside influencer on thoughts and beliefs. Let us therefore start with examining Satan since he is the originator of evil. Satan is defined as inherently and totally evil because Satan has set himself up in direct opposition to God, opposing all that God is, does, and stands for. In his original sin Satan said "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14) and he therefore said God is not my God, so I can set myself up as His equal. God sees such opposition as evil since He does not lightly accept such arrogant affronts to His sovereignty. Therefore, when a created creature acts in opposition to God, that act is evil, and when one thinks and acts consistently in opposition to God, that person or creature is actually evil. The fall of Satan at his original sin was an act of evil, and in fact it was the very first evil which ever occurred. It was evil because it was a revolt against God, and this is the first clue in defining evil, that the most basic form of evil is opposition to God.
Genesis 8:21 says “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” This is because every person is born in need of salvation, and the Sinful Nature also gains a foothold in the soul's thinking very early in life. We can begin to see that evil is generated in us from our Sinful Nature as soon as we are able to start thinking and forming beliefs. Rejection of salvation is a form of evil since it is calling God a liar, which is opposition to God. And by rejecting salvation unbelievers are saying that the Bible is a lie, and that Jesus Christ is not the Savior. In fact, the primary tool of those who promote evil is lies, beginning with Satan, and now also his minions who get into positions of power to effect the spread of evil through societies. We can see that evil is indeed far more inclusive and pervasive than most would think.
Adam and Eve chose evil when they sinned in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:9 says “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:17 adds “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” This shows how humans gravitated to evil from the very beginning in defiance of God's will. They first rejected the prohibited tree, then their thoughts were influenced by Satan to be interested in exploring it, then the woman tested it to see if touching it caused any downside effects, and when it did not, she believed it was possible to disobey God by eating from it and not pay for it. She was deceived and wrong, but then Adam joined her, fully understanding what he was doing.
But what does it mean Adam and Eve understood evil after eating the forbidden fruit? Creatures invented evil by rejecting God, first Satan, and then Adam and Eve created it for humans. We see that the original sin by Satan was the first act of evil since it was a revolt against God. So also the first sin by humans led the previously righteous man and woman to commit an act of evil, which was also rebellion against God. The man and woman had not known sin or evil before they revolted against God, but they learned about both at the same time. When the Bible says they now knew evil it means they had gained a Sinful Nature as an attachment to the soul, which started the process of feeding evil thoughts into their souls. And this is why the subject of evil is relevant to this book, because the Sinful Nature entered the picture by an act of both sin (disobedience) and evil (opposition to God) by the original humans, and from that time on evil thoughts became possible due to the influence of the Sinful Nature. And they chose for all humans, who would inherit the Sinful Nature and all its negative effects on thoughts and beliefs.
This gaining of a Sinful Nature by the original humans was a loss of status which also took them into a condition of being evil, having taken the side of Satan even though it was by deceit. At this point their thoughts and beliefs included evil. Romans 6:12 says "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." The word "sin" here refers more generally to Sinful Nature influences on the soul, not a single sin by itself. The first humans had fallen from perfection into a status of being unacceptable to God, therefore unsaved. In this condition of sin mixed with evil they were hopeless to find a solution on their own. But God provided a way of salvation, and the two believed in the promised Messiah and were saved. But they did not lose their knowledge of evil since it was now part of their souls due to the Sinful Nature they acquired at the point of their fall.
For the descendants of Adam and Eve, the Sinful Nature became attached to the soul at birth. After salvation the believer still has a Sinful Nature but can partially overcome it, with various degrees of success. Believers are no longer inherently evil after salvation, but they can still think and believe and act in evil ways and/or do evil things when they align with Satan’s Cosmic System in opposition to God. Lust often leads to evil as 2 Timothy 2:22 says: "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 1 Timothy 6:10 says: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." The lust for money can lead to doing evil to gain it, often in a way which does significant harm to others. Evil actions are usually a pattern involving lust and scheming, not normally an isolated sin. People who live by their lusts are called evil, since evil thinking becomes a pattern of evil action which harms others. We see that evil always begins with evil thoughts, which lead to evil beliefs, which can lead to evil actions.
There are also evil institutions, not just creatures. Nations can be evil. Some of them oppose God by suppressing the gospel of salvation and Bible teaching, and others use their power to consistently harm the innocent as a pattern of action. There are many evil nations, and for different reasons. Some wage war to take what belongs to other nations and groups of people. Some wrongly take away the freedom of innocent people inside the nation, or persecute certain segments of the population. Others sponsor or support terrorism, which is intended to deny freedom and impose an alternate system of acting and thinking. Some impose evil institutions by force, such as false religions, or socialism which takes by force what belongs to some and gives it to others. Laws can be evil, especially those which attempt to suppress freedom to worship and evangelize. All evil nations have one thing in common, they suppress freedom and take away the basic human rights God has put in place which allow each person to make choices for or against God's plan of salvation and spiritual growth. And since at its very core evil opposes God and His plan, and Satan's plan is only evil, evil tries to prevent humans from having the freedom to make choices for or against God. Because of this, God's system of divine laws diffuses power among numerous nations in order to limit Satan's ability to control humans by evil.
Many different types of institutions, organizations and groups can become evil when they promote agendas which oppose God, His plan, or His divine laws in one form or another. It does not take much of an imagination to see that the world is full of evil institutions such as certain political parties, some news media, specific internet social media sites, and other organizations which oppose God and/or His believers, trying to distort and suppress the truth. Their primary tool is lies, which they use to deceive many into blindly following their false narratives which lead down a road of evil intentions into self-destruction and national degeneracy. This should not be surprising since Satan rules this world, and he and his Cosmic System are both pure evil. Satan is the author of chaos, and the history of mankind is one of mostly evil nations with very occasional exceptions. But even within those exceptions evil will still find its way into the fabric of society to some degree. Evil is not always glaring, but is often subtle. And evil never gives up trying to break down the divine order which God has put in place to enable freedom to choose for or against God and His plan. God promotes free will and the right to choose, but evil opposes both.
The Reader understands by looking around at the state of the world that thoughts and beliefs are in turmoil. While there is more to discuss on this sad fact, what has been described so far should begin to bring some clarity to the issue. The interaction between thoughts, beliefs, the Sinful Nature, its alliance with the Emotion, and evil influences combine to drive the majority of people into a state where their thoughts and beliefs are hard-wired to oppose God.
Let us pause and recall why this discussion is important. This book is about thoughts and beliefs. The downfall of human thoughts and beliefs started with Satan, whose own thoughts and beliefs strayed from serving God to serving self. Then as a result of his thoughts and beliefs, Satan acted on them and revolted against God. When humans were created, Satan focused on getting them to revolt against God just as he had. And they did. Then humans picked up the theme of evil and which they promoted by lies and force. Thoughts and beliefs are powerful things. They can drive good or evil.