We have started a new book in our Art & Christ class, titled It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God by Ned Bustard. The first chapter focused on what goodness is, as the word plays a prominent part in the title. While it feels a bit preachy at times, Bustard does make some interesting points as he refers to writings by C.S. Lewis focusing on he concepts of “good and bad” and “good and evil.”
In Lewis’s fictional book, Out of the Silent Planet, the main character finds himself traveling to Mars, and he discovers that the dwellers there do not have a word for bad. They have no idea what bad is, because their world is not fallen like Earth is. They are still experiencing perfect goodness and harmony because they had not experienced the Fall. So in order for the main character to explain what “bad” is, he gives them a visual analogy by comparing something to being bent. Luckily I have read this particular trilogy by Lewis, so I knew more of the background of the book. Even though something is bent, though, does not mean it is entirely ruined. Good remnants are still present – it is just distorted. Bustard continues this by comparing it to creation, and how its beauty is still present. Obviously God’s good creation is still present, but since the Fall it has been “bent” – natural disasters occur, soil may not produce fruit, viruses and bacteria cause incredible illnesses.
A pastel drawing I did of a wall cloud. I can’t help but think that creation was not originally intended to create the kind of destruction that tornadoes produce. However, they still hold beauty to me, and instill a great respect for nature and creation.
Later on in the chapter, Bustard refers to Lewis a second time by exploring the idea of good and evil. Bustard quotes Lewis saying,
Evil is not a real thing at all, like God. It is simply good spoiled. That is why I say there can be good without evil, but no evil without good … Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.
Greg Koukl provides a somewhat humorous analogy describing a similar concept. He compares good and evil to a donut and donut hole. Just like cold is the absence of heat, a donut hole is the absence of a donut. You don’t actually eat the donut hole, because it does not exist. It only has an ability to be recognized when a donut is present. Evil is the same. It cannot exist on its own – only when good is present can it manifest itself by bending and distorting it.
No matter how tasty this donut is, the donut hole is empty space. Empty space = nothingness. (Unless, of course, you specifically order a donut hole – but in that case it’s actually a donut ball. Technicality!)
This makes me think of a particular virus I have learned about in my Microbiology course this semester. A bacteriophage is a virus that specifically targets bacteria, not humans. Without the bacteria, the virus can do nothing. It just exists in the environment, unable to reproduce. Once it finds a bacteria, though, it uses it to replicate itself hundreds of times until the bacteria virtually explodes and dies. The structure of the virus, though, is particularly disturbing to me. It literally looks like a parasite, and it only causes destruction, much like evil.
This is an actual image of a bacteriophage. Isn’t it creepy? It only functions to replicate itself, yet it does not even hold the basic characteristics of life to consider it a living cell. I cannot help attribute it to something “bad” when I see it.
http://www.sandwalk.blogspot.com
I like how Bustard mentions that when artists work to create good, they actually create something, because good exists independently. If artists seek to portray evil in their work, though, that “diet” will not sustain itself because evil cannot exist on its own. In reality, they are painting a distorted good. I cannot help but think that any viewer or artist has an innate desire for good to return to its perfect state, without any tainting of evil. Unfortunately, the Fall has prevented that from happening. As artists, we can only work to uncover the good that has been distorted and show it to the rest of the world.
Sources:
Bustard, Ned, ed. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Square Halo, 2006. Print.
Koukl, Greg. “A Good Reason for Evil.” Stand to Reason. N.p., 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://www.str.org/articles/a-good-reason-for-evil>.
Lewis, C. S. Out of the Silent Planet. New York: Macmillan, 1975. Print.
Art and Christ 
Rachel, I really enjoyed you comment about good still being present, just distorted. When thinking about all the evil in the world it can sometimes be hard to see the silver lining, but when evil is explained in those terms it seems much better. Like there is a hope for this world and the people in it.
Wonderful thoughts Ruby. I enjoyed very much your comments about “Out of the Silent Planet,” your donut and virus analogy. All three examples make a very good point, and I like that you used your tonado drawing as an example – there is beauty and goodness in that but also it is a “twisted” or “bent” cloud or weather system that is in itself a good thing. Good example too with the virus and how it is something that can’t exist with out the other. All this good/evil talk does give me pause here… what would life look like where nothing but good exists? I have a hard time imagining that.. Nice job here.
I found the donut analogy very interesting and a great representation of the concept of good and evil. Sometimes there is a confusion of what evil is and of how it relates to good. Some people think evil is a separate element and exists on its own, but C.S. Lewis clearly explains that evil is a parasite and is actually relying on good to sustain it.
This reminds me of another quote by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:
“Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel.”
Evil is when you choose to become less of who you are and is itself a void like the donut hole. You can have good without evil but you cannot have evil without good. The donut hole is only visible when the goodness of the donut is displayed around it but without the donut itself the donut hole is not visible because it is only empty space.