For this post, I will define evil as any action that violates the teaching of Christ in the four great Gospels of the Bible. By no coincidence, they are basically the same laws of morality accepted by civilized people. I will use a quote that gives a specific example using the antagonist of my first novel.
The major plot of my first novel, Love, Truth, and Power, is the classic conflict between a man representing good and a man representing evil. One subplot deals with the antagonist, the man representing evil. The old saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade had the opposite effect on my antagonist, Poe Thorne. One could describe his reaction as creating a toxic beverage, similar to lemonade, and distributing it to as many people as possible. Considering the fact that he was abandoned as a child and then betrayed by his bride and his supposed best man, it is not surprising that he has become a bitter person.
To mark the betrayal that occurred on his wedding night, Thorne submits himself to a ritual. Every year since his betrayal, he adds another bullet to the chamber, playing a deadly game of Russian roulette with his own life. On this night, he drops a bullet that rolls under the table. While retrieving the bullet from beneath the table, he inadvertently observes a spider poised to consume an unsuspecting fly.
Thorne could relate to the fly as a helpless victim. He thought he would give anything to be the spider. Instead of being a victim, Thorne would create them for his fun and profit. Then he would have a reason to live. Financially, Thorne could not afford that lifestyle. His words reflected his willingness to give anything he had to be like the spider, living to trap, torment, and devour its prey. Exhausted, the old Thorne never got back up. However, somebody or something rose from under that table.
— Prologue Part 2 from Love, Truth and Power
For my antagonist in Love, Truth, and Power, Thorne, his path to evil began when he related to a fly and envied the spider. The good news was he no longer wanted to kill himself when he crawled under the table to find the dropped bullet. The bad news was he was ready to do anything to create his own victims. Somehow, in his perverted mind, he thought the world was to blame for his misery, and by striking back, he could find some measure of justice and happiness.
Some of my readers may question what happened to Thorne when he rose from under the table. I encourage my readers to think what they want, but my intent was an evil possession. Like the world today, any evil thoughts and words may be heard by the devil himself, and he is always willing to accommodate us. Here, he took control of the mind and body of a man willing to trade them along with his soul. Thorne made a terrible deal. For the hollow promise of power, a power born of lies and deceit, he gave up everything—all for the cruel pleasure of revenge and the insatiable hunger for profit.
Although my story is a work of fiction, our world has no shortage of Poe Thorne wannabes. From the playground bully to the dictator seeking world domination, the examples seemingly never end. Although the teachings of Christ may imply a passive stance, we, like Him, must stand up against the evils of our world and spread the light of love and truth.
