Evil – what’s it all about?

So. .. blogging. What’s it all about? Well from what I can see, it’s writing down what’s on my mind. That’s a scary thought in itself. It scares the hell out of my poor husband for a start. The phrase ‘I’ve been thinking’ creates a condition in him whereby he sits on his wallet. In fairness, over the years, that simple phrase has usually cost him more than a few quid. So … I’ve been thinking.

I’ve been thinking all night, but this time, I’ve been thinking about evil. What defines it? Is it present from birth, or is it acquired? Nature or nurture? Do life events influence it or is it right there in a person’s DNA? And how fine a line is it between madness and evil? Some people do not have a psychological disorder to explain away their behaviour. Are some of the people, who society may call mentally ill, just plain evil? And further, does evil continue to exist after physical death?
I don’t have any answers, if I did, I’d be writing this from a yacht in the Bahamas. Neither do psychologists, ancient or modern, hence the yacht in the Bahamas being the prize for the right answer.
Why debate the whole thing with myself in the middle of the night anyway, you may ask. Seven years as a hospital chaplain in a forensic psychiatric unit would be part of the answer. And the fact that as a writer, evil often features large in my books, whether it be physical or spiritual evil. So I guess it’s fair to wonder about its nature.
It’s a debate that will continue to rage among mental health care professionals for a long time to come because human beings are all unique. We are born unique, and our life experiences are unique, so how can there be a blueprint for evil? How the question is approached is why one becomes a psychiatrist and another, a priest. It’s the same question however it’s approached and it really doesn’t have an answer. But it’s a question that provides inspiration for writers the world over, provoking thought, fear and sleepless nights.

So … blogging …

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