…And lately the following questions have been nagging me to no end.
-If as the Catechism states our souls are immediately created at conception, then where does an act of evil originate in a human being? Does it start in the soul, mind or body?
I can answer for the philosophical perspective;
The Catechism certainly is right on that point (by definition).
The “act of evil” comes in by the first act of sin. The Catechism might disagree with what I say concerning sin, so keep that in mind.
Sin (missing the mark) philosophically merely means “error in pursuit of your goal”. It is said that truly all are born in sin. This is necessarily true (I won’t go into the logic).
What causes truly ALL sin is the act of presumption. The act of presumption means an action taken before all consequences were taken into account. Obviously if anyone were to balance all possible effects from an action, they would always make the exact right choice so as to obtain their goal and thus not ever sin.
But time available to think as well as limits in perception do not allow for ANY human to EVER truly balance all possible effects of an action before they are forced into taking action. Thus every human must sin.
The way to resolve this irrevocable fact is the concept called “forgiveness”. By virtue of forgiveness the consequences of not thinking all the way through all possible ill effects of an action can be reduced to the point that not much thinking is really required.
This one concept more substantiates Jesus’ teachings than anything anyone else taught (much to the disappointment of the those who live off of the judgmental attitude of others.)
When Man does not forgive those of his own make (humans), they have no choice but to err and sin. This causes them to suffer and die.
Where such error “starts” is a little complicated. In a sense it is asking “who is at fault” when in fact, the entire gathering is at fault.
The soul is not subject to sin itself as it does not actually act. The spirit is what acts and thus when it comes to a person presuming, the result of not thinking but acting anyway, both the mind and the spirit are “response-able” to either cause or not cause the eventual act.
But if the environment is one of non-forgiveness, no action taken will ever be sin free. In this sense, it is the environment that was “response-able” yet did not respond and thus cast the person into inescapable sin.
Equally the body has limits and must have. It is by these limits that perception is limited as well as potential to act. This limitation causes the resultant need to think and act even more than would be necessary if the body could have been different. In this sense, it is the body that sets up the situation.
So, in the long run, you can blame any of those elements you prefer. I consider it wisest to only blame what you can change.
You cannot change your soul (by your will anyway). You can change your spirit. You can eventually change your body. You can change your environment.
I would think it wisest to blame the one you can change toward the most good (into harmony with the need) by so blaming. If blaming isn’t likely to change any of them, don’t blame (don’t judge; presume/sin) because that would institute even another sin.
What all of that boils down to is;
- Forgive those who trespass so as to save yourself from the need to judge and sin.
- Teach others to do the same thereby reducing the lack of forgiveness in your environment.
- Praise what is (God) such as to not cause even more presumption of judgment by using the little time you have focused on the problem, but more mentally free and calm to focus more on the potential solution.
- Thank Jesus for providing you with a potentially forgiving environment such that your presumptions do not readily bring about negative consequence.
- Pay more attention to what is (God).
- Isolate from that which gives impetus to rush into taking action (lusts, fears).
**-Why would a created soul be able to have power ** over the laws of its own Creator to go against these very laws “created” by their Creator? God is suppose to be all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful.
Those “laws” are to give your mind less to presume about and your heart less urge to act without thought. They do not remove your need to act. They merely allow you to succeed despite being so very limited. But if you choose to not take that advice, ignore the laws, you get the consequence of such presumption.
The “laws” are not unbreakable because they are “advise” so as to prevent harm. To create you in such a manner as to not be able to sin, God would have had to make you infinitely intelligent, infinitely aware, and infinitely influential. But then who would your friends be?
**-If God is not the source of evil, then what is the origin of evil itself in this universe that is God’s own creation? **
God created the situation. In that sense, again, you can blame God if you think it will do any good. But as before, I suggest only blaming what you can change but love and praise all else.
“Evil” is what prevents you continued life. It is created by your sin and your situation. If you do not respond to cause forgiveness in your situation, you have not responded in a manner rational. Evil is, in a sense, your challenge. Without such challenge there is no growth. Without growth, there can be no forgiving (harmonious) environment established.
In effect, you are asking why God didn’t just make the universe in a particular fixed manner of his preference. The reality is that he did. And he wants you to participate in making it into harmony, with you still in it. Be glad of that, else for what purpose would he have for you at all?
-If evil began with humans at the Fall, then wouldn’t that make us creators with a small “c” in a sense?
Inescapable presumption is what “began at the fall” for Man (not humans). And I’m not sure what you are calling “creator” in that question. What defines a “creator”?
Because the conversations I have seen on free will and evil usually end in a circular debate.
