Chalke Talk 54: How do we take evil seriously?

“The message of Jesus was never an evacuation plan designed to offer us an escape from reality. Rather, it’s a transformation plan for our broken and conflicted world.”

That is what Steve makes of what is often referred to as Spiritual Warfare. Following on from last week, where we looked at how God doesn’t always get what he wants, Steve argues this week that part of taking evil seriously, means grounding ourselves in the inequalities and injustices that are robing so many of a fulfilling life. Absolutely, there’s a spiritual aspect to it, but that’s not necessarily separated from the governments, regimes, traditions, institutions, corporations and financial markets, and many more. As the apostle Paul puts it, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world’ as well as ‘against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ that we battle. It’s not one or the other, it’s both. And taking evil seriously means grappling with both parts of that reality.

So, to finish, two questions; When Jesus taught us to pray- ‘Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…’ what do you think he was talking about?

And, when Paul explained that it is ‘not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world’ as well as ‘against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ that we battle – do you think that he was talking about the same thing?