|Moses Holding The Ten Commandments: In the Mosaic Code, of which the Decalogue forms the central core, "there is no distinction between the religious and the secular—all are one—or between civil, criminal and moral law," notes Paul Johnson in A History of the Jews.|
Credit: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn [1606-1669]; Painted in 1659. Held at Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, Germany.
Source: Wikipedia Commons
That question presupposes that evil actually exists, not an idea that everyone or every religion easily endorses. That thorny question also presupposes that there is some pre-existing idea of morality, at least when it comes to defining good and evil. Which raises more questions, such as Does morality matter anymore? What is a moral life? Is there such a thing as universal morality? Among observant Jews, the belief is that our moral code was handed down at Mount Sinai, by God, first to Moses and then to all the Jews. More than three million souls standing at the foot of the mountain.
That takes some faith. Others believe that morality has been encoded into our DNA. That also takes some faith. Others argue that morality isn't real and doesn't exist. And then others look at morality as a quaint notion or abstract idea that gives us some idea of an an overarching ideal, one that is, for all intents and purposes, too difficult, too constraining, and too unrealistic for humans in modern society to practice.
In civilized society, however, we like the idea of morality. Even so, we resist the practicing of it in too concentrated of a form. We call people who are overly moral moralists or overly pious as practicing pietism. We are embarrassed, sometimes offended, by displays of exceptional piety and morality. We think it impossible, improbable, inhuman, hypocritical. The solution is to "get the dirt" on such a person, to expose them. Sully their reputation. Puncture their (bloated) image of goodness. Mock them. Why?
It might be that the acceptable standard of goodness and morality is so low now that anyone daring to aim higher is considered a fraud, a phony, a cheat. Or a dreamer, perhaps. Consider what Michelangelo once said: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
We want to believe in good and goodness, but our faith is weak and we've been fooled so many times. Superheroes don't exist, even in the movies. That's the view of the world if you watch TV, read the newspapers, the magazines, scientific journals, the web, and assorted online media. It's mostly a sad, horrible, frightening presentation of the world where evil prospers, the good guys lose, and the bad guys win. With such a diet of news, I am not surprised if people want to pull the covers over their heads and hide.
No doubt, bad things happen to people. Evil exists and people are harmed by it. Such is not to be easily dismissed or ignored. But that is not the full and complete story. Persons triumph and overcome personal tragedies. Doing good is an overt action against evil; and good things happen every day. But good news is not news, so it's rarely reported. One of the reasons put forward is that our brains are hard-wired to be aware of incoming threats (re: Bad or negative news). Another reason is the underlying unsaid assumption in all news reportage: Strangely enough, negative news is news because it is an event that disorders the universe, so to speak. Good is the natural order and as such is expected. Yet, good happens every day, at unexpected moments, in unexpected situations.
I point this out, because we all need reminding. Most of us do the best we can under the conditions with which we live. We have a sense of morality, of right and wrong, whether it's encoded in our DNA or passed on from parent to child by lesson and example. Morality and our moral codes underpin human civilization. Even so, there are times in history when these ancient moral codes are forgotten or put aside by some of those holding the levers of power. Yet they eventually reveal themselves before civilization become too intolerable. It sounds mystical, but it's not. It's life. It might just be that living the good life, the moral life, is its own reward.