Skip to main content

Thoughts on Josef Fritzl and Evil

What do we make of Josef Fritzl (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10562205)? He's the guy who locked up his daughter downstairs for years, raping her and fathering her children while deceiving his wife and raising some of her children. His behaviour is evil. What causes such monstrous evil? It brings in the wider question of evil. What is it that makes Robert Mugabe treat his nation and citizens as pawns in his power game? What led Adolph Hitler and other meglamaniacs in their lunacy?

Such people demonstrate that there are forces at work in this world that lie behind what we see and experience. The notion of Satan and demons are out of vogue in the western world. Some Christian thinkgers have sought to explain the biblical material on such things as remnants of an ancient world view and/or imports from other religious perspectives. Others see Satan and demons not as personal beings but as human evil individual and corporate.

For me, before my conversion to Christ, having heard of the New Testament view of evil which includes personal fallen spiritual beings who invade people and structures, as real. I actually believed in Satan and his minions before acknowledging God. I saw the Josef Fritzls of this world and realised that human arrogance, sin, violence and pride, henious though it is, as insufficient an explanation for the horror of evil. This led me to despair and ultimately to redemption as I realised that the only way I could start working for good in the world was to acknowledge that evil was seared into my soul, and I needed to begin to work against it. I came to understand that only Christ had a solution to this, he the Son of God coming to earth resisting evil, refusing to yield to it or respond to it with evil, allowing evil to destroy him, and then triumphing over it. He invites us into his being, sets us free, and we have the power of God within us to energise us to join the war against these forces.

I pray for Josef Fritzl that he will come to see that even he can find this redemption. His crime is horrendous, it is demonically inspired. Yet, God yearns for him to know him, to find the redemption that will release him not only from the corruption that is fused into his being, but be set free from the demons that have taken opportunity to turn him into a monster.

I note in this nation that violence in the home, the school and in society goes on and on and seems to perpetually increase. It is not safe to be a child in many homes, go to school in some cases, and walk the streets. We need to find Jesus and pray for him to set us free from the forces of evil that hold captive the world. Thankfully he is at work and good will triumph.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Reasons Why A.J. Miller is NOT Jesus!

Note: Forgive me for the long blog, but this one really got me going! Last Sunday night on TV One's Sunday aired the report A.J. The Messiah. The program was the story of A.J. Miller in Queensland in Australia, who, unlike most of us, genuinely believes that he is Jesus. Miller appears at one level to be a normal Aussie bloke, in his early thirties, longish brown hair, unshaven, good looking, articulate and charismatic. Yet, unlike anyone I know but in the manner of other Messiah-claimants, he says without inhibition, "I am actually Jesus." He claims to remember vividly his former life and death including his experience of crucifixion. The memories supposedly began when he was 2 years old and realised later that he was Jesus around 33. In the program he writes on a white-board, "I am Jesus. Deal with it"—to applause from his congregation. He has disciples, some of whom claim to have been with him 2000 years ago including Mary Magdalene who is his "soul-ma

Tribute to Stuart Lange

For anyone who is interested, I have attached my tribute to Rev Stuart Lange here. He is a legend! It was fun to roast him.... A Tribute to Stuart Lange, No Longer Vice Principal Community of Laidlaw… But still church history lecturer… so not a good bye, but my way of Saying Thanks to you for your years as VP Community… Stuart Lange, not Langey; or Longey; or not langgggg.. but Lange! Or, as I like to put it, S.lang… Slang… for good reason. Stuart Lange, history prof, a man who truly embodies his subject; the quintessential historical prof… Slightly eccentric, crooked smile, hooked and bent nose… you know he has a crook elbow too, took the dog for a walk, hit the chain, smashed the elbow… Of course the dog was unharmed… No Surprise, a lover of animals, each year looking after the animals at the Massey Christmas drive through, donkeys, lamas… etc… Then there is his Einsteinlich hair… kind of a wild man of Southland look… in fact… Stuart Lange A face a cartoonist would die for! The ne

Evangelical Presbyterians’ Statement On Same Sex Marriage

I am involved in a group called Presbyterian Affirm. It is an evangelical group within the NZ Presbyterian Church which seeks to promote the gospel and the renewal of churches. A group of us under the leadership of Stuart Lange have worked to put together a statement on same-sex marriage. Our hope is that the government will not pass the legislation, believing that the legislation is not necessary and strays from God’s ideals for humanity. Here is the recently released statement. I would appreciate your thoughts on it. PRESBYTERIAN GROUP OPPOSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL Presbyterian AFFIRM, a widely-supported conservative network within the Presbyterian denomination, is speaking out against the Bill which would allow same-sex couples to marry, declaring its views in a “Statement on Marriage” (see below). Presbyterian AFFIRM believes that “marriage is a unique human institution and treasure” which has “always been about the pairing of a man and a woman”, and that re-definin