Semi-Random Musings (34)

It is often quite incorrectly believed that evil is a product of stupidity and that the answer to stupidity is education, which, generally speaking, it is not. In fact, in a fallen world, the relationship between intelligence and cruelty is actually the inverse of what we might expect: with increased intelligence comes increased capacity for creativity in evil-doing, and for taking senseless pleasure in the injury of others.

If you doubt this, try googling “nasty dolphins”.

Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals known to man, capable of complex problem solving, social interaction and even planning for the future. Not only do they learn, they also pass on new knowledge to others of their species. They are second only to humans in brain-to-body-weight ratio, and possess a massive range of emotions. They can understand symbol-based communication systems and process abstract concepts.

They are also one of the meanest creatures on the planet. Dolphin cruelty is legendary. They will hunt in packs, torture and kill baby porpoises and even babies of their own species. Sharks — far from unintelligent, though nowhere near as smart as dolphins — kill to eat, because of mistaken identity, or to compete for a food source. Dolphins in the wild kill to entertain themselves. Young male dolphins hunt in packs and behave like schoolyard bullies. They even taunt their prey as they butt and pummel it into pulp.

An evolutionary perspective struggles to find an uncontrived-sounding explanation for inventive and arbitrary destruction in nature, but from a Christian worldview, evil dolphins killing for sport make perfect sense. Unfallen creatures do not harm or kill for any reason, let alone for fun. But we know that when mankind fell, the natural world fell with us, subjected to futility and in bondage to corruption. Higher intelligence does not necessarily come in a package with greater love, nobility or even common sense. The most intelligent beings have the greatest potential for wickedness in that they can conceive and refine forms of evil that would never occur to less intelligent beings. Satan, possibly the most intelligent created being ever, corrupted his own wisdom voluntarily.

The same holds true for the human race. Some of its most depraved and horrific ideas come from its most intelligent members.

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From the department of How Many Times Do I Have to Read This Before I Get It?, we often hear Revelation 2 and 3 referred to as the “Letters to the Seven Churches”. In fact, they are nothing more than personal asides. The entire book is addressed to “the seven churches that are in Asia”, as its introduction makes perfectly clear. The risen Christ told John, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” That is presumably exactly what he did. So then, the practical instruction to individual churches in chapters 2 and 3 comes in the greater context of the privilege of being included in the plans and purposes of almighty God for this world, a package of truth that probably shut Jezebel’s lying mouth for good.

That dawned on me during what is probably my thirtieth pass through the book. No brownie points for being quick on the uptake.

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Most Christians are well aware the chapter and verse references, notes and headings in our Bibles are an aid provided by scholars of various theological schools, not a product of divine guidance, though on occasion this knowledge comes rather late in life. A good friend, very much an adult, stopped using her Scofield Bible upon the belated realization that C.I.’s marginal observations about the text do not carry the weight of gospel truth.

Replacement theologians are happy to claim the blessings pronounced on Israel as if they are really for the church, but rarely (read “never”) appropriate Israel’s curses with anything approximating the same enthusiasm. If you doubt the fairness of that observation, question no more:

Unless you are a fan of covenant theology, you probably don’t want to be carrying one of these. (The fun is in the headings. The delusional character of such an exercise is self-evident.)