Battlefield » Rebellion, Anarchy, Violence, and Wickedness

 

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Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-- W. B. Yeats(1865 - 1939)
Scripture References
  • ...men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:19-21 NKJV)
  • "There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; he kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me';And he disguises his face. In the dark they break into houses which they marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; if someone recognizes them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. (Job 24:13-17 NKJV)
  • ...rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. (1 Samuel 15:23 NKJV)
  • ...God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV)
  • ...pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. (Psalm 73:6 NKJV)
  • ...the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty. (Psalm 74:20 NKJV)
  • Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9 NKJV)
  • These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NKJV)
  • “...from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:21-23 NKJV)
  • ...those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:32 NKJV)
  • Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NKJV)

Commentary
  • "The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." -- C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963) The Screwtape Letters
  • "Mankind is resilient: the atrocities that horrified us a week ago become acceptable tomorrow." -- Joseph Heller (1923 - 1999)
  • "I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed." -- Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)