Maleficent

Maleficent is an evil fairy from the story of sleeping beauty.  The old Disney cartoon introduces her crawling out of the shadows as a vile and black-hearted character bent on harming the seemingly innocent and noble royal family.  In essence, she is an example a pure evil that was not caused but simply is.  However, Disney did not leave that story there, many years later another chapter of the story was told, entitled Maleficent.  I was watching the film with my daughters the other day, surprised by a wandering thought regarding the movie.  The evil which emanated from Maleficent had to originate somewhere.  No person (or fairy) is just evil for the sake of evil.  In other words, evil is not a thing in itself.  Like a parasite, it exists by leaching from goodness.

So, another tale is told of a beautiful fairy, with a healing touch and gentle heart who, entrusting another, was betrayed.  Thus, the evil act which stole her wings spoiled her heart.  In this story, we discover that Maleficent was not born evil, quite the opposite, her original goodness was spoiled by an evil act.  Yet, even the movies' surprising villian,  King Stefan, who perpetrated this evil act upon the unsuspecting fairy is introduced as a kind-hearted person who is overcome by the non-personal villains of greed and covetousness.

C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, noted that "You can be good for the mere sake of goodness: you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness.  You can do a kind of action when you are not feeling kind and when it gives you no pleasure, simply because kindness is right; but no one ever did a cruel action simply because cruelty is wrong-only because cruelty was pleasant or useful to him.  In other words badness cannot succeed even in being bad in the same way in whcih goodness is good.  Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is only spoiled goodness.  And there must be something good first before it can be spoiled."

It's likely that Disney was not attempting to issue a theological statement.  Perhaps they simply discovered the potential for a good story.  However, purposefully or not a theological and anthropological point was made.  Everything that is, including humanity was created good.  This is exactly what God confirmed in the garden.  However, this "goodness" has been spoiled by the "badness" of sin.  Humans are not essentially bad, humans act badly.  When the Christian says that a person is born in sin, it is meant to suggest not that he is evil, but born with spoiled goodness.  As in a garden, the weeds come naturally, while the produce must be re-introduced and cultivated.  And so Lewis concludes; "And do you now begin to see why Christianity has always said that the devil is a fallen angel?  That is not a mere story for the children.  It is a real recognition of the fact that evil is a parasite, not the original thing."