The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (751 page)

Evil
.

The furthest reach of wrongdoing and wrong being. Although
Kant
maintained that the only evil thing is an evil will, there is much in human experience which evokes the word which is not a product of the will. Indeed, Hannah
Arendt
, observing the Eichmann trial, spoke of the banality of evil, lying as it does so far outside the compass of will, and being ‘excused’ by the appeal that, in a totalitarian regime, to obey orders and not to think is the only behaviour possible. Religions tend to see the occurrence of evil as the consequence of personal agency in the cosmic order (personified as
Satan
, the Devil or Ibl
s,
M
ra
, etc.), which if made absolute leads to
dualism
, an eternal principle of evil; and in either case, religions offer resources both to recognize and combat evil.
See also
THEODICY
;
EVIL, PROBLEM OF
.

 
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Evil, problem of
.

If God is both almighty and perfectly good, why is there
evil
in the world? This challenge, made by Epicurus (341–270 BCE), has been repeated over the centuries, either as a response to the
Teleological Argument
for God's existence or, more radically, to attack
theism
. The book of
Job
is one of the earliest treatments of the question. Attempts to show that evil in the world can be reconciled with God's power and goodness are known as theodicies (
theodicy
).
According to the Free Will Defence: moral evil is regarded as the result of human freedom, a price worth paying either because freedom is an intrinsic good or because its good effects outweigh its bad ones.

 
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Evil eye
.

The eye is widely believed to have the power to convey mischief or damage, and is then known as the evil eye. According to Jewish sages, Sarah cast the evil eye
(Heb.,
ayin ra’ah
or
ayin ha-ra
) on Hagar (
Gen. R
. 45. 5), as did Joseph's brothers on
Joseph
(
Gen. R
. 84. 10). In Islam, the evil eye (Arab., ‘
ayn
) can take effect even without the intention of the person possessing it, causing harm or death to human beings or animals, damage to crops or goods, etc.
This whole concept is disapproved of by orthodox Islam since it seems to deny or bypass the absolute divine power and decree, but it is virtually impossible to eradicate, and survives today in folklore, on the fringes of religion and medicine.

 
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Evil spirits
.

The sense of evil being a consequence of active agents is common in all religions. They may be synonymous with
demons
(q.v. for examples), but evil spirits take on many other forms. In Zoroastrianism, as
daevas
, they form a fundamental part of the dynamic of the whole system. Evil spirits are frequently the spirits of the dead who have not received appropriate care from the living, and who are therefore restless until they receive support: for examples, see
KUEI
,
PRETA
. Evil spirits may take possession of other lives, not least those of humans. They are then contested through
exorcism
or other rituals. They may also be contested by exclusion from the existing human community, a strategy which resulted in the execution of witches and others believed to have been possessed.

 
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Exaltation of the Cross
.

The feast, also known as Holy Cross Day, kept in honour of the cross of Christ on 14 Sept.

 
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