but about our continuing state of existence.
In good times, it’s easy to convince
ourselves that this is not so. That we are really
good people—not perfect, mind you—but
not really evil. And then the neighbor gets
a promotion and a raise we had hoped for,
or buys a new car, and we discover envy in
our hearts. Or we see a glamorous model or
actress and wonder . . . well, let’s just say lust
makes its presence known. Perhaps a car cuts
in front of us in traffic, and we find a level of
anger that surprises us. The more we honestly
examine our lives, the more we see this is true.
As a young atheist and professor at Oxford
described the experience, “For the first time
I examined myself with a seriously practical
purpose. And there I found what appalled
me; a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a
nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds.
My name was legion.” (C. S. Lewis, Surprised
by Joy) All this sin, we are told, proceeds from
our sinful hearts. “A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an
evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart[a]
brings forth evil” (Luke 6:45). Indeed, it is our