Etymology 'evil' and 'regret' in Genesis 6:5-6

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Tuesday Bible Study this week began with God's great disappointment with human inclination to fail at righteousness and to fall into corruption and violence. Later God give Noah measurements for the Ark and the passenger list, then made the rain. After extinguishing all other life from land and air except aboard the ark, things fair up and Creation has a restart. The original passage of chapter 6 was written down first in Hebrew, but here it is in the NIV in English translation as, "...every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled."

One question is about the source word 'evil'. Leaving aside Hebrew word choice, along with its root and relatives, as well as (then and now) connotation, perhaps some clue about the nature of 'evil' can be found from English in the dictionary. Likewise of the fundamental meaning of regret; regretfulness.

[credit: Primidi.com, emphasis added] ...The root meaning of the word is of obscure origin though shown to be akin to modern German Das Übel (although 'Evil' is normally translated as 'Das Böse') with the basic idea of transgressing.

Comment: breaking boundaries and exceeding limits, being improper or not right [righteous, rectitude] are some of the allied ideas. So the quote, "thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time," seems to point to the built-in propensity to veer off course, miss the mark, sin. Thus "evil" is not the absence of blessing or goodness or holiness. Rather, it is accidental, inherent, or intended steering off course. Elsewhere 'satan' or 'fallen angel Lucifer' is asserted as the embodiment of evil and master of worldliness. But here in Genesis, it is God's estimation that [before the flood, at least] evil is basic to human hearts.

Looking at regret's etymology, [credit: etymologeek.com, emphasis added] ...re (again) greter (Old French: weep, mourn, lament): Emotional pain on account of something done or experienced in the past, with a wish that it had been different.

Comment: Here is God emoting. Since mankind sins at the level of heart, never mind the exterior physical world, that decision to give breath/animating spirit [ruach in Hebrew] now in Genesis chapter 6 is the source of God's feelings of regret over past action.

In the context of Noah and the great flood to extinguish almost all of life, including the human ones, and start again with a view to less evil and more righteous instincts, these two terms - evil in human hearts and regret in God's own heart suggest a few things. One is that evil is inherent in living experience. Temptation is present in all places and times; there is potential to do evil, but also to do good. Therefore, the first advice is to pay attention and be alert to opportunities to go beyond one's own small existence and do good with and for others. At the same time, beware of false opportunities in self and others to do evil. Another observation that comes from examining 'evil' in people and 'regret' felt by God is that an essential, fundamental and vital tension exists between evil (man's ways) and righteousness (God's ways). If the condition of life were ONLY evil or ONLY righteousness then there would be no tension; no life, no risk of failing, no reward from getting in right relationship with God's ways. And while it sometimes looks like there is so much that is bad in the world and that things seem not to change, according to the principle of "dynamic equilibrium" (think of treading water: maintaining some equilibrium with head above water, but beneath the surface there is a whole lot of motion), the surface can look like it is not moving, while in fact several different forces are in tension to produce the appearance of equilibrium. Likewise, perhaps, this tension exists between human hearts (inclined to evil) and God's ways (righteousness) to produce the central life-filling experience of so many generations before and after the one we belong to.

Outsider religious way versus seat of power

 The roots of the Jesus Movement to fulfill the teachings of YHWH center on houses of worshipers meeting secretly, since neither the Establishment of Jewish leaders, nor by extension the Roman occupiers wanted to see something that did not conform to peaceful social order and status quo. Later, the early church spread along the trade and transportation routes around the Mediterranean basin and attracted not only Jews far from Jerusalem's sway, but other God-fearers, as well as pagans - citizens of Rome, its slaves, and those from inside and outside the Empire.

The status of outlaw sect of Judaism changed overnight with the declaration by Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century C.E. that Christianity would be the State Religion of the Empire and that he would be its champion in the wide world (the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire). His pledge to do this if YHWH would allow military victory thus was fulfilled after defeating the attackers at the battle of Milvian Bridge.

From now on the followers of The Way could own property, govern themselves openly, establish schools of learning and all the things that make a group of people an organization and perpetuate it until at last becoming a self-sustaining institution. Hierarchies grew, buildings were endowed, traditions of knowledge expanded, and doctrinal hairs were split ever more finely. With power comes corruption. Reforms came and sometimes gained traction. Sects splintered and power in the World grew bigger and bigger.

Importantly, Jesus answered Pilate by saying "my kingdom is not of this world." And a good deal of the meaning behind the phrase of the Lord's Prayer, "...Thy will be done; on Earth as in Heaven," is about one's own heart. That is, the Kingdom is not something standing on the surface of the planet, but instead dwells within each practitioner's own heart: the person's attitudes, habits of talking, strength of relationships, daily exercise of care for others, expressions of humility and also unshakeable faith, and so on. Therefore, the watershed begun with Constantine the Great to bring Christ-followers into the light of the world to freely worship and evangelize, is a mixed blessing and curse. The blessing is the reduction in persecution. The curse is the accumulating power, generation by generation, that imposes temptation and corruption.

Given the choice of fringe religion and mainstream institution, perhaps most would opt for today's model. But maybe there is a third way, neither institutionalized rigidity nor small-time desperation. Perhaps the sweetest form of The Way is to be in the World but not of the World; blessed by the material well-being and physical abundance that may be put to good use, but not redirected from stewardship of God's creation and distracted by stewardship of "stuff" bought or bequeathed from the faithful.

The question remains: can it still be Christianity when there is wealth and power and prominence involved?

Us versus Them restated as "we together"

Early August 2020 the guest on the weekly radio show, "On Being," was the poet Marilyn Nelson, in a rebroadcast of the original 2017 conversation with host Krista Tippett. She compares God seekers who expect to find God and God-at-work somewhere outside themselves ("magic mentality") to the people who see God at work in all places and times, including in their own selves ("alliance mentality").

Image search result for 'Marilyn Nelson poet' (8/2020)

Quoting the interview (full text link appended, below), she says:

I think people who have a “magic mentality” believe that God is something out there that we have to find to connect with and people who have an “alliance mentality” know that God is inside of us and in our connections with each other and with the world, that God exists within and between, not exterior to us, but within us and between us. I think that’s what he was trying to say... There is no separation. We are a part of God. That’s — isn’t that the ecstatic experience? We recognize that. And some people know that just naturally. Other people have to learn it. [emphasis added]

Other authors and thinkers from the Stewards of Earth tradition in Abrahamic religions have said something similar with regard to perceptions in public about "nature" versus society, or  "the natural world" ---as if the definition of "nature" consists of everything apart from human lives. Whereas industrialized, Western societies have cultivated an imaginary separation of human (cultural and technologically mediated) environment from all of the land and waters that people require to live, other societies have viewed the human/non-human boundary as much blurrier and movable. One instance of the "nature" concept being cut-off from human life comes from the translation into Japanese from the English concept of "nature." There was no exact pre-existing Japanese word, so a new one was coined, ShiZen (the kanji character 'shi' means "of itself" and 'zen' means something like "wild vitality").

In the particular phrase, above, "We are a part of God," there is a poetic double-meaning, or perhaps it is best described as ironic reflection. One meaning is "a part" or one of many pieces that all together contributes to the whole. Another meaning, this time a clever pun, is "apart" or separated from the rest. Taking the spoken word and transcribing it as "We are a part of God" means that we cannot be separated from God since we are integral to what and who and why God is. But taking the spoken word and transcribing it as "We are apart of God" means that we stand outside of God's ways and spend our waking hours seeking a way back in.

[from https://onbeing.org/programs/marilyn-nelson-communal-pondering-in-a-noisy-world/#transcript ]

Rough and tumble? Consumerism vs. Christ'ism

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How best to follow Jesus when descriptions show him challenging the status quo of Pharisees and the strong language and actions he metes out to his all-too-humanly-frail disciples? He demonstrates infinite love and patience in many ways, but also insistence and impatience about fools and foolishness.

Ever since the "single use" disposable approach to mass production, distribution, consumption, and landfilling, the worldview of consumerism and advertising has almost completely dominated our societies: to spend (therefore to earn) is to live. That seems to leave little time to reflect and seek relationship with God, all of creation, and one's neighbor. So the iconoclasm we read of in the Bible by Christ's example seems to be less Pharisees (although the legalism, head-smart but heart dumb, bull-headed self-assuredness can be seen today in pulpits and lay leaders and followers, too) and more a problem on consumerism that blinds us from seeing each other. Perhaps in our time to "be in the World but not of the World" means to reject the many incentives and rewards of buying more and more. And it means not to measure self-worth or the success of others by brand of clothing or personal automobile. So long as we consist of flesh and blood, the body will be blessing and curse at the same time; something that shapes our engagement with all that is around us and thereby a source of being prey to temptations. And yet, when eternal life or else damnation is at stake, the present moment of living is no time to obsess about 'being a nice person' if that separates you from God and God's will, or it separates you from one another as a wedge instead of a bridge. In the end, following the Jesus example, is to "speak truth to the power" that so dominates our minds and times: consumerism and reducing and simplifying the world of experiences into "maximizing utility" as an economic animal.

Grace is similar to Mercy in that it is given, no matter if merited, earned, or paid for. But it differs in that grace makes whole, holy, completed. By contrast, mercy is granted in place of expected punishment or debt that is owed; it does not by itself create wholeness or completed relationship (repair). And grace differs to righteousness, too. Righteousness means being attuned to God's word and desires, in tune with God by direct and correct relationship. Grace repairs and fills the gap that separates self from the Creator. And so with respect to Jesus' example of himself disregarding The World in order to keep in constant prayer and communion with Father/Mother God, this idea of grace is central, because it fills any gap or separation or shortcoming.

With something like 1 in 4 residents in the USA defined by income as impoverished --this in the wealthiest and most resource-wasting society on the planet-- Jesus would surely engage directly and persistently with people struggling to survive. Again and again the ones with ears to hear and eyes to see are the ones he meets at the margins of society, the edge of the road, or the outer part of gatherings. People who are ill, or who are impoverished, or who have been humbled by circumstance (or possibly by their own disciplined habit) are most primed to embrace the message of love that is abundant and unending, without conditions and status.