Home Connection
February 2011
Evil
Chalice Lightings:
May nothing evil cross this door,
and may ill fortune never
pry about these windows; may the
roar and rain go by.
--Louis Untermeyer, from #1 in Singing the Living Tradition
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but
because of the people who don't do anything about it.
--Albert Einstein
There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we
discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves,
after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good.
So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root,
to raise perhaps many flowers.
-- Leigh Hunt
Explore the following readings in Singing the Living Tradition published by the
Unitarian Universalist Association. (Our hymnal)
# 496 by Harry Meserve
#514 by Lala Winkley
#516 Khasi Unitarian Prayer
#523 Prayer from India
#597 Dhammapada
Story:
Pandora
Zeus, the chief God of all the gods and goddesses in ancient Greece, was angry at
Prometheus for stealing fire and giving it to humans. Zeus had the gods create a
beautiful woman named Pandora. Zeus gave Pandora as a wife to Epimetheus, the
brother of Prometheus. Pandora was beautiful and smart. She was a good
musician and she was also very curious. Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to
trust Zeus, but Epimetheus did not pay attention. Zeus also sent a second gift. It
was a beautiful sealed jar. Zeus told them that it was never to be opened.
In the beginning everything was wonderful. But after time, Pandora’s curiosity
began to grow. Every time she looked at the sealed jar she wondered what was in
it. Day by day her curiosity grew. She asked Epimetheus to open the jar, but he
was afraid of Zeus and told her no.
One day when Pandora was alone in her house, she could not keep from thinking
about what was inside the jar. She kept looking at it. She touched it, then lifted it
and shook it. What wonders could be inside? If it came from the gods, it could be
a wonderful treasure! Finally she could stand it no longer. She broke open the
seal!
But instead of a treasure of gold or jewels, out flew all kinds of evils. There was
hate and envy; hunger and jealousy. Sickness and death flew into the world as did
cruelty and all kinds of injustices. Pandora tried to close up the jar. She tried to
catch all the evils and put them back, but it was too late the evils had escaped into
the world. And then, one last thing came floating out of the jar. It was hope.
Evil and sorrow became a part of the world, and so did hope. Even when things
were the most difficult or sad for the human race, there was hope to keep them
going.
Some versions of this story say that it was a locked box rather than a sealed jar that held all the
evils and hope.
A variety of versions of this story can be found in books (see some below in resources) and on the Internet. One version is
part of the UUA’s Tapestry of Faith Curriculum, Amazing Grace and can be found at
http://uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/amazinggrace/session2/sessionplan/stories/115135.shtml. Another
version can be found at http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/religion/myths/pandora.htm.
Story Questions:

What is the most important part of the story to you, and why?

If this is not your first time encountering this story, how are you hearing it
differently now?

Why did Zeus give Epimetheus both Pandora and the jar?

Why was hope included with all the evils?

What keeps you going when you face too many difficulties and too much
sadness?
Possible Activities:

Read the books aloud, or watch the movies of the Harry Potter series and
discuss what forms evil takes in this series and how it is handled by the
characters.

Invite family or friends to looks through the media for examples of what
they feel is evil. Bring your examples together and discuss this evil and how
it can be addressed.

The Sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith include the following:
“Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to
confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the
transforming power of love.”
Share with your family or friends examples from our Unitarian Universalist
History, your life, and the world around you where you have seen this being
lived out. (A Children’s version of this source reads: “We learn from people
who are kind and fair.”)

Play a reverse Pandora game. With your family or friends, set a time limit
and in that time quickly write out all the evils you can think of and stuff
them back into a jar of box. At the end of the time, read out all the evils that
have been listed. Were there any things that surprised any of you? Did you
all name the same things? Brainstorm how you could work to give hope to
people facing these evils.
Resources:
Books for Children and Youth:
Pandora, by Robert Burleigh, Harcourt Children’s Books 2002
Max and Ruby in Pandora’s Box, by Rosemary Wells, Puffin, 1998
The McElderry Book of Greek Myths, by Erik A. Kimmel, Margaret K. McElderry, 2008
Resources for Adults
On Evil by Terry Eagleton, Yale University Press, 2010
“What is Evil” by Patrick O’Neill, uuworld.org, Winter 2007
http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/56531.shtml
“Confronting Evil” by Warren R. Ross, U U World, January/February 2002
http://www.uuworld.org/2002/01/feature1.html
“UU Views of Evil” Pamphlet edited by Paul Rasor, Unitarian Universalist Association, 2007 / The text
is avaialbe at: http://www.uuabookstore.org/client/client_pages/3043.pdf
“Young Adults, confronting Evil, and More” by McCall Breuer, Interdependent Web, edited by Heather
Christensen, http://blogs.uuworld.org/web/2010/07/13/young-adults-confronting-evil-and-more/
“When Faced With Evil,” a sermon by Rev. Erik Walker Wickstrom,
http://www.uua.org/documents/wikstromerik/faced_evil.pdf