What's Our Dialysis?

What I'm asking is, if what we do, the fact that we don't live right, if that's evil, like heaven and hell evil...
...or if something's just missing. Something everyone else has. What's our dialysis? What's the treatment?

- Secret Six #1

by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

There's the problem of evil, then there's the problem of fallen humanity.

"As it is written, 'There is no one who is righteous, not even one.'" - Romans 3:10 (NRSV)

"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23 (NRSV) 

Secret Six follows a team of super villains and presents the always intriguing concept of having bad guys as the protagonists of a story. From the very first issue the characters ponder if they are actually evil people or maybe just defective in some way, like they're missing out on a moral compass that everyone else has.

It seems the Bible (or at least Paul) would say yes to this either/or question. Humanity is in the state where everyone is evil and no one is good. There is something missing from these villains, but it's missing from everyone else as well.  Sin is sin. All have sinned. In our eyes, when we see someone as better or worse than another, we're just arguing the degrees of sin, which is a futile effort.

I have sinned. I have done many horrible and despicable things in my life. I have had many horrible things done to me as well. Especially lately, it seems (funny how it usually works that way). But am I any better or worse than anyone else? No.

Be wary of the pompous and self-righteous, particularly those claiming to be Christian. If they say they are a good person or better than someone else, they're lying. One of the first realities of Christianity that should be acknowledged is that all of its followers are hypocrites. Everything we condemn we are guilty of. That's why we need a savior.

This is especially hard when we've been personally wronged. Yeah, I've been screwed over in a completely horrible way by someone I trusted and adored. But am I any better than her? If I follow the Wednesday Theology I write about...then no, no I'm not.

This is something I must ponder. It's probably something we should all ponder. Ponder away!