M. Scott Peck, M.D. wrote the book People of the Lie, The Hope For Healing Human Evil, published in 1983 by Simon & Schuster. It’s a study of human evil. Peck said he chose the title “because lying is both a cause and a manifestation of evil. It is partly by their lying that we recognize the evil.”
Peck draws a profile of the evil: they have no regard for the truth; they lie and live in a world of lies. They are masters of disguise and cloak themselves with masks of respectability, goodness and often piety.
Peck writes of “enemy creation,” or “hatred of the ‘out-group.’” If a group does not have an enemy, “it will most likely create one in short order.” Peck wrote, “The groups become cliques. Those who do not belong to the group are despised as being inferior or evil or both.”
He also writes, “It is almost common knowledge that the best way to cement group cohesiveness is to ferment the group’s hatred of an external enemy. Deficiencies within the group can be easily and painlessly overlooked by focusing attention on the deficiencies or ‘sins’ of the out-group. Thus the Germans under Hitler could ignore their domestic problems by scapegoating the Jews.”
In contrast to the sickness of evil, Peck defines mental health as “an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs.”
I have used this book from time to time to remind me that evil is real and to help me recognize it. When evil tries to come against you, remember what Jesus taught the disciples to pray, "Deliver me from evil." May that be our prayer each and every day.
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