"At the end of the day, there is no evil conflict anymore," Bruyneel said Friday.
Moreover, people pay or forgive debts, reconcile quarrels, and try to rid themselves of the evils, conflicts, and impurities they have accumulated during the preceding months, translating the central conception of the festival into a justification for dealing anew with continuing situations in their lives.
The "Rings" trilogy, much of which was written during World War II, is a dark, monumental epic of Good and Evil in conflict, whereas "The Hobbit," first published in 1937 (and later revised), is a more lighthearted book, an adventure story whose comical and fairy-tale elements are very much in the foreground.
If in ethics you hold that there should be no preventable suffering for any reason, regardless of the cause or consequence, then the problem of evil will conflict with your acceptance of traditional theism.
Editors of high-profile medical journals vilify the pharmaceutical industry, provide forums for antibusiness critics, tout theoretical evils of conflict-of-interest and promote an idealized view of research.
For example (using Lord of the Rings): When Frodo's guardian passes along a magic ring, he is drawn into the ultimate conflict between good and evil and the conflict's outcome rests in his hands.
It is said that the best stories are not so much about good versus evil as about conflicts of loyalty, one good colliding with another.
Against this background, it would be easy to conclude that talk of evil in international conflicts is no more than a cynical technique for shaping public perceptions.
Surely American soldiers have confronted outright evil in great conflicts.
