Yesterday a gunman opened fire in a crowded Jewish community in Canada, killing a beloved rabbi. It is hard to understand how so many people around the world think that murdering Jews and destroying Israel is the answer to everything.
Ultimately, the explanation can be found in the Bible. There is Light and there is Darkness. The Light is good. We must increase and spread Light.
It makes sense to reach for the Bible to try to explain Light and Darkness. The Bible itself uses exactly that contrast to describe both human hatred and God’s call to a different way.
Light and darkness in the Bible
From the opening verses, Scripture presents light as God’s good gift and darkness as what is empty, lifeless, and opposed to Him. God speaks, “Let there be light,” and “separates” light from darkness, already giving us a moral picture as well as a physical one.
The New Testament makes this symbolism explicit: light becomes a picture of God’s life, truth, and love, while darkness represents sin, hatred, unbelief, and the absence of God. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all,” so to walk in His light is to turn away from the hatred and violence that characterize spiritual darkness.
Good, evil, and hatred of a people
Biblically, “good” is what aligns with God’s character and will, and “evil” is whatever opposes it. Good is associated with righteousness, mercy, and justice, while evil is tied to rebellion, harm, and destroying what God loves.
Because God’s law commands love for neighbor and the protection of the innocent, the deliberate murder of any people is squarely in the realm of evil, however it is justified politically or ideologically. In Scripture, hatred that dehumanizes whole groups is a manifestation of the “darkness” of sin, not legitimate zeal for truth or justice.
Evil expressed as darkness
The Bible describes evil not just as isolated bad acts but as a power or realm that people can “walk in,” “love,” and even prefer. When hearts are darkened, lies, fear, resentment, and pride can make violence look like a solution, especially when those lies are reinforced by surrounding culture or ideology.
At the same time, Scripture insists that evil is not equal to good: darkness is parasitic, a distortion of what God made, and it does not have the last word. Light exposes the lies that fuel hatred, and ultimately God promises to judge evil and vindicate those He has chosen and loved.
Increasing and spreading Light
The biblical call in a dark world is not to surrender to despair but to “walk as children of light.” That includes resisting hatred in our own hearts, grieving with those who suffer, and bearing witness—in word and deed—to God’s truth and love for every human made in His image.
Practically, spreading light can look like prayer, honest lament, defending the innocent, patiently speaking truth against lies, and embodying a different spirit than the one that glorifies destruction. Light does not mean naivety about evil, but a refusal to let evil define our response or our identity.
“Light overcomes darkness” is the biblical claim that darkness is real and terrible, but it is not ultimate, and it can never finally extinguish the light God gives. Even a small act of faithfulness, compassion, or courage is a flicker of light that helps to conquers darkness.
