The short answer?

Yes.

They invent ways of doing evil. This is how Paul describes the end state of those who refuse to acknowledge the Lord. They exchange the truth about God for a lie, and worship and serve created things, rather than the Creator.

When I read these words about inventing new evils, I first think of Hitler and Stalin, men who butchered millions. But Paul casts a wider net. Anyone who refuses the Lord rests precariously atop an unstable slope, myself included.

The list Paul gave to the Roman church reads like a modern text, reminding me of the cruelty displayed every day on the news. Depravity stays with us.

It dawns on me as I contemplate, that in my heart rests the ability to invent evil. Blaming others misses the point. A latent power for greater and greater evil lies dormant in each human heart.

Thus the need for Jesus. Every day, deeper and deeper, as Paul goes on to explain throughout the book of Romans.

Romans 1 in week twenty-one of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Norbert Buduczki