Concerning Good verses Evil - There is no Dualism

I've written about this topic before, but it came to mind again and perhaps deserves a new context of explanation. In Christian belief we hold that there is good and evil in the world. Good is championed by God who is made manifest to us through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Evil is championed by a being that the Bible identifies as Satan. This is not a new idea for us in North America, popular culture still repeats the idea of God being the good guy dressed in white up in Heaven that the Devil being the bad guy dressed in red (or black) down in Hell. God has angels who are on his side and the Devil has demons who are on his side and the two sides war against each other. There is a parallel between Christianity and this understanding of good verses evil in pop culture spirituality.

The key point of difference is the extent of the power struggle between the two sides. Pop culture spirituality along with most non-Christian spirituality envision the forces of good and evil to be like celestial boxing match where either opponent could gain the upper hand and knock the other out. Take this cutscene from Blizzard's Diablo III as an example:

Are angels more powerful than demons? Will the Devil foil God's plan in the world? For someone with a spiritual awareness outside Christianity these are very real questions. All over the world people turn to magic, karma, holy relics, or hardened self determination to ensure that good remains more powerful than evil whether that be in an unseen spiritual realm, within one's own heart and mind, or in trying to control what could be called "fate." Even Christians sometimes think and act this way as though the amount of people praying somehow empowered the angels against the demons or made God more favorable towards the outcome you were hoping for.

This is not how the Bible envisions the struggle between good and evil. God and the Devil are not in a balance of force as though God were the incarnation of good and the Devil were the incarnation of evil. God is sovereign of the universe and holds good and evil in his hand. The Devil is a fallen creature who being created by God will always be subservient to God which is why Jesus is able to drive him and all his demons away with a word and why with just a word he is able to cast them into a lake of fire and keep them there forever. The Devil may be the baddest guy on the block, but he's no equal to God and he's not evil incarnate. There is no question as to who is more powerful or who would win in a fight. The battle, if it could be considered a battle, could be illustrated by Gandalf leading the Rohirrim in the battle of Helm's Deep. No casualties for good, entire army of evil obliterated.

For the Christian the question isn't "how do I ensure that good remains stronger than evil," because God is already victorious! The question is "how do I continue to live in God's victory?" After all, before Gandalf arrived on the scene the defenders of Helms Deep weren't doing so well. Of this the Bible has much to say. In the Old Testament it was to have faith in Yahweh your God according to his actions in making a covenant with Abraham, leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, driving the Canaanites out of the Promise Land, and providing for those who trusted in him. This faith in Yahweh culminated in his incarnation as Jesus and defeated evil in his life ministry (healing and exorcisms), death (identifying with fallen humanity and paying the price for our sins) and resurrection (defeating death and sin championing both). Before Jesus ascended he told his followers that he would give them his spirit, the Holy Spirit, and it is by living in accordance with the Holy Spirit that they and we are able to participate in God's victory over evil. The apostle Paul constantly instructed the early Church to live according to the Holy Spirit and not according to the evil desires of the flesh. By submitting to God and allowing his Holy Spirit to guide you his goodness lives in you and you are living in God's victory.