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Throughout the ages, humankind has been deeply troubled by the existence of evil. We have often wondered: what is evil? Simply stated, evil is the infliction of pain upon sentient beings. Evil, however, is much more complicated than that definition suggests. It is a complex synthesis of moral, natural, and metaphysical evils (Russell 1986, 18) that varies in its interpretation across time and cultures. The countless atrocities of the twentieth century have stirred a renewed interest in the concept of evil along with a belief that evil is an inherent part of human nature and even the cosmos -- we all realize that evil things do not only happen to us but are universally present. Before evil can be understood on a cosmic level, it must first be understood on the level of an individual. A poignant description of evil against an individual is found in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov: Imagine a trembling mother with her baby in her arms, a circle of invading Turks around her. They've planned a diversion; they pet the baby, laugh to make it laugh. They succeed, the baby laughs. At that moment a Turk points a pistol four inches from the baby's face. The baby laughs with glee, holds out its little hands to the pistol, and he pulls