Absolutely agree here. Let me clarify after another of your quotes:
So here’s how I think of this - and I haven’t yet figured out a good place to get into this model of thinking (it’s probably going to be in the “Conclusions?” section, which I haven’t yet written). I think of this through the lens of Thomas Merton’s “False Self / True Self” model. So everything that is, was created by God. And God declared everything to be “good” - therefore, all that is is good. That is the “True” nature of things. God did not create anything evil, and all that is has been created by God.
Here’s where “False Self” comes in - the “False Self” is what occurs when we turn everything inward in service to ourselves. We make an idol out of ourselves, and then we believe we can find fulfillment through things - creating an idol out of the good things God has created. This does not render them evil - they are still good. But in our misuse of the good gifts God has given us, we pervert them. We also have a tendency - when we do this - to identify ourselves through those idols. We define ourselves by what we wear, what we listen to, or a set of opinions (such as a political identity). We are not those things, though we pretend that we are for a time. That is why Merton calls it a “False Self” - it is nothing, but we treat it like it’s something.
But the “True Self” is what God always intended us to be - we were created in His image, and He is a giver and a creator. That’s what unconditional love is - it’s an outward focus, rather than an inward focus. And when we focus the gifts God has given us outward, then we will be engaging our “True Self”. Does this clarify the “illusion of evil” and what I mean by that for you?
Absolutely. As long as unconditional love guides you, I don’t think a few wrong opinions are going to prevent you from finding the path.