nonbeing and evil

If we take the classical definition of evil as privatio bono to mean absolute nonbeing, that would make evil into a coequal principle over against God: Ultimate Being Versus Ultimate Nonbeing. Resistance to this notion separated the apostolic faith from systems like Manichaeism and some forms of Gnosticism. Consequently, it may be preferable to think of evil as having limited nonbeing — it does not and cannot participate in “real” Being (God), but its presence and power in the world are not illusory; it “ain’t peanuts.”—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 424