Is man inherently good or inherently evil?

Porcelain writes:This is a philosopical question that may never be answered. Is man inherently good or inherently evil?

NIV writes:Rom 7:14-25= We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Mr.Bound writes:I'm with Nietzsche on this one. Man has no Will to Good or Evil, just the Will to Power. It also fits in nicely with the ToE.

Charles Knight writes:Good and evil are social constructs.

sidelined writes: We are not inherently good or evil,we are inherently human. First off who determines what is inherently good or evil?

Darth Mal writes:You tell me. During the Middle Ages, it was good to people to burn other people that didn't agree with their theology. Then the reformation came, and it was good for some people to establish new theologies where they could burn those that tried to burn them in the first place. Then came the New World and it was good for some people to own other people. Then came the 20th century and it was good for some people discriminate against others. Then came today when it is still good for some people to discriminate others and actually come up with constitutional amendments to show how good it is to discriminate certain people. So, you tell me what good or evil is.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for..." -Thornton Wilder

1good \"gud\ adj better \"be-tr\; best \"best\ 1 : of a favorable character or tendency 2 : bountiful, fertile 3 : comely, attractive 4 : suitable, fit 5 : sound, whole 6 : agreeable, pleasant 7 : salutary, wholesome 8 : considerable, ample 9 : full 10 : well-founded 11 : true 12 : legally valid or effectual 13 : adequate, satisfactory 14 : conforming to a standard 15 : discriminating 16 : commendable, virtuous 17 : kind 18 : upper-class 19 : competent 20 : loyal, close good—hearted \-"hr-td\ adj goodish adj good—looking \-"lu-ki\ adj good—tempered \-"tem-prd\ adj
1evil \"-vl\ adj eviler or eviller; evilest or evillest 1 : wicked 2 : causing or threatening distress or harm : pernicious evilly adv

Wikipedia writes:John Dewey (1859-1952) in his book Theory of Valuation saw goodness as the outcome of "valuation," a continuous balancing of "ends in view." An end in view was said to be an objective which we adopt or not, which we refine or reject based on its consistency with other objectives or means to objectives held by ourselves or others.

Thayers Greek Lexicon writes:NT:18=agathos, agathee, agathon
In general it denotes excelling in any respect, distinguished, good.
It can be predicated of persons, things, conditions, qualities and affections of the soul, deeds, times and seasons. To this general significance can be traced back all those senses which the word gathers from the connection in which it stands;
1. of a good constitution or nature:
a. in a sense equivalent to "fertile soil," "a fruitful tree,"
b. In Luke 8:15 the figurative expression good ground, and denotes a soul inclined to goodness,
2. useful, salutary
a. a commandment profitable to those who keep it, Rom 7:12,
b. the question in Rom 7:13
c. the "good part," which insures salvation to him who chooses it, Luke 10:42
d. the saving work of God,
e. for good, to advantage, Rom 8:28
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 2000 by Biblesoft)

the saving work of God

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Evil is a term describing that which is morally bad, corrupt, wantonly destructive, selfish, and wicked. It is one half of the duality of good and evil expressed, in some form or another, by many cultures. It describes a hierarchy of moral standards with regard to human behaviour; evil being the least desired, while love is usually the most praised. In essence "evil" is a term for those things which (either directly or causally) bring about withering and death- the opposite of life. In casual or derogatory use, the word "evil" can characterize people and behaviours that are hurtful, ruinous, or disastrous.
A similar term, malice (from the Latin mal meaning "bad") describes the deliberate human intent to harm and be harmful. "Evil," by contrast, tends to represent a more elemental concept; a disembodied spirit that is natural and yet abominable. Wheras "malice" belongs to the specific, "evil" is the foundation for malice.
Another definition of evil describes it as death and suffering, whether it results from human or from other natural causes (e.g., earthquakes, famine). In other words, it is not merely the intention to do evil, but the end result, namely, harm to others, that is evil. And, as Plato observed, there are relatively few ways to do good, but there are countless ways to do evil, which can therefore have a much greater impact on our lives, and the lives of other beings capable of suffering. For this reason, some philosophers (e.g., Bernard Gert, Michael E. Berumen) maintain that not causing and preventing evil precede promoting good in importance in formulating moral rules and in conduct.

Thayers writes:NT:4190=poneeros
1. full of labors, annoyances, hardships
a. pressed and harassed by labors
b. bringing toils, annoyances, perils: Eph 5:16; 6:13
2. bad, of a bad nature or condition
a. in a physical sense: diseased or blind, Matt 6:23; Luke 11:34
b. in an ethical sense, evil, wicked, bad,
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 2000 by Biblesoft)

Schrafinator writes:we have nearly identical DNA with other primate species, we can use animal tissues to heal our injuries and illnesses, we are made of exactly the same stuff as the rest of the animal world, our bodies are of the same basic body plan, our metabloism and reproduction is basically the same as any other mammals'...

NIV Bible writes:Rom 1:18-20= The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Of course, there is something interesting and special about every animal.

Rrhain writes:Is salvation by faith or works? Paul says faith. Peter says works.

Jandy Stone writes:Are you questioning the differences in Paul & Peter's methods? Or calling? Because Paul was called to preach to the Gentiles, as he did throughout Acts in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Italy. He still preached to the Jews as well, always going to the synogogue first, but his primary mission was to Gentiles. Peter, I think, was based more in the Jerusalem area.
Peter had trouble, at times, overcoming his Judaistic tendencies, as evidenced by the passage in Galatians where Paul mentions having to rebuke Peter for snubbing Gentiles when the Judaisers were present. Notice also the passage in Acts where Peter is treated to the vision of the unclean animals, telling him that the ceremonial differences between Jews and Gentiles were being erased by God.

Fr Lane writes:We remember today Saints Peter and Paul who guided the early church just after the time of Jesus. Both died as martyrs for the faith in Rome, in the early 60’s, just thirty years after the death of Jesus. Peter was crucified upside down in the courtyard just to the left of St Peter’s Basilica (in the courtyard behind the arch where the Swiss Guards stand on duty) and Paul was beheaded in a place between Rome and the sea, now called Tre Fontane (Italian for three fountains after the legend that the three springs in the spot mark the three places where Paul’s head bounced after being beheaded). Peter was buried in the nearest cemetery which was on top of Vatican Hill and St Peter's Basilica was later built on top of Peter's tomb, the main altar being directly on top of his tomb. Paul was also buried in the nearest cemetery and the Basilica of St Paul's outside the Walls was later build on top of his tomb, the main altar being directly on top of his tomb.
Each of these two saints is important for different reasons. Peter is important because he was the first Pope and kept the church united which was growing very rapidly in the years following Pentecost. In the first years after Pentecost it was Jews who accepted Jesus as the Saviour and so the early church was a very Jewish church. But as time went on Paul began to preach also to non-Jews, the Gentiles as they were called. All of us are Gentiles and . His preaching was very successful and he brought huge numbers of non-Jews into the church, so much so that the number of Jews in the church was greatly outnumbered by non-Jews. It is because of Paul that we are now in the Church. So both Peter and Paul had very important tasks in the early church, Peter maintaining the unity in the church which during his lifetime had already spread throughout the middle East and Europe, and Paul who taught the Jews that Jesus is the fulfillment of their Old Testament hopes and taught the non-Jews that Jesus is the Saviour. Whenever you see statues of Peter and Paul, usually Peter is holding a key, symbolizing his duty as head of the church, and Paul is holding the Bible, symbolizing his preaching.

porcelain writes:I have another philosophical question:Is the concept of good and evil learned or was it born in you?

Ask a Judaism what the sin of Sodom was and see if sexuality ever gets mentioned. Compare this with Christianity and then try to explain the difference.

Rrhain writes:Will an atheist go to heaven if he does good works?

1:21: Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

ramoss writes:Genesis was compiled by the Jews for the Jews during the time period of the 2 Kings, as was most of the Torah. It is an allegorial story. It was actually a rip off from the Ugartic creation myth that the pheonicians had, as indeed much of the Torah is.

encyclopedia.com writes: Moses= Hebrew lawgiver, probably b. Egypt. The prototype of the prophets, he led his people in the 13th cent. BC out of bondage in Egypt to the edge of Canaan. The narrative in the Bible is the chief source of information on his life. His historical existence has been questioned, although there is nothing improbable about the general outline of the narrative after allowances for distortion over time are made. According to the biblical account, Moses was divinely protected as an infant, and as a young man he received a special calling at the burning bush. He lived in constant touch with God, who guided him in leading all Israel out of Egypt and across the desert. Through him God promulgated the Law, including the Ten Commandments, the criminal code, and the whole liturgical law. In his old age, when the Hebrews were at the Jordan River ready to cross, God gave Moses a view of the Promised Land from Mt. Pisgah; but he did not enter it, for he died and was buried in Moab. All this is recounted in the books of Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers , and Deuteronomy . The authorship of these and Genesis (collectively called the Pentateuch) has been ascribed to Moses since earliest times; hence they are called the Books of Moses. The Law he promulgated is called the Mosaic law, the Torah. Few critics would argue that Moses actually authored the Pentateuch. Moses, one of the great names of Hebrew history, is referred to repeatedly in the Jewish, Christian, amd Muslim scriptures. In the Qur'an, Moses is a precursor of Muhammad, confirming God's revelation to Abraham. Among the Pseudepigrapha is a Testament of Moses .

Wycliffe Bible Commentary writes:Genesis Authorship. It is safe to claim Moses as the responsible author of the book. It is the first book of the Pentateuch, which both Scripture and tradition attribute to Moses. It would be difficult to find a man in all the range of Israel's life who was better qualified to write this history.

Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary writes:GENESIS Authorship and Date. The Book of Genesis gives no notice about its author. The early church, however, held to the conviction that Moses wrote the book, as did the Jerusalem Talmud and the first century Jewish historian Josephus. In spite of the number of modern scholars who reject the Mosaic authorship of Genesis, the traditional view has much to commend it. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament contain frequent testimony to the Mosaic authorship of the entire Pentateuch (Lev 1:1-2; Neh 13:1; Matt 8:4; Acts 26:22).

enclopedia.com writes:(srgŏn) , king of Akkad in Mesopotamia (reigned c.2340-c.2305 BC). By conquest he established a great empire that included the whole of Mesopotamia and extended over Syria and Elam, and he controlled territories W to the Mediterranean and N to the Black Sea. Documents now support the theory that Sargon and his successors sent expeditions into SE Arabia as well as Asia Minor. The dynasty founded by Sargon lasted approximately 160 years; it was destroyed (c.2180 BC) by the Gutian barbarians from the Zagros Mts. Sargon's dynasty did much to spread Semitic and Sumerian civilization. His name appears also as Sharukkin.

Gen 11:1-7= Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

Charles Knight writes:Your asseration is that most scholars (historians at least) are atheist. I would like you to back or retract that claim as per the rules of this forum.

TechnoCore writes:It is all just about perspective. Do you think Hitler thought of himself as evil? Or Stalin? They both did what they thought to be necessary and right at the time of their actions, even if those who got hurt from them obviously thought something else.

G.Harmon writes:In everyday experience the characteristics of actors and those of the situations they face are typically confounded--in ways that contribute to precisely the consistency that we perceive and count on in our social dealings. People often choose the situations to which they are exposed; and people often are chosen for situations on the basis of their manifest or presumed abilities and dispositions. Thus, clerics and criminals rarely face an identical or equivalent set of situational challenges. Rather they place themselves, and are placed by others, in situations that differ precisely in ways that induce clergy to look, act, feel, and think rather consistently like clergy and that induce criminals to look, act, feel, and think like criminals...

Darth writes: the world of ethics ain't as simple as you think, dude.

brennakimi writes:good and evil are social constructs

Rrhain writes:Now answer the question: Does an atheist get to heaven if he does good works?

Out on a Limb......Phatboy

'I know men, and Jesus Christ was no man.' Napoleon Bonaparte

Rrhain writes:You can't read the Bible and determine what it says?

Rrhain writes:The type of point I want is something you wrote. I am not here to talk to somebody else.

Rrhain writes:My opinions about the existence or non-existence of god are irrelevant.