Are humans good, bad or evil?

Warbsywoo

Warbsywoo

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Taking a look at the history of mankind, do you suppose that man is inherently good, evil, or just plain 'crazy'. Inherent in that it's a given trait when we (that is, all of us) are born and are released into the world.

Good as in we find a need to help others in the first place (though obviously are tempted to do otherwise due to outside influence).

Bad as in we find a mutual hate with fellow people (as is evidenced by the countless wars that have opened up between peoples).

Or just 'crazy', people who are arbitrary and make things up as they go and put their doctrines into the extreme end of things, i.e. good or bad.

What are we then? Good, bad, or crazy?
 
Humanity is inherently neutral. We've the capacity for all things.

Through our choices we shape the "good" or "evils" of our present days.
 
Let's assume that the definition of "good" is the following from www.dictionary.com:

1.morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious:
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Now for the definition of "people":

3. human beings, as distinguished from animals or other beings
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Finally, let's assume that the "natural order" of animals is an instinctive, predictable series of consumption and rebirth of organisms. Predators require prey to survive, prey need to be hunted down or they will overpopulate the land and consume all of the smaller rodents and plants that everything requires to survive. There is no moral-based decision making in any of this, rather, it is a natural occurrence formed over hundreds of millions of years.

Now, since the definition of "good" is completely relative, something HAS to be "good" as long as it is morally better than it's competing organisms. With that in mind, you are left with two possibilities- either people as a group are more moral than animals making them inherently good, or a particular group of animals is more moral than people as a group AND the majority of other animals, since humans are only a small portion of all organisms on Earth. However, if you believe the second possibility, then you have to say that some animals are more "morally excellent" than others, and this goes against the rule of natural order described above.

Therefore, the first possibility has to be true, and you have to admit that humans are naturally good!
 
I'm leaning towards neutrality-bad myself. Simply because all people are decpetive, all lie, etc.

Show me one person who has never deceived someone or lied just once in there entire life, and I'll show you a utopia that doesn't exist.
 
Evil is not the opposite of Good.


Evil is the opposite of Divine, no living human is evil.
Just like no living human is divine.
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So you believe there is no divinity within mankind?

Jesus was made a man & from what I understand he was a perfect human being.
 
Love your opinions guys.

True. Jesus was made a perfect human being.
But I agree with Ambiguity in that man is inherently good, which however is corrupted by outside influences that are beyond our control.

And true again, there is no man alive that hasn't lied or done evil in life, even if he says he hasn't, 'cause then that'll be contradictory.
 
I dunno I always thought of good and evil as just different ways of perception like different shades of grey or what not. I don't think that anyone can be totally evil or good, its there actions that define them and the way that we as humans choose to judge them as good or evil.
 
Its got to be impossible for a human being to be completely divine, we live in a world full of hatred, you can't escape it, it's part of the learning curve of life, no matter what your outlook is you will end up being decietful or act in a way considered morally bad on more than one occasion
 
Christian views of Jesus (see also Christology) center on the belief that Jesus is the Messiah whose coming was promised in the Old Testament and that he was resurrected after his crucifixion. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is God incarnate, who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God. Nontrinitarian Christians profess various other interpretations regarding his divinity (see below). Other Christian beliefs include Jesus' Virgin Birth, performance of miracles, fulfillment of biblical prophecy, ascension into Heaven, and future Second Coming.


Copied from Wikipedia.


 
So your assumption is that anything a Christian believes in is true? I guess we don't need religion, then, because people already know everything they need to.
 
Well it depends on what you would call 'evil'. Humans have free-will we all have minds, we have oppinions on what's good and evil. Some like to look out for them selves others are generous and like to help eachother. I don't think we should generalise just because a select few tried to deny the Holocaust.
 
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