Is man innately good?

Question

Can we find a verse of this in the bible?

Answer 1

I believe so. It's just that people and situation makes them bad and that too because they are weak.

Answer 2

Man is innately good. The whole sin thing is a result of ignorance and error thinking. Man is innately good because the bible says man was made in God's image. This means we are of the essence of God as a drop in the ocean has the essence of the ocean. God is good and so are we.

Answer 3

It depends on whether you are talking about supralapsarian or infralapsarian humanity. God created humans to be innately good. However, since the Fall, infralapsarian humans are inclined to do what is bad (Genesis 8:21). But I would not say that humans are wholly evil. For while nothing good dwells in sinful flesh (based on Romans 7:14-15-23), Scripture still refers to humans existing in God's image (James 3:9).

Answer 4

I doubt you'll find support for man's innate goodness in the bible. Find some other mythology if that be your aim.

Meanwhile, I believe in man's innate goodness.

Answer 5

No. We are the Earth's parasite. We infest every area we enter until we've used up all resources and can no longer survive there. Unfortunately for us, we've now infested the whole planet, and there's nowhere to go when we've consumed everything it can provide. It is our individual actions that are bringing about our society's demise through global warming, but we're all too selfish to make changes in our lifestyles.

If Global warming doesn't decimate our population, it will be because we've used weapons of mass destruction to do the job first. Most likely, that would be because of the religious wars we fight. Wars to force other people to believe as we do! Note to right-wing wackos: I'm not just talking about Americans. The word 'we' means all people, and yes, muslim extremists are people too. Of course, it also means you! Forcing prayer into public schools isn't much different from requiring people to face Mecca five times a day.

Answer 6

By my reading, the Biblical view does not support the idea that man is innately good. Rather, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)

Several passages in Romans jump to mind as well, but time does not permit.

Answer 7

I think that man is innately good. Not really a biblical person but I can't find this any other way. NPR radio had someone on the other day who was an antropologist that was talking about how he thinks that man is born with morals. You should check out npr radio's website.

http://www.npr.org/

Answer 8

Man, as in the human race, not "men" in general are innately good, it just takes a few bad apples to ruin the good.

Answer 9

In a human sense yes. In a cosmic sense there is no way to determine such. The same goes for alligators, apes, cockroaches and republicans.

We are hardwired through evolution to a certain moral benchmark. It was evolutionanary advantageous to cooperate socially and act in a semi altruistic fashion. Because we are hardwired for such, we shall both tend to view such as being good and to also live up to it.

Answer 10

Man was originally created good, but ever since the fall of Adam and Eve we have the spirit of original sin to deal with, so our hearts are set on evil.

Look at little kids and how they interact with each other. One moment they are more than willing to share, than the next they realize the power they exert by holding onto the toy.

Answer 11

We, as a society, decide and define what is considered "good." In a vacuum, humans have no qualities. We are neither good nor bad...we just ARE.

Biblical evidence for this is moot. For one thing, you can find biblical evidence for EVERYTHING. For another, since humans created the bible, anything in it reverts to my first point...that we created and define good and evil.