2006-09-20 07:46:01 · 26 answers · asked by Wait a Minute 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
false...
2006-09-20 07:48:05 · answer #1 · answered by 57chevy 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
That's absolutely right! Good and evil need a judge of some kind around to percieve them. I've been racking my brains trying to come up with a reasonable example....but that's it...there has to be a judge.
I read down the answers and noticed that the naysayers are missing the point....Of course Good and evil are real...but that is just because we are real and we can judge. We have real minds, right?
If there was a Third World War ending in a nuclear holocaust that wiped out everyone ....whether it was evil or not would be a moot point.
2006-09-20 15:09:50 · answer #2 · answered by eantaelor 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is something we perceive in our minds, but we also try and categorize it and point it out in our selves and in others. Some things are negative and destructive, we find it evil, some things are positive and creative, we find it good. BUT, for some reason we need destructive and negative things too. Why? That's a whole different question. The problem arises when we think anything negative that happens to us is evil. When someone makes you angry in an unfamiliar way "they are evil", when something goes wrong in your life, it is because of "evil".
Is it really?
Or was it because of your own doing and it finally caught up with you?
I know that i have made some really stupid errors in my life, and i have to deal with it everyday.
Every person I've met in my life had both "destructive" (evil) and "creative" (good) characteristics. The people that claim to be good and try make it their duty to "fight" evil, more than often, become the most destructive (evil) people on earth. Anyway, to answer your question, Yes, evil exists inside our minds, but here is something to think about:
"What we think affects the entire universe."
So merely thinking destructively, actually causes destruction.
2006-09-20 15:01:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why Does God Permit Evil?
God permits evil because it provides a lasting and valuable lesson to His children.
Evil - That which produces unhappiness; anything which either directly or remotely causes suffering of any kind (Webster’s dictionary)
*Primary cause of evil -> Sin
Principals & Free Will
Right Principal: The principal which is beneficial and productive of ultimate order, harmony, and happiness (Good)
You will find the right principals from reading your bible, listening to spiritual leaders who are true shepherds for the Lord, and those who are already on the walk.
Wrong Principal: Productive of discord, unhappiness, and destruction (Evil)
You will be taught wrong principals by those who live by the world’s standards, which are contradictory to the bible.
*Your conscience, or moral sense, is the faculty of discerning between right and wrong principals
Once you are taught right from wrong, then your daily choices become a matter of free will to commit sin or not.
Free Will: The power and choice to love and do right, as well as, to hate and do wrong. We are born into sin because of Adam and Eve, and we will sin from time to time, but how much and how often comes from our own choice to follow the Lord or follow the devil.
The more you study the Word and pray and walk on that Narrow Road (Matthew Chapter 7), the less your desire to sin will become.
God could force you to follow Him, but that is not what he wants. He wants you to make a choice to come to Him of your own free will. We decide what we want to do, be it right or wrong and in doing so we decide if we want to live or die.
God deserves intelligent and willing obedience, rather than ignorant, mechanical service from his children.
Life is a favor, a gift of God, and it will be continued everlastingly only to the obedient.
2006-09-20 15:20:03 · answer #4 · answered by â¤??? ?å???? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many people seem to regard evil is a 'thing'... something that has some form of corporeal existence in the physical universe. In that sense, evil does NOT exist.
Evil 'exists' only as an abstract concept... one that is 'dualistic' in nature. 'Evil' cannot 'exist' without 'good'. They are the two sides of the same coin, in the Yin/Yang sense. One cannot 'exist' without the other; neither can be defined or described except in terms of the other.
Good/evil is further abstracted in the sense that it represents a 'judgement'... not a 'thing'. As a judgement, good/evil is wholly subjective, since it relies entirely upon the 'criteria' that is employed in making the judgement.
So, the real issue is not good/evil per se... rather it is the criteria that people use in making their judgements of good/evil.
Since we are pretty much all wired the same, and share pretty much the same cultural values in a larger sense, we usually find ourselves on common ground when we judge questions such as "Was Hitler evil?", since we can agree on the criteria. However, we should realize that if Hitler had been asked the question "Are you evil?", he most certainly would have been thoroughly offended by the very idea. According to HIS criteria, he would have seen his actions as good, for his people and for 'The Fatherland'.
When we get down to subtler questions, where someone's 'criteria' might depend upon interpretation of a particular bible verse, for example, these kinds of judgements can get a little stickier.
Remember, though... it's not really about good/evil, it's really about criteria... which ultimately comes down to one's moral compass.
2006-09-20 14:53:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
False. Good and evil do exist. If your question is leaning more towars the point that good and evil forces exist in our minds i will say that that is true. Spirits, even the greatest of them all is nuter. ie, they are neither good nor bad. the same force that will do good for you is the same force that will do you evil. Also, i do not hold satan responsible for all the 'evil' that is going on in the world simply because i think that we must take resposibility for our own actions and stop always looking for someone to blame.
2006-09-20 14:54:51 · answer #6 · answered by Osun Iya Mi 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I suppose it depends on how you describe them.
I think evil and good are like "luck" -- they don't exist as a force, but there are occurences and acts than can be clearly described as good or evil.
2006-09-20 15:07:10 · answer #7 · answered by rorgg 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since 'good' and 'evil' are concepts, ideas, words used to define our feelings about actions that take place in life, of course they only exist in our minds. If they existed objectively, everyone would agree on what things were 'good' or 'evil', and yet everyone does NOT agree. Thus, they are subjective ideas.
2006-09-20 14:51:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
No. They are so real.
Was 9/11 not real? How can that have been good? That was true evil (I lived in DC, trust me that was evil). Real panic on the faces of kids at my school Senior Year that didn't know whether or not their parents that worked at the Pentagon were dead or alive. Not knowing where that PA plane was headed...the Capital? The White House? The National Monument? That was true evil. (note that I am not blaming a religion for that, merely the people who comitted those acts, and claim that it was in the name of Religion). The Holocaust was pure evil as well.
True goodness is in the form of a child being born. Taking its first steps. First word. First day of school. First date. Graduation. True goodness is a grandparent spoiling their grandchild. A birthday party. Something as simple as making a child smile. Getting that promotion you worked hard for. Meeting the man/woman of your dreams. Things that give you that "life is truly amazing" feeling. This is goodness in its purest form.
It's true that everyone may have different definitions for good and evil, however they are polar opposite forces that are present in everyone's life. Plus, how would we know good from evil and evil from good were it not for their existance?
2006-09-20 14:54:51 · answer #9 · answered by GLSigma3 6 · 1⤊ 4⤋
good and evil are man made perceptions of the world.
humans need to categorize all things, as a way of understanding. this is our basic instinct to separate into good and evil.
yes, they are non-existent. they are adjectives. were personify them into others' actions and thoughts, thus making them appear as nouns, as a way to segment who and what we want to side with and who we need to alienate.
it is a primal need and one we should learn to better understand.
excellent question, you did "good." true.
2006-09-20 16:28:54 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
So if I choose to put a bullet through your head and convince myself that it's not evil, then it all becomes okay.
Standards of right and wrong come from some where and they couldn't possibly come from a bunch of human beings who can never agree on anything right? So they must have been decided somewhere else long before we came along.
2006-09-20 14:52:11 · answer #11 · answered by jp 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋