or do you think we are bad at heart and have to try to become better?
For believers the question can be phrased like this....Do you think we are born sinless or do you think we are born with a sinful nature that we have to overcome?
So basically ...Is man naturally good or bad?
2006-12-02 06:19:34 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
an old Cherokee Legend says that each of us have two wolves inside us one represents good the other represents evil. the one that wins the most is the one fed the most.
2006-12-02 06:24:19 · answer #1 · answered by Marvin R 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I think some people are born with a good nature, and some people are born with a bad nature. I was born with a good nature, I just can't stand to see bad things happen to people - and it isn't something that I've learned, I remember being like this at a very young age. I have seen kids though that just seem to, by nature, want to hurt other kids.
2006-12-02 06:32:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's typical to try to judge . But man is simply an animal with instincts . We have only in the lat 2000 yrs or so become embodied in laws and rules . The last 100 years as been major advancements in our race and culture . So it is only understood that we have not evolved to be as civilized as we think . By all natural rights we are still very primitive in the way we think and justify our actions . So no I do not believe we are bad .
2006-12-02 06:26:50 · answer #3 · answered by Bobbo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Each human being is marked by his/her genetic code. In some cases, that code can predispose someone to a more aberrant lifestyle. Is this necessarily "bad"? That is a cultural judgment. Most human beings are both within a very similar genetic pattern. They are "good" in the sense that they have no inborn mental conditions that are definitive. Instead, they are shaped by their environments. They are made "good" or "bad" in many ways. But ultimately, it is that mysterious inner sense we call the self, which transcends even our genetic matrix, to synthesize raw talent, experience, and values into a whole person. This person may override all predictions and become either amazingly good or bad, wise or ignorant, saintly or monstrous. We are not just pre-programmed. We can shape our own destiny by the choices we make.
2006-12-02 06:26:42 · answer #4 · answered by Isis 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I believe as human we have an intrinsic goodness with which we were born.
But we are born with the ability to freely make choices and those choices can have either positive or negative results.
Our common experience tells us that there is no evil in an infant and yet as the infant grows we see varying degrees selfishness. The hows and whys of this tends to be the stomping ground of theologians, psychologists, behaviorists, anthropologists, etc..
2006-12-02 06:45:08 · answer #5 · answered by davidscottwoodruff 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A sin is based on the individual to determine that something is wrong. People are born neither. By nature people do what is beneficial to their survival. Later growing up we realize that being good to others can be beneficiary. It is by choice to be bad or good. But, bad is dependent on that individuals ethics.
In other words you have to have a knowledge of something being wrong ethically or more important on a society stand point to be bad. People at birth do not have that kind of experience or knowledge.
People are not born programed (instinctual maybe). It is all dependent on their personality and perception of what good and bad is to them. What's right or wrong is different and circumstantial in peoples eyes.
2006-12-02 06:48:35 · answer #6 · answered by obscure 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think man is neither naturally good nor bad. I think man is naturally selfish. I think, in a natural state, self-interest drives people to do what they do. This is not always bad. Self-interest drives the survival of the species. Enlightened self-interest doubly so.
2006-12-02 06:27:44 · answer #7 · answered by KO 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is like with many different animals, who have the same behavior patterns as homosapiens. If you see a violent dog, the dog was not born that way, he has suffered through things to make him that way. While some people are born with personality traits that make them more likely to assume certain behavior patterns, they need bad experiences to make these genes come into bad actions. People are not born bad.
2006-12-02 06:25:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Bible teaches us that we were born with a sinful nature and in order to go to heaven we have to accept Christ. After salvation we still are not sinless.
So to answer your question.........man is naturally bad.
2006-12-02 06:23:47 · answer #9 · answered by Tenn Gal 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I think people are born neutral in nature and can be swayed either way. There are somethings that are imprinted genetically, like trying to avoid pain so I guess that could be the basis for some form of morality in people. But other than that people can be swayed either way, it all depends on their upbringing and experiences in the world.
2006-12-02 06:23:08 · answer #10 · answered by Sui Generis 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No question. Man has to overcome baser instincts to live in society today. At the heart, the core of all men is murder. Getting what we want...domination, wealth, place, position, anything. We must fight the instincts to do the greater evil, often selecting a lesser evil, to obtain what is coveted
2006-12-02 06:23:51 · answer #11 · answered by TCFKAYM 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋