Do Christians believe we are created with inherent morality, inborn knowledge?

Question

And how do they explain feral children? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child )

Answer 1

No, Scripture says all men are born into sin....and the only source of good is God Himself.

Answer 2

Boy, that's a tough one. Obviously more than could be discussed in this forum.

Would the feral child have a knowledge of right and wrong? Has that question been asked? The article that you point to indicates only about 100 known cases. The fact that a feral child wouldn't know language or social skills would make it difficult to ascertain. Would they kill with no regret? Would they steal? I can certainly imagine stealing, but have a harder time imagining murder.

I don't think it's morality that is ingrained, but God does converse through us with the Holy Spirit. Some may call this conscience. With me, the Holy Spirit talks though language. In other words, I 'hear' things in English. How would a child who knows no language manage this? I'm certain it is within the power of God to make even a feral child understand.

Answer 3

No Christians do not believe in those things. Certainly not in inherent morality. Christians believe that we are all far predisposed to evil and need first Christ's Salvation and second good moral teaching from others. As for inborn knowledge, there is no such thing both from a religious and scientific standpoint. Knowledge is something gleened and imparted from countless sources throughout ones life. As for feral children, see my above comments.

Answer 4

Scripture tells us that we are created in the image and likeness of God Himself. This does not mean that we necessarily "look" like Him physically but it's more we have the ability to reason and to understand logic. Something which the animal kingdom is without.

Feral children are created just like everyone else. There is no difference other then human associations. If kept alone they will instinctively develop reasoning and logic on their own in due time.

Answer 5

I don't believe that.

The age of reason is seven. Before that, children are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong in the same way that an older child or adult can. Instead, they think of consequences, or of what will benefit them.

Morality and ethics must be taught.

Answer 6

Thanks to Adam, we are all born with the knowledge of good and evil. As long as we have the oppotunity to choose sin, we will. I don't mean we we always choose sin, but we will inevitably choose sin. On the other hand, we know what good is, we know what morals are, but sin is very persuasive.

Answer 7

If we can learn, our minds are capable of evolution.

We learn our morals from our teachers.

We learn our knowledge from our teachers as well.

Answer 8

No, I do not believe we are born with complete knowing how to behave in all situations. If a baby is born and is totally neglected of emotional nurturing, they have shown, that even if you give that baby clothes, food and shelter, but shut off all other comfort from showing no emotion or talking to them, the baby can die.

A human brain needs to be stimulated, or the areas that are naturally there will be blocked off and will not develop or grow as they should. It is also a coping mechanism. Many abused children can become almost deaf/mute.

A baby brought up with animals, will imitate them, whether it's wolves or whatever else, as they will tend to imitate that which they are automatically in contact with from the word go and they will never be the same normally after that.

A child's mind need to be nurtured, so they are able to develop to their full potential as God intended. But if it is neglected, then those areas may never be properly developed.

Just as someone can be mentally retarded, someone can be emotionally retarded also. Things can shut off if they are not being used.

You stick anybody in room and stop them from stimulating their mind, that person can go insane, or become almost dead and start hitting their head against the wall. A human being simply cannot cope, unless their mind is being somehow stimulated.

That is why they used to shut people in a dark room with nothing as a form of torture.

However, all humans are still born with a conscience, but again, it has to be allowed to develop properly. I've heard of chdlren being born even in highly absusive situatins, where you would think it impossible for them to turn out ok and be good people. So how is this even possible? Because everybody, still has an instinctive knowledge somehow of evil. Though, they may be given less chance than others.

An animal, thrown in from the word go with human beings, cannot do much more than still be an animal. They can adopt some mannerisms and become almost neurotic, but they are limited and still very much animal. Human beings, unfortunately, being far more suseptible to imitation and developing themselves with whom they are in contact, will tend more to close down, shut off their human potential.

Our brains desperately need the stimulation of other people from the WORD GO, animals do not as much as we do. Animals are very happy being brought up with people, cats and dogs etc. You do this to a human in an animal situation and you'll find a very different set of circumstnances and very damaging, as all human potential can be shut off and blocked from ever blossoming as it was meant to do from day one.

You bring up a dog from the word go with people and that dog will do nothing but bark and act like a dog. You bring a newborn baby up with a pack of wolves from the word go, with NO human contact, and that baby will develop itself around the wolves culture to fit in and that baby will also have the ability to pick up almost the exact sounds of a wolf. As the incredible language ability in child outdoes an adult. A child can learn umpteen different languages at once, adults cannot. They have to study each one slowly. Chidlren pick htem up naturally, but this ability stops at about age 13 and they do not know why!

So you bring a baby up with an animals, and the human brain, being so much more intricate and advanced, will pick up that way of life and language. Adam and Eve were created fully human and fully adult with everything already instilled within them. They then passed this down to their offspring and so forth. What happens if you get a couple of parents who decide to totally neglect bring their child up as they were, and the child will be underdeveloped and fail to reach their full human potential.

Which shows that much behaviour is learned and a human should only ever be brought up with a human. Animals are fine in our company, humans need humans from day one. Once they have developed properly to their potential, then they are fine to live a life on their own (or with an animal).

No matter how much an evolutionist will say we are evolving and becoming more advanced, you place any baby in the care of an animal from day one and no matter how "advanced" as a race we are, that baby will cease to develop it's full human potential, and still imitate that which he/she is surrounded with, shows that humans will always need humans.

But as I do not believe in the evolution theory, I simply see that a baby's mind is in need of human contact from the very start and the spiritual awakening then goes from there. If a child is denied both intellectal and spiritual nourishment, they will fail to develop as God had intended, even if they still retain a conscience somehow, all of these things have to be developed in order to be put to use by the person, so they then can use their mind and begin later to make their own decisions and apply them to the live around them.

Answer 9

well first of al good words haha

but ummm everyone is born knowing what wrong, but as for those childern they too know whats right and wrong,