What if man is born good but is corrupted into evil by religion teaching him he was born evil?

Question

I really just want viewpoints on the above, whether you think it's true or not etc.

"If he's born good. Then how can religion turn him evil? "

Through corruption, read the question...

"I don't feel that either "good" or "evil" are very accurate descriptors for human behavior. You should define each of these terms carefully before asking whether people are born with a particular disposition toward one or the other"

So you think that raping children is "morally neutral"? How would you define it?

We make moral judgements all of the time, whether we call them "good" "Bad" or whatever.

You don't escape moral responsibility by saying that "everybody has a good and bad so there is no good and bad".

I noticed you try to confound preferences with morality.

For instance just because you like chocolate ice cream does not make it "morally good".

Morality isn't simply preferences.

Unless you think that whatever whim you currently have is a moral imperative, which I would call the anti-morality.

"a child cries out of selfish desires. no one taught him that, because he was born with a sin nature. we aren't taught to be bad, its second nature "

So such selfish desires as "food", and "sleep", and wanting people we care about to be around, are evil?

Btw, I like how people automatically think this is my opinion and go forth to insult me because of it, nice job ha. Anywho, I'll leave this to a vote.

Answer 1

This is a circular question. Man is born good->becomes evil->religion teaches him he is born evil-> but he is really born good? Now, if good was there before man, where does good come from? And there is no doubt that evil exists, and quite arguably it is always associated with personal beings. But if man didn't create evil (was born good), then where does evil come from?

Perhaps there is a God and he created evil. But that would pose a logical problem in that it would violate the law of non contradiction, which states that something cannot be both true and false at the same time. How could God be both all good and not all good, all evil and not all evil? He wouldn't be very reasonable would he? And if God was evil, how could he create man good?

So let us assume that God is there, is all good, and that he created man in his image. A good God could not create man evil; indeed, by his nature he would have to create him, and anything else he created, good. Interestingly, that is exactly how the Genesis account in the Bible reveals it. In Genesis, we initially see a good man, a good woman and a good God fellow-shipping in a perfect world. But it doesn't stay that way.

The Genesis account further reveals that although man is made in God's image, he is not God, but rather God's creation. It goes on to say that in Eden, when man was offered the lie that he could be as God, knowing good and evil, he believed it, acted on it and thereby corrupted himself, and through inheritance, all of his offspring. We are not born good or bad; we are born in sin.

Getting back to your original question, it can't be true because it is illogical. Adam was created good but he corrupted himself. We, as his offspring, inherit Adam's sin. Perhaps it could be likened to him corrupting his own spiritual DNA through his desires and actions where it would be passed on to to all of his children. James understood this well when he wrote, "All men are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it it is full grown, gives birth to death." And so exists the condition of mankind.

All of this sounds so despairing! If we are all destined for death and eternal damnation, how should we then live? Jesus has the answer to that question. It is probably the most famous passage in the New Testament: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only son." There is much more explanation in the rest of the Gospel of John.

I know this is rather long, but your question was not one to be dealt with flippantly. The God who reveals himself in scripture is not capricious, but he is supremely just and he loves us with an intensity that passes all understanding. Just ask his Son.

Cheers,
RBR

Answer 2

Two people can have very similar experiences, and still make drastically different moral conclusions from them. I'm not familiar with any religion which teaches that people are born evil, but that's a moot point, as I don't feel that either "good" or "evil" are very accurate descriptors for human behavior. You should define each of these terms carefully before asking whether people are born with a particular disposition toward one or the other, and whether certain institutions have a direct influence on this.

Answer 3

What if there was no such thing as good and evil, then came religion that said man was born evil?

Its not corruption, its somebody else playing on guilt and self-doubt to get you to agree with him.

The argument is like the story of the Emperor's new clothes. He tells you that if you cannot see his point, then you are dishonest. The weak would then say he sees it, and he actually fools himself to believing his own lie.

Blessed are the strong, for theirs is the kingdom of the earth!

Edit: Regarding your objection to a man raping a child, that has nothing to do with your question about man being "born" good or "evil" for certainly an infant has no capacity to rape.

As to whether or not child rape is evil, I certainly think you can answer that without a religion as a coach.

Answer 4

Okay well first of all, all men are born of the flesh and the flesh is sin. Second babies have no remorse because they do not understand nor have they experienced yet what it is like to be the one getting up every two hours to feed them. Innocence can be corrupted and soft hearts can be hardened. We are all selfish in one way or another and we all have bad thoughts about people and life in general all the time. Babies are not evil they are Innocent they are born into a bad world and of the flesh but that does not make them evil. I do not tell my nephew who is two when he does something wrong that he is mean i tell him what he did was not nice. You dont try to raise children to be good people by instilling in them they are bad. How do you define a person to be good when they are capable of bad things? Dont the two contradict each other? Either way they both exist. No one is truly good, I think we say someone is a good person when they strive to be good.

Answer 5

First and foremost, what is "good"? What is inherently "good" to the hawk may be inherently "bad" to the field mouse.

A simple analogy, I know. But take into account societal class and hierarchy and you will see that good and evil differ amongst people. Is humility a virtue that is inherently weak, exonerated by the poor so as to turn said weakness into a strength?

A man is born as nothing, neither good nor bad. He is born as a screaming, waddling, ooze-covered lump of flesh and bones. I suggest rephrasing your question.

Answer 6

You just said he was born good. Thus he was born good. You must understand, morality is a human concept. And that's all there is to it, speaking that speculatively speaking, the universe doesn't care, or have a response for us either way. I believe if you understand that, you'll be alright about things.

Answer 7

Religion or not, man is born a perfectionist and the Judgment is negative, the Will is positive. Is man good in his own self consciousness? The Judgment is negative, the Will is positive. Is that good? Is that bad or evil?

Answer 8

Humans are not born good or evil. These are just constructs put on us by the followers of one faith or another. Good and evil are to some extent subjective, depending on our beliefs. Forget religion as a means of directing your life. Go with your conscience. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; to put it in Biblical terms. Not that I'm a Christian.

Answer 9

Romanticism is rather refuted by modern evolutionary biology. Man is born man. He has the good traits well admixed with the bad and both traits are pure at either end of the distribution of all men. Please come into the 21st century, Romanticism needed to die with Rousseau.

Answer 10

Sorry, but mankind is not born good, we are all parasites and self absorbed until we learn from society, not religion that we have to share. Religion only gives us a way to help others if used as it was intended.