Do you Believe in Evil?

Question

Do you believe in the concept of evil? Please state whether you do, elaborate a bit, and define what evil means to you?


*I was a little surprised in some conversations that I've had... that many do not believe in evil. Curious as to what folks here think?

Answer 1

When I was raped, I saw what evil looks like. It's a look that you never forget.... ever.

Evil is robbing someone of their power and then going on with your life while they fight to get their power back.

Answer 2

well I believe in Evil. I know some don't b/c if they say they believe in Evil then there stating that they also got to believe in God as well and they don't want to do that. I seen Evil in many forms. First our own Evil nature. Just turn the news on, killing, murders, rapes, etc. But there is also a different kind of Evil. A poor Evil that no human can ever produce. This Evil many just call the devil, but its a form of Evil that hates God so much that it will do anything to try to kill God.

On side note. For those who do not believe in Evil do you believe in love? Like Evil its hard to show prof of, that same way love can't be figure out. Its not math and can't never put this in a glass bottle and examine it.

Answer 3

I do believe in evil, as a human construct to define personal ideas and behaviors that harm, destroy, or devastate human life.

Evil is never easy to define, but I think that stealing, rape, murder are the most obvious and accepted forms of evil. More recently, we've adopted racism, totalitarian government, and the eugenics movement as evils that harm because they restrict intellectual and reproductive freedom. .

But evil is subject to change with our values and culture, at least a little bit. Having sex outside of marriage was once considered evil in certain parts of the western world. A woman using birth control used to be unconscionable in the early United States. The concept of evil has also been redefined by modern philosophy and the recognition of the individual and self-governance. Now it's no longer the heretic who is evil, but the government that tries to silence him.

In the consideration of evil, I try to remember my values and to get a rational perspective for why I think some ideas, actions, and behaviors are evil. I do so with caution, and keep this quote in mind:

"The truth is rarely pure, and never simple." -Oscar Wilde

I hope that this helps! :-)

Answer 4

Evil is real and will be so until after the last day of the tribulation. Satan was thrown out of heaven for trying to overthrow God. When Adam and Eve were created Satan tempted them with the fruit from the tree of knowledge. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they had sinned against God. Since then all of us are born with sin and until we ask God to Forgive us we continue in sin. The more a person is into sin the deeper they go into evil. There is hope for all of us. Evil has its opposite and that is "Good" God is Good, accepting Christ as your Savior and repenting your sins is the end of evil for each of us. We will be faced by Satan and his ilk because we are on ther winning team but as long as we have God we are Stronger than Evil.

Answer 5

I believe in an absolute Evil. Evil is anything that causes a person to go away from God.

Many people believe that Good, and Bad... therefore Good and Evil are relative to each individual... until it effects them directly. If someone were killing a baby, you could get away with, "Oh, its someone else's sense of good and evil." If that same someone is murdering your baby, there is an absolute good and evil, and it is being tested.

Answer 6

Evil is no more than demonic influence, and all that results from it. People are killing their children, abusing their parents, involved in the occult, and in bondage to perversions and other deviant behaviors. The greatest trick of Satan, is deceiving many into believing "his thoughts" are their own.

Satan is not all powerful...but many underestimate him!!!

This is why certain people are responsible for ungodly evil acts, and later find themselves confused as to why they would do such a thing, or leave friends and neighbors shocked that they would be capable of such ugliness. Like many people, I once thought all the talk of demonic influence was irrational.

At the risk of sounding over the top in this modern 21st century....Evil is very real...and it's name is Satan. People are blinded by our high tech and technologically advanced society, and have thrown Satan into the category of fairy tales and myths. They are completely oblivious to his ancient tools of manipulation, which is why he deceives many.

Blessings, Miji

Answer 7

Definitely...Evil is real in this world...because satan is in this world as the Prince of the Power of the air.....

Romans 5....Because of one man - Adam - sin and death came into this world.

The very FACT that God sent His Son to die as a sacrifice in the place of mankind is the PROOF that EVIL is absolutely real...and if you have lived in this world long enough, you will have seen it for yourself and maybe even have been a victim
of someone else's evil, not just sin in and of itself, but absolute
EVIL.....and, of course, the most recent being 9/11 here in the U.S. and ALL other SENSELESS acts of terrorism that have been carried out against INNOCENT people who have no part
in their (terrorists') religion or politics......When adults sexually molestst, rape, and even MURDER children to satisfy their sick "needs" for sexual satisfaction,,,,That is PURE EVIL!!!!!
....And while ALL of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there are some things that go so far beyond human comprehension,....especially the Holocaust and 9/11..Nobody
can ever TRULY begin to comprehend such evil and depravity
happening, but there is no denying that it DID happen and it goes on happening....as long as there are people who go out of their way to give themselves over to doing the bidding of satan -- and they don't have to be satanists either.,....Look at the serial killers...manson and the like....and the rampage kill-ers who take innocent lives at schools or in the workplace.....

Yes....the secular progressives/humanists, et al....do not like to admit to the reality of absolute good and evil because they do not want to come to terms with the reality that they WILL stand before Almighty God one day and give account, regard-less of how many fairy-tales -- like evoloution - that they keep telling themselves....They would want to believe that man is an
animal and therefore NOT responsible for their own sins and that society shouldn't have any say about moral standards and
personal behavior, but they will soon find out how totally wrong
they really are....and then it could be too late for them,,,, =(

Answer 8

Yes I believe that "evil" walks the earth . Evil is a way of life and a state of mind. Satan walks among us in different shapes and forms. Look at all of the tragedies in the world. The murder , rapes, child abuse , abortion , ect .
There is a lot of evil in the world. People these days mock GOD , like the jews mocked him. There was evil then and there is definatly evil now. Satan is among us , and slowly we are allowing him control.

Answer 9

There is no "evil" or "good," only harmful or helpful.

Evil is always defined by those who are either "victims" or identify more strongly with the "victim." This is therefore a subjective judgment. Since it is subjective, it means other interpretations are equally valid, and that evil does not exist without the subjective interpretation. The same applies for good.

To take this into account, using the term "harmful" allows you to identify the ways something is harmful rather than giving it an objective label as "evil." The same applies to "helpful."

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 10

Ooooooooooh yes, I most certainly do believe in evil. Defining it is a bit difficult. On one hand, I could say that it is the force that is the polar opposite to God's love, but that's almost too religious an answer. (Yes, the theologian thinks things can be too religious.)

I think it is better for me to say that evil is that force that does nothing but destroy, nothing but cause harm, that is incapable of love or creation.

Answer 11

Yes I believe there is evil, a satan that makes us do evil things that we actually don't wanna do. and that is also the answer to why we feel guilty after having done something evil, mean or wrong.