Do you believe that people are basically good?

Answer 1

Yes, if we are all made in the image of God we are basically good and moral. I can;t buy the Calvinistic theology of total depravity in human beings if we are made in the image of God.

Edit: for all the bible thumpers that like to address man as being totally depraved and evil by 1 letter written to a specific people in a specific circumstance there is more evidence in the Bible that God thinks man good..... one example from Genesis........
26 Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
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God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
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God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."
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God also said: "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
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and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And so it happened.
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God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

Answer 2

That is the ideal hopeful quality of man. However, since we are given Free Will, it is only natural for man to have two qualities that will decide for his choices in the way he will live his life. Man is equally equipped with capability to know what is good or evil. The choice now between the two will make someone to weigh between which result is to be right or wrong at the moment and how will it affect the future. Somehow, there is a light to see in the phrase "the end justifies the means" and yet its frequent usage will not always be right. People are basically good when good teachings is basically given to them from the start of their life in the same manner as the opposite of it.

Answer 3

Dear Gaila,

The Bible tells us that "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." If you read Romans 3:1-18, you will get the truth about each and every human being on earth. We are born in sin and in rebellion to God. That is why each and every person needs to be born-again.

In Ephesians 2:1 God tells us that until we are saved, we are DEAD in sins and trespasses. Ezekiel 37:1-14 is a parable concerning the "new birth" or becoming saved. Unsaved man is like dry bones-no life. When Christ saves a person, they become alive and their eyes are opened. Their ears are also opened so that they hear the word of God and obey it. That is why the Lord says so many times in the Bible, "If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Finally, and I know this is going to shock you or maybe not. You know how when we see a little baby. And the little child is making faces and moving his/her arms and laughing? Let's see what God says about that baby because God sees the heart. "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are likfe the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear," (Psalms 58:3-4.

This is why we so desperately need a Savior. I hope this will help you.

Answer 4

What we believe does not matter. What DOES matter is what the Bible says, and it clearly answers, No! It says there is none good, no, not one! that's why we need to trust in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. He lived the perfect life that none of us can so that we can have a relationship with God and have eternal life. Our sins have corrupted us, so that none of us are good. Our "good" deeds are nothing without Christ.

Answer 5

Since we evolved as social animals Evolution would dictate that people are basically good as empathy is a very useful trait in our survival.

Answer 6

Yes

Answer 7

Most people are brought up with a good sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Some get fanatical later on in life.

Answer 8

Nope.
Romans 3:10 says "No one is good, not one, no one seeks after God"

Romans 3:23 says "We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

Answer 9

I think basically selfish they have to learn to care for others as themselves.

Answer 10

Yes.