is human nature good or evil?

Question

this is for school so i would really appreciate serious answers. please don't answer something inbetween because i need one or the other, i'm trying to figure out what the general public thinks and you guys are the best i've got ;)

Answer 1

Without Christ, this is God's assessment of human nature:

"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
Romans 3:9-20

That is why Jesus said "you MUST be born again!" (John 3:7)

then:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
II Corinthians 5:17

Answer 2

Neither. Good and evil are completely subjective and human concepts. What one person considers "good" others will not. The same can be said of "evil". I have no doubt that many religious people will disagree and start quoting their Bibles, Qu'rans, etc. However, a cursory look into these books reveals my point entirely. What was once considered acceptable and good is longer thought of in such a manner. Think about the stories of death and destruction in the Bible, and ask yourself if such slaughter in generally considered "good" by today's standards. Then, simply recall what you have most likely learned about the Salem Witch Trials. Would these be sanctioned today? Of course not. As you move through the ages, or even across cultures, you will see that the notions of "good" and "evil" will change dramatically. These terms exist only in the mind, and no consensus can ever be reached. Good luck with your studies.

Answer 3

Human nature is "corrupted" by sinful desires. People can do good things and people can do bad things. We were created in God's image but we have fallen from that perfect standard when sin entered into this world so that even the best person thinks evil thoughts, acts selfishly, treats others in an manner devoid of love. On the other hand even the worst person who still has a remnant of the essence of our divine Creator can be moved to perform an act of kindness.

Answer 4

Best resource for the answer is: Read the entire book of Romans in the Bible; It's only 12 short chapters.

Ask yourself this: is it "natural" for people to obey the Ten Commandments? Or, does it take effort and determination?

How else can you answer that? Define "Good". Sometimes, defining Good, requires definining Evil.

Start with the first Commandment: No Other Gods.

Is it natural for people to seek God? Do we naturally honor God? Or do we try to explain God away, ignore God, or make God in our own image?

Is the history basically thousands of years of greatness with a few mistakes along the way? Or, is the history of humanity one filled with war, strife, hatred, envy, theft, murder, bitterness?

If you dropped $5,000 in cash on a busy sidewalk, will everyone help you so the wind won't scatter it? Or, will they snatch the cash and run?

Did the kids in school encourage you and build you up? Or mock you and take every advantage against you? If you made a mistake, did they laugh at you? Or did they try to make you look foolish, so they looked smart?

Answer 5

we have both the predisposition to be both good and evil, and such is dominated by the self-perceived reward of being either good or evil. everyone is capable of both, but honestly there are those who tend to go one way or the other.

so what i guess i am saying is that human nature is neither good nor evil yet at the same time is good or evil.

HOWEVER it depends on your standpoint. good and evil are definitions created based upon some moral standpoint, and morality varies greatly. if you really seek an answer, take a stand and define your reference (religion, common law, anarchy, etc).

THEN you must analyze humanity's desire to conform or rebel against certain standpoints, maybe identifying certain key issues revealing certain human dispositions.

BUT in the end, it is entirely an opinion. to me human nature just is, and we cannot be entirely good nor evil.

Answer 6

Alright, I'll help you with your homework, young lady.

First, when you speak of Human Nature, it is important that one understands it. Our nature is the same as any other animal on this planet, for human nature is nothing but the animal instincts that we have in our psychic. With this in mind, it is important to note that our nature is neither good nor bad, it is what it is, instinct.
However, we have the capability to go beyond our animal instincts by understanding the fundamental concepts of both good and evil.
An animal that kills for food is not evil, neither is the man that hunts to feed his family. An animal that is protecting it's young is not good, it is simply doing what is ingrained in it to do. The same came be said for a person that protects her/his child or home from somebody that wants to take it away from them.
Now, in the world of animals, this is known as survival of the fittest, yet, for humans it is wrong because we can go beyond our instinct of survival of the fittest, and know that all people have a right to their home, and nobody has the right to take it away, especially by force. That is wrong.
So, as I said, human nature is neither good nor bad, only instinctive. However, a human can be evil if he/she is willing to look at life as survival of the fittest, and will kill. hurt, maim, or steal from his/her fellow man.

Answer 7

I agree that Gods nature is good, but I also think that Human nature is intended to be good to. No one thinks they are evil. The only people that think they are evil are in comic books. Muslim terrorist believe that they are doing the right thing. They believe that Americans are evil and we don't think that we are evil.

So human nature is good at least in their intent. It of course doesn't always work out.

There will always be jokers though but for most sane people no harm is intended.

Answer 8

"Good" and "evil" are just societal concepts, anyway. If this were a different year, one might think women's rights were "evil". Think of slavery; everything is relative.

You're looking for an answer of one or the other, though, so I'll attempt it. I think humans are ultimately selfish, even when doing "good" for others. A parent cares for its child not because a parent is "good", but because said parent wants to protect its genes. Therefore, if selfishness is "evil", then we are ultimately evil.

Again, though, I don't personally believe in such polarizations.

Answer 9

In my opinion. Evil. Many would like to believe the contrary but history says otherwise. Our nature is greed, ambition, lust for power. Look to the past and all, if not most, societies have sought to dominate others.... just like today. We mask these instincts with our reasons for doing so but its just our nature at work.

Answer 10

It is evil. Starting with babies. They want everything to themselves and do not want to share. Also how many good qualities in people do you hear each day. There is only good when someone who has learned a lesson teaches the right way.