Born Evil?

Question

The bible teaches that... the "flesh is weak" that "natural man" is evil... that we are basically born into sin and that the "will" of the flesh is evil?

does anyone seriously BUY that?
and why, why, why...?

What a horrible thing to believe in....let alone to teach your children....

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there are people out there who do believe that. And I agree, it's a terrible thing to teach a kid.

The concept of another person dying for you might fill some people with joy, but I fail to see how telling a child that they are responsible for an innocent man being humiliated, tortured, and killed, is beneficial. Not only is the child responsible, she is directly responsible: Christ died for her sins. It is her fault that a man was brutally murdered. The guilt inspired from this is immense: since it is her fault, she must "make up for it" somehow -- by being Christian, by accepting that Jesus was God, by being a good person, by going to church every Sunday. After all, it was her fault he was killed, so the very least she could do is accept him as ruling her life.


The subjects of "being saved" and "original sin" also tie in here. The doctrine of original sin basically states that we are all born imperfect -- that we are by nature dirty and sick creatures, who are incapable of being "good" in our natural state. Our best-laid plans will go to waste, and all our good intentions will turn to rot and dust. In essence, you are telling a child that they are born worthless. There is, however, a way for the child to 'redeem' herself and become something 'good' -- by accepting the additional guilt that Jesus was mutilated and killed because she is only human, because she (like all humans) has strengths and weaknesses, good points and bad points. But instead of accepting this -- that humans are naturally both good and bad -- it is emphasized that all humans are bad and will never amount to anything unless they have an innocent man suffer for them. This, too, I cannot see as anything but psychologically and emotionally damaging.

Answer 2

A child is not born evil!
I will try to convey the reasons.

There is something in this world called Karma.
Karma simply means (Work).
There are two distinctive forms of Karma:
1. Inherited Karma and that Karma that was brought with the child into the world (lessons that must be worked on and accomplished).
2. Karma that the child accumulates through the child's early and mid life.

It is in the child's hands along with guidance through the ones
that care for the child, to work off old Karma and also try not to accumulate additional Karma. It is the burdening of Karma that creates so much difficulty in ones life.

This Karma can be burned up if one knows the correct procedure to accomplish it. Doing this is what creates great faith and contentment in ones life!

Evil is a quality that is developed through misunderstanding
and lack of love in ones life..........

Temper all children with Love and make sure that all children bear good fruit in their lives!

Answer 3

Children don't need to be taught that they can be "bad". It comes natural and they know it. Think back in your own life. I am positive you can think of something. We all can. Now that we have established we all have some type of bad behavior and are in sin as a result of it, you now need to teach them how to get out of it.

Do you want to know?

By the way it doesn't matter whether you buy that or not. Pride and selfishness is as plain as the nose on your face. We're born with these you know. You don't even need to believe in God to see it.

Answer 4

First, it is something we do not teach our children. And really, all you need to do is watch children to see that they are not born little angels. There is a sin nature that comes to the surface pretty quickly. Remember, we are talking about the word "sin" which means "miss the mark" ie imperfect. To say a child is born perfect means you have a loose definition of perfection.

And really, If you wish to ask a serious question, do not lace it with comments such as "does anyone seriously BUY that?" or "What a horrible thing to believe in." If you wish us to answer, don't condemn us in advance as if you don't even care about the answer.

Answer 5

yes. have you ever watched a child be selfish, say "mine" push or kick or bite someone else? misbehave? disobeye a parent or other authorite figure? lie? cheat? steal? if you have said yes to any of these, then their is the inhearant evil. if you said no to all of these, then you must not have been around kids for any period of time. that doesn't mean that we love them or even do those things ourselve as adults, but it does point to the fact that the flesh is weak, and that man is evil as a whole.

Answer 6

This is just common sense.
Choosing the world with it's pleasures will end in destruction. (2 Peter 3:10)
Joshua, a servant of God, challenged the children of Israel, "Choose you this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). He said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
All comes down to whom you serve. And if you do not think that the heart of man is desperately wicked.
Read what Christ teaches in Matthew 15:19 and Mark 7:21.
It all comes down to your heart.

BTW Schneb above is right about children. 100%

Answer 7

Plenty of people buy it, even if many of them don't think they do and may indeed not even be Christian. The notion is indeed pervasive in our culture. Just look at the idea of the Freudian unconscious.

And why do people believe in it? Because to live in a society you HAVE TO surpress some of your desires. It's not hard to believe that something inside you is fighting society's attempts to make you a good person. It's an oversimplification, but it's easy to believe.

Answer 8

It is to teach man to have strength to overcome the sin that you are born with.

Answer 9

Irrespective of "believer " nonsense, there is that type of evil in the world. You forget inveterate psychopaths.

Answer 10

You are correct. We are born innocent. It is only after we learn how to do bad things we start going downhill. Babies & children are good. Become like one.