are we born good or evil... or somewhere in between?

Answer 1

Let's put it this way:
A person sins because they are a sinner...

They are not a "sinner" because they sin.

We are all born with that "fallen human nature"...that is prone to sin. Surely, if you have been around young children...you have noticed this...?

...as soon as they are physically capable of "disobeying", they will disobey!
...as soon as they are able to speak, they will lie! ("I didn't do it!")
...if they are able to "get away with anything", they will try!
...give them but an inch, and they'll go a foot!


;)

...and we *adults*, are not much different!

;)

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We are born sinners...

"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies." -Psalm 58:3

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." -Psalm 51:5

"What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous? -Job 15:14
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That is why it is said, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

...so that "every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God." (Romans 3:19)

We ALL need the free gift of eternal salvation offered by God (because of His grace) through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ!

...even the youngest of us!

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God bless!
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Answer 2

We are born knowing the difference between good and evil and with that knowledge comes the responsibility to choose between them. Thus, we aren't good or evil when we are born, we choose to become good or evil throughout our lives. I'd even go so far as to suggest that we are all born with a desire to be good and that, from birth, we are all conditioned by our own experiences to choose evil in various ways.

Answer 3

We are born with original sin, so we have the capacity to chose either. If we do not receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior then we are doomed to suffer in Hell. Although some faiths do believe in a state of being where small children go because they don't understand their own rebellion against God.

Answer 4

Easy question. We are born sinful, which means evil in the sense that we naturally rebel against God and God's plan. We naturally rebel against what is right and we do wrong.

You never have to teach a baby how to be naughty, be selfish, or lie about who broke the vase. That comes naturally.

Answer 5

God created all things good, even human nature. However, human nature was weakened by original sin, so we suffer the effects of that, just as we suffer the physical stuff we inherit from our ancestors through genetics.

In Christian thought, original sin is forgiven at baptism and the grace of God perfects our human nature.

Rousseau puts it a little differently at the beginning of his book, The Emile: "God created all things good; man intervenes and makes things evil."

Answer 6

We are all evil with the potential to be good.

The id is the part of the consciousness that seeks pleasure, and that is developed in the mind at the earliest stage, the superego is developed through experience and maturity. The ego is the regulator between the superego and the id so therefore that doesn't come until both are established... therefore we are all inherently evil.

Answer 7

we werent born evil but we were born into sin at birth the sins are laid on the parents until the age of accountability,babies arent evil

Answer 8

Have you been eating that fruit again? Good is not possible without evil and vice-versa. Spirit is neither of the opposites yet it observes the dualistic mind and all it's chaotic insanity. Go beyond the opposites and BE FREE!

Answer 9

I think we're born evil and have to learn to be good. I've seen some rotten kids.

Answer 10

Evil.