The Problem of Evil

[bballad]

RC...you seem to be getting stuck on the image of god being a benevolent father figure...a human imposed concept...to create god in our image...

Are you Deist (as your naem would sugest) or knostic???


we still have to look at the whole evil issue...where are your examples of evil in a nonrelitive stance???

[ShagDevil]

This very thread shows exactly why 'evil' will never have an absolute value.

If humans didn't exist, I think 'evil' would cease to exist. As well as 'good', 'right', 'wrong' and every other human construct that has no intrinsic value in the universe. Again, this is my opinion.

But, if fear from spiritual punishment adds an additional layer of order to man-made laws, so be it. I don't see that as detrimental to society (this obviously discludes extremists).

[RoadClosed]

There is a theory floating around that evil is more a play of influential external factors than an internal entity. Case point the dude who conducted the experiment where students were chosen based on their relative healthy mental state and then thrust into two group, guards and prisoners. We learned this in grade school. So the guards armed with complete control over the prisoners became absolute evil bastards when 2 weeks ago they were "good" and healthy. This dude wrote a book on evil and how to prevent it. So in essence we are all evil, if given the "opportunity". Which does ring home in history. Case points: the Nazi party, Bosnia, treatment of humans in some Islamic states with absolute control, China in the past, Abu Garib, etc.

The book? The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

[vanman]

Well i just have to add something to this whole issue because my wife and i had a talk about this kind of thing and she is a Christian through and through and the only thing she told me was that she does not want to stand at the gates of heaven and wonder where i am or my children..so??that alone got me thinking and made me take a good look at my life again..

[RoadClosed]

While you are at the gates I'll be on Alpha Setti Three.

[ShagDevil]

So in essence we are all evil, if given the "opportunity"

Maybe.
Or maybe that's what we are. animals. But because we have the ability to reason, we assume we're not supposed to act violent anymore? I think we have innate animalistic behaviors that can't be reasoned with. I don't think it's 'evil', just part of what we are.