What is right, what is wrong? What is good, what is bad?

I have always been asking what is right, what is wrong, am I a good person?

I think that this is best answered by breaking "right" and "wrong" and "good" and "bad" down into more specific usages that might shed some light on the issue.

"Right" and "Wrong" could be considered:
*What is healthy or unhealthy
*What is traditionally acceptable
*What is culturally acceptable

I prefer the first one. I don't like conforming, whether it be to a religion or to a cultural climate change. Most of my worrying comes from "Am I a good person?" asked from the cultural perspective.

Am I a bad person because I game?
Am I a bad person because I am this way?
Am I a bad person because I am that way?

Take it away ATS.

reply to post by darkbake

I have always been asking what is right, what is wrong, am I a good person?

When I speak to Father, and I ask him, did I do that wrong, etc. He always says, it is neither right nor wrong, just is.

reply to post by darkbake


I would say it comes down to what is within ones heart...

IF one knows love... its almost painful to go against what feels loving...

Though if one knows Hate... which is actually a form of fear... what one believes is right and wrong, good and bad is altered drastically with each new experience

I look at it this way...

Selfishness = wrong, bad in most cases

Selflessness = Right! Good in all cases

reply to post by darkbake


Every word of the Bible is a commentary on one thing.

The will of God is to give and receive only.

The will of the thief is to take.

Between the two wills, we can then see that true faith in God requires giving. I'm not talking about money. I am speaking of how we make choices. It is entirely centered around suffering. The point of life is to suffer on purpose rather than as a result. Here is the analogy I use.

If you smoke, you get cancer. This is because you took something that created a debt. All thievery requires a debt to be paid. Taking reward is always easy. Flip this and you get the point of what I am saying. Suffer in a gym and your health improves. Suffer work and you receive a paycheck. Suffer giving away what you earn and it returns to you as an investment. Give to your family and the reward you earned is theirs. This is the point of life. Suffer every step on purpose and you life will reflect the gift you earn. All gifts must then be given forward for the benefit of others.

Think of all examples you can muster and you will see that taking causes debt and suffering. Giving requires what is given to be earned (Suffering) and will always end in reward for you and those who benefit from the gift you earn.

No law can be broken if you give and receive only. Therefore, no evil can take place that is caused by you. When the Bible says not to take the Lord's name in vain, it is simply saying that to take the name, you must also take the character. The character of Christ was suffering forward for others and then giving what is earned away. Every loving mother and father does this for their children every day.

reply to post by jhill76


I agree with this, but what if who you are doesn't align with who you are acting as? That is more specifically what I am addressing, it seems like this might cause issues if they misaligned too much.

Still, no matter what, you are learning from your experiences. I like to think of life as learning how to get along with others and find yourself, one life of many.

This sounds like a spiritual perspective.

It all really depends on your relative position in space and time.

For instance, if you were an Aztec some several hundreds years ago, it would be a good and proper just and right thing to pay some sort of approving homage to bloody human sacrifices where hearts were ripped still beating from the chests of live victims.

Were you a New Guinea or New Zealand Maori head-hunter/cannibal when that culture was fashionably chopping people's heads and feasting on the flesh of their enemies, well, you'd be bursting with pride, joy, and happiness, completely in the know that you were doing the right, proper, and justified thing to chop the heads of your enemies and eat their flesh.

If you were in a position as an Inquisitor for The Church during the famous Inquisitions, then you'd be doing to right and proper justified thing in using any and all means necessary through brutal and inventive torture to force a confession from people accused of consorting with the dark forces of Evil. Evil is sneaky you know, and you can't be gentle with Evil. Has to be forced to truth with fire, burning pokers shoved into sensitive orifices, broken bones, and other methods.
It's all entirely justified, proper and the right thing to do because you'd be working for The Church, the side of holiness, virtue, and all things good and just.
Throw another witch on the fire!

Terms like "Good" and "Evil" can switch places depending on your perspective in Space and Time.

Still, there are some relatively interesting arguments proposed in Classical Philosophy where if you're interested, you can take any course out of many offered out of 550 FREE Online Courses from Top Universities.

reply to post by EnochWasRight


That answers a lot of questions, thanks for the well-written advice.It is this ability to access the void and do work that gives us things to trade. I think this version falls into the practical category, or "healthy vs. unhealthy"

reply to post by Druscilla


I completely agree that "good" and "evil" can be cultural phenomena, and you described this beautifully. But is there not a higher good and evil? What if I objected to the inquisition? What if the inquisitors caused a karmic reaction against their clan in later years?

It seems rather totalitarian to have to conform completely in order to be considered a good person. I'm sure there are other choices that must be made outside of even the most totalitarian cultural boundaries, what then?

In addition, what if different cultures are attempting to learn what is healthy or unhealthy for society through experience? What if cultures themselves are aiming for something higher?

Beliefs in badness evoke badness in you. Therefore, love and respect unconditionally and you and everything else will become perfect unto yourself. Others' opinions can reveal things about you that you were too afraid to see. For instance, if you believe you are good and others are not, you are lying to yourself. Look for how people are affected by you. If you are hurting them, you are also hurting yourself. It is a good idea to listen to others and learn about yourself through them. But always make your own decisions about any changes you will make. Ask yourself if the change will bring you to be more loving or more hateful.

Love that which is unloving because you can only help those who are listening anyway. Love is for your sake.

In addition to my last reply:

Simply believing something is true doesn't make it true. Some people believe having a superior status is good. This is a delusion. You can't be good, even if you feel good, if you believe that everyone else isn't. What matters to your well being more than what you think of yourself is what you think of others. So if your opinions of the world exclude you from it, that is bad. Badness exists when you say it does but you're only harming yourself.

You determine how you experience reality, but you determine nothing if you exclude yourself or others from your determination. If you want to experience perfection, ALL must be seen as perfect.

Originally posted by jhill76
reply to post by darkbake

 

I have always been asking what is right, what is wrong, am I a good person?

When I speak to Father, and I ask him, did I do that wrong, etc. He always says, it is neither right nor wrong, just is.

Who is this father you speak of? There is right and wrong in everything. Is it right to eat? Yes is it right to over eat no it is wrong so something right can become something wrong if done in a wrong or hurtfull way.

The golden rule is invoked here.

This world is all about relationships. Can you take what you are dishing out and still be happy?

It's not complicated from where I'm standing.

reply to post by darkbake


You are not right or wrong. Right nor wrong on yourself. Life evolves on itself and it can get quite exiting getting it all back. To say it the way it's right which is also comforting: you have always been RIGHT. See you again.

reply to post by guitarplayer

Who is this father you speak of? There is right and wrong in everything. Is it right to eat? Yes is it right to over eat no it is wrong so something right can become something wrong if done in a wrong or hurtfull way.

I am speaking of the one you call God. Man puts the weight on right and wrong.

My questions to him, and his responses will vary if you asked him the same question.