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JokerThe1st
reply to post by Krazysh0t
wow hold up, remove the word 'sin' from my answer and read it again, i used this word as in a biblical sense it translates as 'making a mistake' Christians and the bible in many cases have twisted its meaning in literal terms.
look a bit deeper before attacking the words i may decide to use
So what is evil? If Jesus rides down and starts smiting people left and right, what marks someone as evil? Would they have to be killers? Usurers? Racists? Slavers? Drug users? People who use swear words? Sure all of these things are bad, some more so than others, but these people aren't one dimensional. Sure someone could have killed someone else, but what if it was in self-defense, what about the rest of the person's actions throughout their life? If this person killed someone but spends the rest of their life donating to charity or helping their community? What about a drug dealer who uses his profits to build community centers or things like that.
Another issue I have is mental illness. Sociopaths (anti-social disorder) and psychopathy are now considered mental disorders, but these are two disorders that can cause people to do things that many consider evil. Same thing with schizophrenia. So are people with mental disorders that cannot help doing these things evil as well?
Krazysh0t
reply to post by Thought Provoker
But every human needs a certain amount of selfishness to survive.
What about Princess Diana? Is she evil? She was definitely wealthy, but she also used that wealth to spread goodwill throughout her lifetime. It seems like being rich is a poor judge of evil.
reply to post by AfterInfinity
And what are all the sins? Is this like one of those contracts where there's more strings and drawbacks and conditions than there are benefits?
ketsuko
What is evil ... I think that evil, true evil, is pretty rare.
1 John 5:19..... We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
reply to post by Krazysh0t
So according to you and your definition of evil, Mother Teresa is currently burning in hell despite all the goodwill she performed during her lifetime?
Mt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
If evil is the act of sinning, then please list all the sins then. Is drug use a sin? Drug dealing? Slavery? Racism? You may notice that all the things I just mentioned are acts considered wrong in modern society, but aren't specifically mentioned in the bible as sins. So if they aren't sins, is someone who does these things not evil?
Also not believing in God is considered a sin, yet the majority of the population of the world isn't Christian. Is an atheist who dedicates his whole life to helping his fellow man a sinner because he doesn't believe in God and therefore evil?
Rapha
reply to post by Krazysh0t
So according to you and your definition of evil, Mother Teresa is currently burning in hell despite all the goodwill she performed during her lifetime?
If she had no faith in Jesus Christ (which i believe impossible) then yes, she is currently in Sheol (hell) awaiting Judgement Day.
Mt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
As Jesus mentioned, only those who have faith in His name will find the path that will lead their spirit back into Heaven through the pearly gates.
If evil is the act of sinning, then please list all the sins then. Is drug use a sin? Drug dealing? Slavery? Racism? You may notice that all the things I just mentioned are acts considered wrong in modern society, but aren't specifically mentioned in the bible as sins. So if they aren't sins, is someone who does these things not evil?
Also not believing in God is considered a sin, yet the majority of the population of the world isn't Christian. Is an atheist who dedicates his whole life to helping his fellow man a sinner because he doesn't believe in God and therefore evil?
If a cave man got spaced out of his head whilst a natural bush fire rages through a opium poppy field, then that is not a sin.
If naughty cave man then uses some opium to seduce a woman for you know what then that would be classed as a sin.
The elite class hemp as a crime/sin because it shows peasants what evil scumbags they really are. Thats why they ban it.
The atheist will be judged by his deeds on Judgement Day. We all will.
However, his deeds will have to be amazing to be allowed to enter into Heaven.
A believer in Christ already has their name written into the Book of Life, before Judgement Day. Instant Pass.
ketsuko
What is evil ... I think that evil, true evil, is pretty rare.
I think there are a lot of things that are wrong, sinful, unjust, bad, what have you, but that doesn't necessarily qualify them or people who engage in them to be evil.
I think true evil is rare the same way that true righteousness is rare. We can all think of people who do good things who are good people, but how many can you think of who are what you would call "righteous" ... good to the point where you remark on it, take note of it?
Now, if you can think of that one righteous person you hopefully have been lucky enough in your life to know, replace all their good traits with bad ones, hateful ones. And maybe it gives you some idea of what evil might look like in a fellow human being. Or maybe you don't have to because you've been unfortunate enough to actually know that kind of twisted, unfortunate kind of person.
Krazysh0t
reply to post by Rapha
What is the tipping point? How much of these sins do you have to do to become irredeemably evil and destined for hell? I can look at the seven deadly sins (by the way, hate isn't one of them) and seem them in just about anyone I meet.
Also, what about things like racism (promoted in the bible with the whole "God's chosen people thing"), slavery (also in the bible), drug use (they drink wine in the bible), or misogamy (the whole Catholic religion is built around this with original sin and all)? Are they all sins too? If so, what makes them sins? Actually to expand on that since you believe that the seven deadly sins are legitimate sins, who defines what a sin is? How do we know what is and isn't a sin? Some in this thread are saying that they are defined along morality. Well homosexuality is supposedly a sin, but who is that harming? Suicide is supposed to be the ultimate sin, again what is the moral wrongness of this act?
Krazysh0t
ketsuko
What is evil ... I think that evil, true evil, is pretty rare.
I think there are a lot of things that are wrong, sinful, unjust, bad, what have you, but that doesn't necessarily qualify them or people who engage in them to be evil.
I think true evil is rare the same way that true righteousness is rare. We can all think of people who do good things who are good people, but how many can you think of who are what you would call "righteous" ... good to the point where you remark on it, take note of it?
Now, if you can think of that one righteous person you hopefully have been lucky enough in your life to know, replace all their good traits with bad ones, hateful ones. And maybe it gives you some idea of what evil might look like in a fellow human being. Or maybe you don't have to because you've been unfortunate enough to actually know that kind of twisted, unfortunate kind of person.
So combining our discussion from the Jesus thread with this one, how does Jesus know when he rides down to smite all evil who to smite or not? If true evil is exceedingly rare, it seems like the smiting will be limited to very few places. Just like I asked to other posters in this thread, what makes someone irredeemably evil? There has to be a difference between this irredeemable evil and true evil, since if true evil is as rare as you suggest, Jesus would do next to nothing on his return. What is the difference?