Good is when you think of others as well as your self. Evil is when your only thought is self at the expense of others.
I think that's a pretty good definition. The Japanese would agree with you too.
Good and Evil
by reigninhell 18 Replies latest jw friends
-
ianao
-
reigninhell
Expatbrit, you'd be right there. Maybe I've read one too many conspiricy theories, but doesn't it occur to anyone else that its a little strange that Jehovah chose a person on the same level as Nimrod to change Christs basic message (forget the details, the Gospels have been altered too many times to be accurate...) from one of love, acceptance, individuality and very few rules , to your average hate group?
All hail Paulianity!!
Jelly, Good and Evil are purely subjective terms. A cat is "good" when it slaughters a mouse. An Islam thinks sending children across battlefields is "good". Is the woman who kills a rapist good? What about an abusive husband who she has had death threats from? The line blurs swiftly.
As an example of the immaturity of Black and White thinking, look at the two extremes Life and Death (both have a distinct bearing on our personal views of Good and Evil).
Life exists via Death. All that lives dies. Take Death away, and Life doesn't work. The fiction of animals ceaseing to kill each other in the "Paradise" is an example of this.
Lets consider just one species, flies. Lets say one fly can produce a thousand larvae (it's way higher, but it'll do for starters) per day.
Currently only a few survive, the rest are eaten by birds and other predators. Remove that factor, and lets see what happens:Day 1 - 1000,000,000,000 flies after Armageddon remain.
Day 2 - 1000,000,000,000,000 flies
Day 3 - 1000,000,000,000,000,000 flies.
This continues. By day four, from just this one species alone, the entire planet would be clogged, and all vegetation eaten. The "Evil" of death is what makes life "Good".
"Evil" also gives rise to "Good" via giving an opportunity for people to act in a "Good" fashion. Without starving children, homeless, you name it, people wouldn't be able to advance themselves positivly. And if there were total peace, someone would get greedy, and try and take charge. "Good" giving birth to "Evil".
Psychologicaly, every person is an equal measure Good and Evil. We choose to do good out of fear generally, although a few do "Good" for its own sake, as a nice way to live.
Very few Christian religions can comprehend this truth. Do some research into ancient Judaiical philosopy, the old rabbis taught this same thing (although giving slightly more weight to "Good" of course." Christian has lost all that.
And Logical, I could write myself a letter of good standing. Doesn't mean it's true. Look at God's actions throughout the Bible, He's a moral idiot, hypocritical and full of double standards.
God didn't create Man in his image, Man created God in his image.
"Father is the words on the lips of every child for God,
Since our Fathers failed, what does that tell you about God?"Reign In Hell
-
ozziepost
Sorry, logical, this time I can't agree with your comment on Jesus' words "no-one is good, except the Father."
Your comment is actually a JW response.
When Jesus uttered those words, he was not saying that he was not good. He was forcing the man to recognise that his only hope was in total reliance on God, who alone can give eternal life.
As ianao pointed out, if Jesus was not good, how come he was sinless?
In the words of the Mitsubishi ad: "Please consider"
Ozzie
-
ozziepost
Postscript to my post above:
Please note that others in the Bible are spoken of as "good".
For example: 1 Peter 2:18 refers to some slave ownres as being "good".
Ozzie
-
TheHighPriest
Good and evil, One can not exist without the other is my view.
I mean how can you appreciate Good if you don't know what evil is?
Infact there would be no good without evil, no God without satan etc.
We need both sides to a story to be able to fully appreciate it.THP
-
ozziepost
That reminds me of the story of the man bashing his head against the wall, and when asked why he did it, replied "Because it feels so good when I stop"!
Ozzie
-
mommy
Reign,
You have gone high above my terms of "good" and "evil" bringing in animals on this. It is kinda like bringing the weather in on this discussion. Are you speaking of good and evil in terms of men or the whole structure of positive and negative? In the terms of men I feel they are all good but have the ability or choice to be bad.
One thing I have never been able to comprehend myself, is the thoughts of man. Who puts the "evil" thoughts in man? I know personally I will see something on the news or even on a movie, that to me is despicably evil. These thoughts have never entered my head, but they have in other men. So where do these thoughts come from?
wendy -
unclebruce
G'day Rein In Hell,
Define good and evil? That isn't easy, though I too enjoyed expatbrits concise answer and the other responses including yours. We indeed creat God/s in our image (an undeniable universal truth) This is an area I am yet to explore but I'd say 'good' is most often in the eye of the beholder, 'evil' is a bit more complicated but both are by-products of natures strategies for creation (intricately woven into our most basic biological fabric*) The problem becomes more complicated when we consider humans in groups and cultures. Most often united societal life lessens incidents of crime and 'evil' but, given the right circumstances, our most violent aggressive instincts burst out with horrendous results.
Thanks for the interesting topic.
unclebruce.
*The Lucifer Principle by Howard bloom
-
ianao
Good vs. Evil is a concept derived from a brain capable of abstract thought. i.e. a 'thinking instinct'. (IMO)
Take a look at the Genesis account at the beginning. It goes to great lengths to attempt to explain this situation. i.e. "forbidden fruit" and knowledge of good and evil.