The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. Edmund Burke :All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. Hannah Arendt :The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil. Helen Keller :Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings. Plato The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. - Plato
What Is The Root Of All Evil
by Elmer J. Fudd 38 Replies latest jw friends
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blondie
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Corvin
I dunno, it appears that lack of tolerance and close-mindedness would tend to be a secondary action to greed. Most harmful actions are secondary to greed. Greed causes one to lie, close their mind, stop tolerating others and kill and stuff . . . no?
Blondie, I love those quotes. I think you are onto something, and I am wondering what leads one to "exercise" apathy . . .
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frenchbabyface
something wrong.
Eddited to add : anything wrong (finally)
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SixofNine
Computers, distance, and pawnshops are evil.
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frenchbabyface
Sixo. Tell me more ... or show me more
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Thirdson
Roots are the cause of all evil. You transplant a flower and leave some root in the ground, it dies. You pull a weed and leave some root in the ground, it comes back stronger.
3rd (weed hater class)
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Steve Lowry
What exactly is evil? Ho do we define it? Some people feel that a tornado is evil. Sounds kinda silly until maybe you?ve lost a child in one. Yet a tornado has no consciousness to be good or evil. It?s just a thing, which causes destruction and lost lives.
If something is the cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction, then natural disasters qualify for evil.
When it comes to man, then I?d have to say the heart of man is the root of evil (deliberate evil). Man?s core, down on the reptilian level, this is where the potential for pure evil exists. (Greed, lust, envy, religious elitism, the need for power, land, resources, fill in the blank.) When we see film clips of how the Nazi?s committed such inhumane acts towards the Jews (and anyone they deemed subhuman) we are appalled. We say to ourselves , "I could never do such a thing". But that is a lie. We have all the potential do every bit of evil as that of the Nazi?s, and worse. It?s innate in all of us.
If something is the cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction, then man qualifies for evil.
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FMZ
I am going to say pride on this one (i.e. placing yourself above others)... Money / Greed? All you can do is buy things to be proud of, and make people think you are better. Religion? Naah, religion in itself is mostly harmless, but when pride is introduced is when people decide that they are definitely right and you are definitely wrong, and you deserve to die, etc.
The story of the way Satan wanted the Earth for himself (metaphoric or not) was a matter of pride. He wanted the Earth so that he could hold power over it and have Jehovah's worshippers as his. He wanted others to envy him, so he could be proud.
FMZ
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Steve Lowry
Yes, I thought about pride for this thread too, but really, pride like all the other vices is just another tool, if you will. The root of evil is deeper than any of the vices. It?s the very heart of man and how it wants to be satisfied that is at the root of evil, I believe. Man discovers something that brings pleasure and whatever that may be, he wants more and more and more of it until he?s intoxicated with it. And then he wants even more of same. Whether it be lust or greed or pride or power or sex or wealth, etc., what drives all this is the hunger for more. Man?s appetite is insatiable. And if something gets in his way, he?ll destroy it to get more of what he wants.
All the ?sins? we can think of are not at the cause or root. It is not the things we do, it is who we are that produces evil.
(This is just my opinion of course.)