What the word "evil" means to me, and why I believe evil (as I use the term) does not exist.

[Kathie Slief Turner]

Jaidyn Taylor writes:

I believe that evil does exist in this world simply because good exists. One cannot exist without the other.

I disagree. There is plenty of good in this world, which you do not deny, but to say one cannot exist without the other is, I believe, a false premise. Opposites abound, but that doesn't mean one "side" can't exist without the other. You are, of course, entitled to your belief. When I read it I had a visceral reaction and felt I needed to comment.

[Christopher Sublett]

Do we live in a perfect society? No, we do not. Do we live in a perfect world. No, we do not based on the viewpoints of mankind or most humans. Is the holy creator, God, perfect. Yes, our divine creator most certainly embodies perfection in every aspect imaginable. Therefore, I do believe that all of his creation on Earth and within the Universe is no mistake for its purpose and God makes no mistakes, regardless of the opposite opinions of man thinking we do not live in a perfect world.

The picture or image above represents God's natural order for life and the way humans should follow his commandments and laws on a "perfect" Earth that our Lord created, in the beginning of darkness, to shine light on the "balance" of nature and life for an abundance of prosperity in our physical body form as well as our spiritual form (eternal soul) into the afterlife.

God knows all, sees all, hears all, understands all, and controls all on this Earth, in Heaven, and in the Universe. For example, the control is reflected in the pulling of the strings on Adam and Eve with one hand if God's law is obeyed and the serpent or snake on the opposite hand if disobedience occurs. In addition, God's wisdom, understanding, and knowledge is depicted by the Tree of Knowledge (Tree of Life) that hides God to us as being invisible as he watches over our Earthly actions, whether good or evil.

God loves man so much, that unconditionally our Lord allowed for man to have freedom of will to make choices to honor, praise, and worship his laws as a way to prove our love and faith in God.
Looking at the worried and troubled faces in the image, those good or evil choices will be very difficult and hard for some to keep favor with God. Everything is purposely created for a reason by God, which mistakes are never made on his part, but mistakes in choices by man is consistent.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Hi, mrlefty0706,

Thank you for your reply.

I agree with you Eckhart/Scott, God did not do a bad job. God created a perfect world but human beings are not perfect so there is good and evil because we have free choice.

That seems to be a contradiction. Human beings are part of the world. What you are saying seems to contradict in the same way as it would contradict to say, 'the apple tree is perfect, but the apples are imperfect and bad.'

If there is a god, and if a world with humans is imperfect and should be different, then god created an imperfect world that should be different than it is, which means god did a bad job.

If one says the apple tree should exist but the apples should not (even though they do and are part of the apple tree), then one is both contradicting oneself and not resolving the issue of should-not-have-ness existing.

I usually tend to be agnostic about whether a God exists or not, but I do firmly 100% confidently believe that, if should-not-have-ness exists, then god absolutely definitely does not exist. The reason is called "the problem of evil".

To me, it is undeniably logical that, if should-not-have-ness exists, then there must be no all-powerful god.

However, I do not believe should-not-have-ness exists (i.e. I think nothing should/ought be different than it is).


With love,
Eckhart Aurelius Hughes

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Having read Scott's description, I like thinking about bad behavior without so much judgment. After all, if I were born one of these individuals, I would be committing murder. I believe these people are molded by a combination of genetics and environment. So in that respect, are they bad or just a victim of their birth into their family, inheriting genes that made them prone to violence or even born a psychopath?

[...]

I agree with Scott. Unchangeable reality can't be evil. I'm reminded of the serenity prayer; God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.



Brilliant discussion on evil!

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments!

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Do we live in a perfect world. No, we do not

In this case, I ask you to post a reply in my topic, Do you agree with everything in the book, "In It Together"? If not, what is the first sentence with which you disagree?

Very early on, the book gets into the idea of the logical perfection of the world through the principle of fully and unconditionally accepting what you cannot control. So I imagine your first disagreement must be very early on if you think reality as a timeless whole is not perfect (i.e. that god, if he exists, did a bad job by creating a world that should be different than it unchangeably is).


With love,
Eckhart Aurelius Hughes

[Ruka N]

Evil, definitely has a different meaning to me than what you described it to be. I have never looked at it in the perspective you gave, it was interesting to read a different idea surrounding it's meaning.

[Amanda Brouillette Gladden]

This is an interesting take on "evil". With that being said, how do you think organisms - the rabid dog - or enemies - the hurricane - come into existence with intent? For example, do you think the dog is a black tablet that r teach or it learns through its surroundings like a wolf? Do you think the storm is created as way for earth to destroy and rebuild?

With those thoughts, what is your take on the way humans come into existence? Are they tabula rasa ~ John Locke. Are they born self-serving just taught to be good through laws and prior morales ~ Hobbes? Or, are we born good and corrupted by societal influence ~ Rousseau? When you ask these questions, do all creations deserve unconditional love, or does evil hold a different meaning?

I have never heard or thought of evil in the way you described. However, it rings a lot of truth. I do think there's more to the concept of evil than love though.

[Bertha Jackson]

I agree with parts of what you say. For example, people should be forgiven for their sins. However, I have to wonder if someone like a serial killer or someone who decides to drive drunk and kills someone if they really had a choice. The drunk driver, yes, he chose to drive drunk, but does a serial killer choose to do his, or is it something within their DNA? If that is the case, do they make a conscious choice, or is it an impulse they have no control of?

[Hyfr Zack]

I believe that everyone defines evil differently. Even if I don't entirely concur, some of what you mentioned was accurate. In my opinion, evil does exist and is manifested in a variety of modern vices.

[Chinenye Sus]

Evil is a term that can mean so much to many people basesd on their perspectives. I agree with most of what you said about evil, but like I said it all depends on perspective. My cultural, religious, and even academic background steadily influences my view on evil and that is so with many others.

[Catherine Radford]

An interesting take, sadly I do believe there are evil people out there and also people who do evil acts.

[Hy Be]

I liked your point of view on the term "evil". I use evil for often while coming across the unsolicited acts done by some people in my life. As above ,fellow members have already wrote how certain people use powerless people for their own benefits.

[RJ Reviews]

Based on your explanation, I agree that evil doesn't exist. I think that most of the time, we use the term either lightly to emphasize the severity of a situation or intentionally to vilify someone/something. When used lightly, it simply doesn't reflect on the speaker's viewpoint and is just a vocabulary choice. But when used with the intention to vilify someone, this bears severe consequences. It is easily in today's world to brand someone as "evil" while completely disregarding the fact that no one is born bad. It is like a powerful weapon when used with the intention to hurt. And this is why I see the importance of spreading the message your wrote that clarify why evil doesn't exist.