Do We Really NEED Evil?

[Omika]

It's a very childish argument.

We all love the "good is impotent without the contrast of evil" saying, but in reality, the definition of both is completely skewed.  Just see my previous post, really.

God is life, love, and satisfaction.  He encourages these things.  Whether or not this is interpreted as "good" or "evil" by men is completely irrelevant; it is the way things are. 

You might venture so far as to say evil is nothing more as a sickness of the soul brought on by overexposure to cruelty and a detachment from the suffering of human beings.  Evil, as it were, is very much a learned, taught concept.  Human beings are innately good, because we have a survival instinct that exists on a species-wide scale.

The fact is, someday (assuming we survive, which we will) evil may or may not exist in the classic sense.  Why does this make good nonexistent?

Isn't the lack of evil considered a good thing?

~ Blair

[Elizabeth]

This is another one of those issues that boils down to "who's to say?". Who gets to say what is evil and what is good? I am afraid I am not going to be able to go with "social norms". That thinking brought us segregation and slavery. The persecution of the jews. The killing of intellectuals and homosexuals. We are now seeing the banning of gay marriage and firing of transsexuals without cause.

I do not beleive we need evil to offset good. The companion of good is not evil, it's love. If I were god, I would not have invented evil. There would be no child rapists. There would be no murderers. And if god indeed is all powerful, all knowing , all seeing, then god knows the outcome of all events. If god knows the outcome of all events, there can be no freewill. If god does not know the outcome, how could he have created it?

Evil is a term we use to describe our savage behavior as human beings. We do other nice neet things like legal killings of people such as executions and wars. But heaven forbid you kill someone for non political reasons without permission from the government and church. We use it to describe how those who are without will steal when the means to aquire such things are controlled by the elite wealthy, the state and the church who are all holding hands.

Evil was created as a means of control. It's nothing more than a label of something that resists the control of the state, the wealthy, and the church.

NO, we don't need evil.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[Lori]

This god, good, evil thing is so confusing at times. During the "SuperBowl" many players and the coach thank god for their win and without god they would not be there. Yet this same god lets some 6 year old girl step on a land mine in a foriegn country. Is it because that country is Muslim and god is punishing them and the USA is full of Christians so football teams can thank him for their win?

[BeverlyAnn]

Whew!  Let's see.

Islam is evil because they deny that Jesus was anything more than a prophet.

Christianity is evil because they deny that Mohammad was a prophet.

The Viet Cong were evil because they would come into a village and kill the leaders plus their family as a lesson not to cooperate with the American forces.

The running dog, imperialist Americans were evil because they fought against the truth of communism in Viet Nam.

I'm evil to the so called religious right because I'm transgender and do not fit into the niche they think I should.

The so called religious right is evil because I believe they try to force their views on everyone.

Yep, looks like evil depends on where you are standing at the moment.

Bev

[Lori]

Maybe god just likes football 

[Kate]

Evil?

A made-up word to dehumanize others into a label so they can be abused and stepped on to make the abusers feel superior and Righteous and Good.

It's REALLY hard to kill an individual. People have like, ya know, FEELINGS and stuff.

But killing an EVIL-DOER? Easy. Not a person. Just a label. No feelings to respect. No one home to love. You're just hurting an agenda, a symbol. And so what? They're all the same. One is as evil as the other.

People are so often pawns, having sold their souls and self-determination to huge social egregores in exchange for so-called "comfort" and "security"  within the mob mentality. Entities which care *nothing* for them as individuals, as feeling and loving and hurting hearts, and only see them as expendable cannon fodder to spread their rule and dominion.

And I KNOW they're just afraid. Afraid to let go, to venture out into the Great Spiritual Unknown and find their OWN, unique path. I get mad at them and curse and complain and hate myself for it... but I get it. And in the end, it's OK. I guess it's how things are supposed to be. A big school for the soul I 'spose.

'Tis ashame though. People are seriously cool and magical creatures once unplugged.

Kate

[Jessica]

A friend of mine once explained the concept of 'evil' like this.

The more light you have in a room, the less darkness you have in there.
The less light, the more darkness.

The two are absolutely, directly, proportionally related.

The same with good and evil.

I guess what I am trying to say is there is no seperation between them.

Shadow is created by some light with a lot of darkness, is shadow dark or light? it's both.
There are an infinite degrees between 0 and infinity.

Light and Darkness aren't two seperate entities but one is a byproduct of the other.

It's like Good, if you don't have any good at all then it's evil.

I am not even quite sure what I am trying to say now, I am really tired.

The general idea is that they are one thing in a varying amount, not two seperate ideas.

Jessica

[rhonda13000]

Evil is the result of the fall of man. Every one is capable of evil. When I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus, I found the way in which evil can be fought. It isn't about what church, you attend or what religion you are. It is the letting Jesus helps me overcome evil with good. I don't always succeed but I go out and try again. Living the Christian life is about deed and action and not mere talk.

Gennee
A second thought. If there wasn't evil how can God show his way to something better?

Gennee

So in effect, God abstractly employed 'evil' in order to conclusively prove and demonstrate that in reality, He is not evil.

NAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH, I don't think so.

I think that I will get some more milk and cookies!   

[littlegreenfly]

Just to throw my 2 cents in....

I don't think it's a matter of whether or not we "need" evil.  It exists, and in a variety of forms, but its source and its opposite is (I hate it when I have to come back and police my own grammar  ) are what seems to cause many consternation. 

For those who do not believe in a creator/absolute authority, it is a complicated discussion.

Definition from Wikipedia
In religion and ethics, evil refers to the morally objectionable aspects of the behaviour and reasoning of human beings — those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton penchant for destruction. Evil is sometimes defined as the absence of a good which could and should be present; the absence of which is a void in what should be. In most cultures, the word is used to describe acts, thoughts, and ideas which are thought to (either directly or causally) bring about affliction and death — the opposite of goodness, which itself refers to aspects which are life-affirming, peaceful, and constructive.

Perhaps evil is best represented in the human situation in the form of unprovoked hatred against and coupled with an aggressive impulse to cause harm to another person or group (ie. sadism). Such hatred can be aroused from within the individual or group through jealousy, wrong teachings or due to unexplained extra-personal forces.

LGF

[katia]

Evil is bad.

well, since the concepts of good, evil, right and wrong are all independent of a belief in any particular deity, [atheists] can believe in them too.  unfortunately, one of the major stumbling blocks to creating one is [adherence to religion], the [moral codes] of which many people reflexively believe is [better] than the moral code of any other religion. and as you can see in the news and history, there are many people who are willing to fight and die over [their religion]. so given that, i leave the decision up to you.

[KarenLyn]

So - we really NEED evil in order for the existence of good?

Karen

Yup.  That's as far as we can go as a society.  There must need be evil. And Karen, you are the one we can single out today to fill that roll.  You evil person you! Repent!

I'll take my turn tomorrow.  Do you suppose that would satisfy them?

Na, I don't either.

Cindi

While I know that wasn't aimed at me I'll be happy to accept the title of "Evil One". You'll have to wait if you want a demonstration though, I'm on sabbatical.

Karen Lyn