Is Man Basically Good or Basically Evil?

As many Fathers did, prefer to see evil as not a thing but the absence of another thing, Goodness. Darkness is not a real thing, it is the relative absence of light. Evil then is the absence of Good and like light/dark it can be a matter of degree. So to me saying we have an inclination to do evil is not so much saying there is either varying amounts two different things in us, but varying degrees of One thing in us. The inclination then is that we are inclined to turn away from good and that the result of that is evil. Rather than seeing as varying amounts of two things within us.It is no different than saying one prefers darkness to light.IOW to be human is a good thing, and we are made with the ability to know what is right and wrong, what is good. But because of the fall we are also born with an inclination such that we do not always choose to turn towards the Light, to do what is good; what we know to be good.BTW the habit, the more we choose to turn away from good, to sin, the less our conscious makes us feel bad about that choice. Eventually we reach a point of not feeling bad at all, in fact the exact opposite. We feel bad about the thought of making or being made to make the opposite choice (good). So in a real sense in our minds, evil becomes good and good becomes evil. We then not only prefer to remain in darkness but strongly resist any notion that we should feel bad about being there. We even adamantly defend being there. Which is one understanding of saying we are "turned" over to our sins.

And this would help us understand Elijah and Enoch (and possibly Moses for some of us) walking straight to Heaven how exactly?

i think it is both, at times different sides outweigh. when you look at life there are many things like that, wind, water it seems like everything has benefits but also draw backs. I dont think it is one way or the other some people appear more evil but think it is an ever changing balance.

Man is basically evil. That's why He dies, for sin brings death. And by evil, that's not necessarily a heinous act. One just has to prevent himself from doing good, or again, maybe the so-called good being done has an ulterior motive of self-glorification or some other type of personal reward. For example, think of a two-faced person who befriends another to get something for themselves.

So is the belief then that a few men are not basically evil?

Sin = Evil.Men are born in sin.So it is easier to do evil than good, because we lie easier than the Truth.(Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23)JagLovest thou in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.

(waynemlj;37916)
Hi DrBubbaLove,Christ's death on the cross did not apply only to the present moment of His death and the future generations of believers.His atonement also applies backward in time to those who were born and died before Christ's Incarnation.Time has no limitations on God; He is eternal NOW!The Bible, in speaking of Abraham, tells us this truth plainly, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." (Rom. 4:3)waynemlj
Agree,but did not ask how God could attone for these men, asked how it is possible if as you said that "none are good" that these men could walk from this life straight into Heaven. BTW Abraham is recorded as dying, the men we were speaking of are singled out as not dying. Was there nothing special at all about Elijah, Enoch or possibly Moses? Why would they get to bypass death?

(waynemlj;37920)
(thesuperjag;37333)
Sin = Evil.Men are born in sin.So it is easier to do evil than good, because we lie easier than the Truth.(Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23)JagLovest thou in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.
Hi thesuperjag,Your first statement is absolutely right.But then you softened that a bit.There is no ability in fallen man to choose good, at all!Matt. 10:17-18, "And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.' "And in Rom. 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."Also read the section in Rom. 3:10-18. There is no doubt from God's word that, in our fallen nature, we cannot choose the good, at all!waynemljIsn't that what I said. I quoted Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23 to prove that. Although I do know Romans 3:10-18 is a direct scriptures of Psalm 14 and Psalm 53.I repeat Sin = Evilas MEN is born of Evil... and here is another scripture. Matthew 19:17 - And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.Mark 10:18 - And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.Luke 18:19 - And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.That is said Three Times. (Reference: Psalm 14:1, Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:1, Psalm 53:3, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23) I don't even know why we're replying to each other when we both agree.JagLovest thou in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.

BODY AND SOUL ARE GOOD Go ahead now and pinch yourself. Are you just matter, just that body? And when that body decays in the ground or is burned up in the crematorium, is there nothing left? I am always struck by people who say that we live on in other’s memories. How many of you remember your grandparents? How many your great-grandparents? Your great-great? Does that mean that since you do not remember them, they no longer live on? Or is there something about us that does endure, what we might call our spirit? If you are with me so far and accept that we have a spirit that endures, what then is the relationship between that spirit and our bodies? This gets to the fourth reason why I am a Christian. Many of the world religions believe that we are a spirit, but a spirit which is trapped in this earthly body. They maintain that this body, this world, this matter is evil and thus is something to shed, to flee from, to get rid of. And the really spiritual person is the one who can escape the needs of this body—and so can do without eating or drinking or singing or having sex or security, etc. Life is a process of shuffling off the scales of flesh that weigh us down. We Christians believe quite the contrary, that this world, this body is a good thing and that our body and our soul are in this together, that they are meant to be in harmony. Now I will agree that oftentimes our bodies want us to do things that are not in agreement with our higher self, with our spirit or soul, but that is because we are free human beings who can sin. Thus sexuality is a good thing, but there are times when we want to rape someone or engage in a sexual orgy or have sex with no commitment. Eating is good, but there are times we want to keep shoving down one more morsel until we get sick. Drinking is fine but sometimes the body wants to get drunk. The world is beautiful but sometimes we want it all for ourselves, for the big ME. Even if this struggle is our experience, which I presume it is yours as well as mine, this does not mean that the body and soul do not belong together. That is why I like Christianity. God made the world good and to show that after we sinned and even though we experience this conflict between our body and our soul, God became one of us to show us that our bodies are meant to be in harmony with our souls. That is why Jesus was raised body and soul in the Resurrection, to show that the material world is supposed to share in the reordering of all things. This incarnation of Jesus, his taking on of our flesh, was the first step in showing us how valuable we are as body and soul. But he could probably have left his body in the grave and just been a pure spirit again and then we would have thought that we too should escape our bodies. But Jesus did not do that. Our flesh was raised up in his flesh and now we know our final destiny. So we have to take care of these bodies and our earth and this world because all of it is of value to God.

Man is basically selfish. This is the nature of sin. It leads us to do things that harm us and those around us.We have the capacity for tremendous good and tremendous evil. The good comes with the bad. God knew this when he gave us free will, but the pay off was worth it. He knows that we will give up our selfish ways only once we understand the nature of good and evil and what selfishness always leads to.God has been with us through good and bad. He does not abandon us just because we do bad. He knows that we can become new people, better that we can do on our own, once we turn back to him. For him the return is worth the wait and the pain along the way.Our God is an awesome God.