Is Man Innately Good or Bad?

[Science Friction]

This is a question that I ponder at least once a week.

 

Are we born with a sinful(evil) nature and only become good through rejection of our ugly ways , repentance, and aligning our inner self with all that is Good(God, if you want to call it) Or is our nature that of goodness(God, if you prefer) but we become bad as we lose sight of who we really are and begin to align ourselves with that which is Bad? We see people that are clearly very, very bad human beings. On the other hand, we see those that emanate an energy of pure goodness.

 

In short, is Man innately Good or Bad?

[Jumper_Dad]

I think Good, if man wasn't innately good then IMO the history of man would be vastly different. Imagine if all mankind was like the worst 1% of mankind throughout history.

[lawildcat]

I think it all boils down to who or what your influences are.

[InItToWinIt]

I think it is difficult to generalize about the whole human race. But I'll take a stab.

 

I'd say humans are initially innately good people and good natured. However, during developmental years, our natures can change and that is directly influenced by the environment in which one is raised in, IMO. I think that a bad environment can cause our naturally good nature to diminish to different degrees or even disappear in some cases ("Bad environment" to be raised in is pretty subjective).

[Science Friction]

I think Good, if man wasn't innately good then IMO the history of man would be vastly different. Imagine if all mankind was like the worst 1% of mankind throughout history.

 

 

Then again the history of mankind isn't yet complete. If Mankind ultimately destroys itself then some might say it was Man just reverting back his own corrupt nature. Although I have gone back and forth on this over the years, I tend to agree with you. I believe Man is innately good from the start but loses sight of who he/she is . We lose our perfect alignment with who we really are(God, Love, Pure Goodness) and chaos and negativity ensues.

[InItToWinIt]

Then again the history of mankind isn't yet complete. If Mankind ultimately destroys itself then some might say it was Man just reverting back his own corrupt nature. Although I have gone back and forth on this over the years, I tend to agree with you. I believe Man is innately good from the start but loses sight of who he/she is .

 

 

To the bolded: That's deep. I love that kind of thought and could read the bolded over and over and be amazed each time.

 

We lose our perfect alignment with who we really are(God, Love, Pure Goodness) and chaos and negativity ensues.

 

Science Friction, maybe something is wrong with my eyes but am I reading the above quote from you correctly? Love it. Great post.

[Science Friction]

To the bolded: That's deep. I love that kind of thought and could read the bolded over and over and be amazed each time.

 

 

 

Science Friction, maybe something is wrong with my eyes but am I reading the above quote from you correctly? Love it. Great post.

 

Thank you. Yes, you read correctly. I'm very complicated. lol Remember, my beef is with religion, not spirituality. I LOVE , LOVE , LOVE to ponder and philosophize about life, love , God, and the universe . Religion's perversions of those concepts are bothersome to me.

[rockmom]

Innately, man is born good. You cannot be around babies without realizing that. Now, I do feel there are babies born that, for whatever reason, are missing something and are "bad" despite the best efforts of those who love them. But these are the exceptions that prove the rule.

[B-Ball-fan]

We are born neither, then through programming and stimulus our behavior emerges. What predominantly proves to be our steady diet of influence will usually determine the outcome. We are not completely at the mercy of outside forces as our own mind too is stimulus that will accept or reject outside stimulus, also playing a role in our development. In general though constant outside influence, good or bad, will make a huge impact.

[kypride]

Theologically man is born bad and with free will. That is why we need salvation and the whole universe is set up like it is.

Original sin is the doctrine which holds that human nature has been morally and ethically corrupted due to the disobedience of mankind's first parents to the revealed will of God. In the Bible, the first human transgression of God's command is described as the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden resulting in what theology calls the Fall of mankind. The doctrine of original sin holds that every person born into the world is tainted by the Fall such that all of humanity is ethically debilitated, and people are powerless to rehabilitate themselves, unless rescued by God.

". . . all men, born according to nature, are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without confidence towards God and with concupiscence, and that this original disease or flaw is truly a sin, bringing condemnation and also eternal death to those who are not reborn through baptism and the Holy Spirit" (Article II). - Augsburg Confession of Faith (1530)

[Science Friction]

Theologically man is born bad and with free will. That is why we need salvation and the whole universe is set up like it is.

Original sin is the doctrine which holds that human nature has been morally and ethically corrupted due to the disobedience of mankind's first parents to the revealed will of God. In the Bible, the first human transgression of God's command is described as the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden resulting in what theology calls the Fall of mankind. The doctrine of original sin holds that every person born into the world is tainted by the Fall such that all of humanity is ethically debilitated, and people are powerless to rehabilitate themselves, unless rescued by God.

". . . all men, born according to nature, are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without confidence towards God and with concupiscence, and that this original disease or flaw is truly a sin, bringing condemnation and also eternal death to those who are not reborn through baptism and the Holy Spirit" (Article II). - Augsburg Confession of Faith (1530)

 

 

Totally reject this notion.

 

Man is innately good, in my opinion.

 

The notion that Man is born with a corrupt evil nature and yet he is made in the image of a perfect and good God is one of the many fallacies and contradictions in Christianity.

 

I say tell children that they are GOOD GOOD GOOD. You are born good and you strive to remain aligned with your good nature. To tell a child from early on that he/she is bad and that his/her natural state is BAD creates feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth. And then to say the only way to pull your terrible self out of the doldrums and be a worthwhile human being is to be forgiven by an invisible, supernatural being is ludicrous.

 

Man is born Good and loses his way. His true nature is Good and he can return to that Goodness.

[kypride]

I'm sure you do big guy. For someone who ponders it every week you sure do have it all figured out don't you?

[Getslow]

Big surprise I'm sure, but I subscribe to the Catholic vision for human nature: while man has earthly desires that are sometimes contrary to reason and goodness, man's innate nature is inherently good because it is still a nature created by God and in his own image. We are capable of using free will to act against reason and goodness, but we are not compelled to do so by our nature.

[Getslow]

Or is our nature that of goodness(God, if you prefer) but we become bad as we lose sight of who we really are and begin to align ourselves with that which is Bad?

 

If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Thomas Merton was talking.

[spindoc]

Big surprise I'm sure, but I subscribe to the Catholic vision for human nature: while man has earthly desires that are sometimes contrary to reason and goodness, man's innate nature is inherently good because it is still a nature created by God and in his own image. We are capable of using free will to act against reason and goodness, but we are not compelled to do so by our nature.

This accompanied with the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Been there since the garden and the apple. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.