Does Evil Exist?

[blueangel]

Tell me your opinions or beliefs. This is a little tale about such a question.

 

 

The university professor challenged his students with this question.

 

Did God create everything that exists?

A student bravely replied "yes, he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

 

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil

since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who

we are then God is evil".

 

The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite

pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once

more that the Christian faith was a myth.

 

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question

professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up and asked,

"Professor, does cold exist?"

 

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been

cold?"

 

The students snickered at the young man's question.

 

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the

laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absense of heat.

Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits

energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absense of heat; all matter

becomes inert and incapable of reaction a that temperature.

 

Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we

have no heat.

 

The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does".

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist

either. Darkness is in reality the absense of light. Light we can study, but

not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into

many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot

measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness

and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure

the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by

man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

 

Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?"

 

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said.

We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.

It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These

manifestations are nothing else but evil."

 

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does

not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absense of God. It is just like

darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absense of

God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist

just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man

does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes

when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there

is no light."

 

The professor sat down.

 

The young man's name --- Albert Einstein

[metrogirl]

Yeah EVIL exists, and he is sitting in his office pissing me off!!!!

[miracle29]

Evil exist. And even though some of the evils that are done in this world are beyond my understanding...especially people who hurt innocent children, Elderly, Rapist...that type of stuff everytime I hear it just makes me further not understand how a person can be so evil.

 

 

I do also think Evil is played out a lot more in the Media than the good. It used the be the other way around, where people were more shocked at evil than good. Now its reversed and people are shocked when someone does something good. Like the man in NYC who jumped off on top of another man who feel intothe train tracks and stayed on top of him to save his life....That was a shocker.

[BellaDonna]

I think evil exists...it's especially evident every time I watch the news or hear of people doing violent, hurtful, sadistic things.

[shes2smart]

Hi blueangel...I know you are a fan of Neale Donald Walsch...but have you read anything by M. Scott Peck?

 

He has an interesting discussion of evil in "The Road Less Traveled" and wrote an entire book on evil called "People Of The Lie." If you are pondering such things, you might find his books interesting. He also wrote a book about exorcisms, but I cannot recall the title of it right now. It was one of the last books he wrote before his death. You should be able to find all of these easily at the library.

 

At any rate, I liked one of the things he said about evil in "The Road Less Traveled."

 

Evil does exist...but as a force, it is ultimately ineffective. It was evil that raised Christ to the cross thus enabling all the world to see Him.

[Henri]

Evil does indeed exist. Evil is not the consequence of a lack of goodness, it is an active, tangible manifestation.

[HealingHandsWarmHeart]

I do not believe that evil exists..

 

We have a choice .....god gave us free will...so to turn around and say that there is some evil force that "makes" people do things takes away the "responsibility" in our actions,words and thoughts.

[blueangel]

Hi blueangel...I know you are a fan of Neale Donald Walsch...but have you read anything by M. Scott Peck?

 

He has an interesting discussion of evil in "The Road Less Traveled" and wrote an entire book on evil called "People Of The Lie." If you are pondering such things, you might find his books interesting. He also wrote a book about exorcisms, but I cannot recall the title of it right now. It was one of the last books he wrote before his death. You should be able to find all of these easily at the library.

 

At any rate, I liked one of the things he said about evil in "The Road Less Traveled."

 

Evil does exist...but as a force, it is ultimately ineffective. It was evil that raised Christ to the cross thus enabling all the world to see Him.

 

lol I know I refer to Neale Donald Walsh a lot on this site but I guess it's because I'm waiting for someone to counter his beliefs. I am struggling with the whole thing- with who to be and so on. I will certainly check out the book you recommended. You just answered a wish of mine I think. ^_^

 

See I've had demonic seeming things happen to me. Last year I thought my stepmom was hauting me (dead) and had panic attacks because of an antidepressent I was on (wellbutrin). Well with all the calling out to her and screaming of evil, once I was off the pill, that type of "evil" I had perceived went away and you would think that since I acknowledged it so much or called out to it so much when scared or having panic attacks that something would have stayed in my life. Nothing did though, so I wonder.

 

I think evil is all perception. Sometimes evil can serve good by bringing out the good in people. I really ponder what my sig says...how the darkness brings out the light. So maybe it's all perception, that in the end, all things serve good or the evolution of humanity in some way.

 

If life is truly eternal as well, than whatever horrors happen here on earth don't really matter then. So can evil exist in that context?

 

(you know I wish some of you explored a little more with your answers, that it lead you to think on evil things and comment more on evil in general. obviously bad things exist. I want to know what you make of them. Or whatever. answer how you choose)

[ProtestTheHero]

The terms good and evil are completely subjective. For something to be evil, we must compare it against a standard of good.

 

The problem is, who defines what is good and what is evil? Society. Majority opinion.

 

Good and evil do not exist. What DOES exist is what we like and what we don't like...what we approve of and what we disapprove of. We then label these things "good" and "evil."

 

It is very arbitrary, and over time what is good and what is evil will change as the majority changes.

 

As one who does not subscribe to objective morality, no, I don't think evil exists; only ignorance.

 

Ah, and I'll go one step further. No personal God exists (in my opinion).

[HealingHandsWarmHeart]

if you close your eyes ..and picture a sunset over the ocean...or a waterfall... you can see it perfectly clear...right?

 

does that mean that there is a waterfall or a sunset in your mind? If a surgeon came and cut your brain open would he find a sunset or a waterfall? Nope...

 

Its all perception... everything. We control our thoughts, our minds, our feelings, our emotions.

[BellaDonna]

It is very arbitrary, and over time what is good and what is evil will change as the majority changes.

 

As one who does not subscribe to objective morality, no, I don't think evil exists; only ignorance.

 

So out of curiosity:

 

link removed

 

would you contend that such acts are not "evil" ?

[DN]

I am an agnostic so the question of whether God invented evil or not is beside the point to me.

 

But I know evil exists in the same way that I know goodness exists and I know because I have experienced both.

[ProtestTheHero]

Good and evil do not exist. What DOES exist is what we like and what we don't like...what we approve of and what we disapprove of.

 

No, but I think most of us (including myself) disapprove of the action, which is why it's illegal. I don't attach any morality to it.

 

While horrific and tragic, it pales in comparison to what I can find in the Old Testament. I won't link that, though.

[Raphael256]

there is actually no such thing as evil because "evil" is really nothing more than an English word we use to label an action or experience which we perceive in a negative way.

When I say that evil doesn't exist, of course I simply mean that it doesn't exist ontologically. Emotionally speaking, yes, there's no doubt it exist, there's just no "thing" that one can point to and say "that is an evil."

 

Maybe a simpler way to put it would be evil is an adjective, not a noun.

[shes2smart]

lol I know I refer to Neale Donald Walsh a lot on this site but I guess it's because I'm waiting for someone to counter his beliefs. I am struggling with the whole thing- with who to be and so on. I will certainly check out the book you recommended. You just answered a wish of mine I think. ^_^

 

I read a couple of NDW books when I was recovering from neck surgery several years back. Dunno that I agree with all he's written, but there are some things that have really struck home with me. Like f'rinstance:

 

That's the problem with the truth. The truth is relentless. It won't leave you alone. It keeps creeping up on you from every side, showing what's really so. That can be annoying.

 

and

 

There are times when you may have to give up Who You Are in order to be Who You Are. In order to have yourself as a man of peace, you may have to give up the idea of yourself as a man who never goes to war.

 

The same is true in the most individual and the most personal relationships. Life may more than once call upon you to prove Who You Are by demonstrating an aspect of Who You Are Not.

 

See I've had demonic seeming things happen to me. Last year I thought my stepmom was hauting me (dead) and had panic attacks because of an antidepressent I was on (wellbutrin). Well with all the calling out to her and screaming of evil, once I was off the pill, that type of "evil" I had perceived went away and you would think that since I acknowledged it so much or called out to it so much when scared or having panic attacks that something would have stayed in my life. Nothing did though, so I wonder.

 

First off, I am not against psychotropic meds (anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs), but I am a trifle bit leery of them. I have used them in the past to great effect...but I have also used them and wound up with really creepy, vivid nightmares and some other mentally-bizarro side effects. So, I would take into account that you were on such a medication at the time you were having the "demonic" stuff go on. Those kinds of meds are very strong...and it doesn't take a high dosage to mess with your brain chemistry and cause things like very vivid/realistic nightmares or visions/hallucinations and so forth. In addition, there has been growing evidence in the past several years that these meds don't always work the same in the adolescent brain as they do in the adult brain.

 

Some people would chalk your experiences up to being on the wrong medication or the wrong dose of medication. There are also others who might want to suggest that medication (or illegal drugs or meditiation or any number of other things) "lifts the veil" and allows us to see things that our normal, waking, conscious mind doesn't permit us to see.

 

In the end, though, the only thing that matters is how you choose to process and interpret that experience and incorporate it into your life. I completely fault the wrong anti-depressant for giving me those horribly vivid nightmares...I never had them before I took that med, and I haven't had them since I quit that med (and that's been about 20 years ago at this point).

[BellaDonna]

No, but I think most of us (including myself) disapprove of the action, which is why it's illegal. I don't attach any morality to it.

 

 

I guess I have a hard time seeing the REAL distinction between "disapproval" and "morality". It just seems like an arbitrary game of semantics.

 

By defintion:

 

 

 

disapprove 1.to think (something) wrong or reprehensible; censure or condemn in opinion. 2.to withhold approval from; decline to sanction: The Senate disapproved the nominations. –verb (used without object) 3.to have an unfavorable opinion; express disapproval (usually fol. by of).

[HealingHandsWarmHeart]

I guess I have a hard time seeing the REAL distinction between "disapproval" and "morality". It just seems like an arbitrary game of semantics.

 

 

BellaDonna.. the way i see it ..is that back in the day divorce was considered verrry bad, so was sleeping with someone when you weren't married-through the eyes of society ..these were things you would go to "hell" for.

 

Now they are much more accepted so they aren't so "evil" anymore... or "bad".

 

Thats how i view the point he was trying to make.

[ProtestTheHero]

Wrong and immoral are two very different things. It's not semantics.

 

For example in that definition, let's say the senate disapproved of raising taxes. Raising taxes isn't immoral, they just disproved of it.

 

Morality is more than just being literally right or wrong. I don't get into morality.

 

And to the poster above me, thanks for the further clarification, that is indeed another point I was making.

[lunatic]

Emotionally speaking, yes, there's no doubt it exist, there's just no "thing" that one can point to and say "that is an evil."

 

 

Well you never met my ex girlfriend. She was an evil woman!

[BellaDonna]

BellaDonna.. the way i see it ..is that back in the day divorce was considered verrry bad, so was sleeping with someone when you weren't married-through the eyes of society ..these were things you would go to "hell" for.

 

Now they are much more accepted so they aren't so "evil" anymore... or "bad".

 

Thats how i view the point he was trying to make.

 

I understand what you mean- but perhaps in that case "evil" was simply misassigned to the acts you describe. It does not logically follow that evil does not exist at all -simply because people have changed their views on what is "evil".

 

I still believe some things will always remain constant evils- like murdering people and having their body parts in your freezer.

 

Evil need not be viewed in the context of religion or hell to be understood- it is separate. Some religions just offer a way to explain evil. Perhaps the religion that stated that living together before marriage and premarital sex is evil, simply has it all wrong. But that still does not convince me that evil itself does not exist.

[HealingHandsWarmHeart]

murdering someone and having their body parts in their freezer.... is a person who is sick in the mind.... - is the person evil..or is the sickness the evil? Or is just an illness ..like diabetes?

 

Hubman..i'm sure your ex was evil...but i'm also sure that to someone else ..she was an angel... Its all our perception as far as i'm concerned.

[jimthzz]

Evil may exist, but that cute story you posted about a dialog with albert einstien is a fabrication.

 

link removed

[flower99]

I think as long as there is a devil, there is evil.

But we do have the choice at all times what to fill our selves with, good or evil.

[blueangel]

Let's define what we're seeing evil as. A force? A mindset that takes over?

 

Here's what I see: humans with distorted mental health or neglectful/abusive upbringing or gritty, hopeless, chaotic environments full of fear and loss are the greatest causes of corruption in our world. All the dark places we choose not to look.

 

I dont believe in evil as an entity. I believe evil begins in a person suffering somehow and this suffering expresses through that person and this person brings suffering upon others, affecting everything. Sometimes everyone.

 

People can be twisted so horribly. Their views can be outrageous and violent. So it begins to come down to the balance of the world. When people are without their needs, their animal insticts arise- to fight, to mark their territory- humans can do horrible things to each other.

 

But if you look inside yourself and see the good in you as well as that same greed which drives nations and rebels and dictactors, you realize it is a choice between two behaviors no matter where you are in life to draw from. Victim or victimizer. Or simply indifference to the things of meaning like love and truth. I know more people indifferent than I can count.

 

Then there are real leaders. Then there are those who live ignoring the boundaries between them and others, choosing to love, to learn and grow. Their circumstances can actually make them stronger, make them wiser. How does an individual rise about their own suffering? That is the age old question that religion was made to heal and when men symbolized their acts on earth as "good" and "evil" to determine which is best for them and which is not. Eventually, we have all chosen to see with these definitions. To define our world is sometimes all we can do.

 

The fact life ends and is reborn should spell out everything to us. No matter what havoc occurs, new life can come in and change it. There is always a chance for that. So while we are alive, we must make our positive marks and not forget to perceive the world with beauty and love and compassion. To "stop the cycle of hate"- Immaculee Ilibagiza before it gets to us, no matter what happens here. Life is a temporary assignment and we have to remember that when we look at the horrors of this world.

 

Good/honest intentions always prevail.

[blueangel]

Evil may exist, but that cute story you posted about a dialog with albert einstien is a fabrication.

 

link removed

 

Awww. Well Einstein has said good things anyway.