I have mixed feelings on the subject. I don't think people are evil. Actions can be. But people are not evil because they have the power of freewill.

I definately don't believe in Satan.

Please explain your viewpoint on this topic.

i think evil is an opinion, evil to one person, might not be evil to another, or vice versa. evil is just the opposite of what you think good/holy/right/ect is, which is also one's opinion. evil is whatever you make it.

Anyone have an opinion? Any opinion?

I believe in God and that his standards are all 100% good. I believe that Satan operates outside of that, sometimes using good qualities to make evil ends. It sounds weird, but it makes sense to me.

I don't believe in Evil. I do believe in evil. Note the difference.


Being staunchly atheist, I obviously have no belief in Evil Incarnate, Satan, or whatever, but having seen the behaviour of the US Government, it's pretty clear that the human race is capable of far greater evil than some red bloke with a pointy tail could dream up.

evil is real but its not something that is hard to find sometimes the people closest to u may be evil and they treaten to kill u and try to kidnap u and rap u..............but thats just me.

Without good, there is no evil and vise versa.

i do and dont believe in evil.... i believe there are acts of evil, but i do not believe in any evil diety.... i think that anyone can do something evil, but that does not mean they are evil.... they way i look at things is... everything is a big circle... or like the yin/yang sign.. there is black in every white, there is no good without bad.... there are always thorns on a rose, and there is always sunshine after it rains... thats my opinion

Every rose has a thorn just like every night has its dawn just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.

I once heard a story where a demon was lying on the ground and an angel came to help him and someone asked the angel why and he said, "Without him, there is no me."

i belive people make there own evil. not some mystical person saying "do this do this"

( Undecided)

I dont know if I belive it saten...I think ppl are evil if anything is...I belive in evil..I just dont know what/who is evil...I just know it exists...

I don't believe in Satan. I do however believe that Satan and his evil is a concept created by the Church to control society. I'm not having a dig at Christianity as I feel that the commandments are a good way of keeping the whole issue of what is morally dubious in check. I live by a tenant "An it harm none, do as ye will". Basically, you can do what you like but just don't harm anyone else.

Problems arise however when my idea of what is 'right' is different to others. Personally if it involves upsetting someone else then it's 'wrong'. Does that make sense?

If someone was murdered I would consider that evil or wrong. Ask the murderer if what they did was 'evil', they might not say yes!

It's all subjective!

Sam
x

i agree with Pixie.... and just like her i live by the same saying " do what ye will, yet harm ye none" *different way of saying tho* i also believe in the rule of 3 that is as follows *ever mind the Ruler of three, three times what you give out returns to thee, this lesson well, you must learn, you only get what you do earn* other wise, if you give out a bad vibe, then thats what your gunna get back.... wrong to one person could be right to another, it all depends on your out look on life....

i also agree with Righteous.... like i said before, every rose has its thorn, every light has its dark, without one another, they can not exist.... its that simple... for every dusk there is dawn, for every good there is bad, behind everything good, there is a trace of bad... they can not exist withoiut eachother, just as we can not live without food or water.... its just how it is

I don't believe in Satan or any other evil diety.

I also don't believe that people are evil. Some of their actions may be evil, but I still think there just has to be at least a little bit of good in everyone. And yes, for all of you who are going to ask this, even people like Hitler. That little bit of good may be so miniscule that it's impossible to see when the person's evil actions overshadow it so much...but I still believe that it's there.

But, maybe I'm just an optimist. There was a part in FFVIII that explained how I feel on this subject pretty well...I wish I could remember the exact quote. Something Squall thought about the world not being as simple as evil vs. good, and not believing there was such a thing as a truly evil person.

There is a part of the Bible where Jesus says that "You will know a person's heart by his fruit." I say if a person bears fruit that harms, he is eil. Hypocracy is, perhapse, one of the worlds biggerst evil next to self-righteousness. Those things, to me, are evil fruits.

I was born Catholic, but I am not catholic by heart. I do believe in Satan, and the Devil, Hell, Evil, Witch craft, all that stuff. I think that hell isn't neccessarily for bad people, but for people who just wants to get away from it all. I think that the devil exists in everyone, but being baptized to ne does not get rid of the devil within you, but is just said to do so.

I don't believe in evil as an anthropomorphic personification, nor as a malevolent force. I do believe evil exists as a characteristic of all humanity - and being the generalised misanthrope I am, I think there's a hell of a lot of it around, especially these days.

Just curious, why did you group witchcraft together with all that evil stuff?

And meh, I was never baptised, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not evil. I'll have to agree with you on that one.

I personally don't believe in Hell at all. I don't think that there is anything one person could do that could damn them to an eternity of torture. Again, I still think there is some good in everyone. I never realized I was such an optimist..lol.

Oh because I used to hear stories that if you believed in witch craft that you believed in the devil, and apparently went to hell. Eh....i used to be gullible like that, which is kind of what pushed me to believe in Satan..because I believed in withcraft...

I believe that there is evil. Proof? World Trade Centers, George Bush, Timothy McVeigh, Suicide Bombings, murder, rape, etc. Is there a Satan? No. I really doubt it. This also ties with my no God thing. I mean even God had wrath and vengence (All loving my butt) and you know... There is no doubt there isnt evil

there is not necasarily evil people just people who do evil things, like how a person can be persauded to do evil things just as they can be persuaded to do good things. I think there is a hell because without hell heaven could not exist, maybe this is a form of hell that we are living in if you think about it.

personally i dont see "evil" as any kind of solid or metaphysical entity. its the same with "good". "good" and "evil" are not a "be all and end all" of a thing. they are not "yes" or "no" answers. it depends on the situation.

Evil is relative to society. For instance, the idea that killing each other is only "evil" because it suits society and the continued survival of the human race. I do believe that there is evil, but only in relation to societies norms and values, and it is by no means universal.

IMHO of course

Hmmm, well witches don't necessarily believe in the devil which is a Christian concept of evil (see my earlier post for what I believe about evil).

I'm not saying that ALL witches DON'T believe in the devil. Pagans don't have the Devil as a deity but the god Pan is similar looking to the devil (goat like) and IMO this was where the Christians took their personification of the Devil from. Mainly to discourage people from practising witchcraft as they considered it to be 'evil' People usually fear what the don't understand

OK,ill be the stupid one and say it out loud-i think its a stupid question.

i dont really think u can "believe" in evil,its not a religion,or a myth,or a scientific phenomenah-its just a thing-a word used to describe actions,feelings,things,people,everything really.of course it exists,those kind of feelings are all around us every day-somewhere,sometime,someone is thinking that something is evil.i know that doesn't really justify my point but i still think its a dumb question!

and satan.........have to get back to u on that one

Yes, I believe in evil. Just look at Hitler. And Bush Jr.

I DON'T believe in the devil. The choices we make are our own, not the prodding and manipulation of some weird, ultimate-evil semi-deity. (who was created out of predjudice in the form of Pan and the Horned Lord)

maybe a point thats already been raised.... but without evil, there is no good. how can you define 'good' if you have no 'evil' to compare it to?? We only have to ways of defining acts... good and evil. for all we know, the evillest act a human being could instigate might be a kiss on the cheek compared to something else out there in the universe... theres more to the possibilities of reality that what we imagine...


so in answer... i will believe in evil, if you can find me a piece of paper big enough to draw it

i basicly agree with the first post. 'evil' is merely what you think of someone or his/her actions. many things that you might consider evil are considered perfectly acceptable to much of the rest of the world (some good examples are: abortion, the death penalty, cruelty to animals, not believing in god)

the devil was invented as a way to help seize power for the ancient political power we call christianity. no other religion at the time had as vivid a description of hell as christianity. that instilled 'shock and awe' (and fear) in the masses better than the US army ever could