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| Yes | 62% | 1135 votes | Total: 1837 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesYes, people are inherently good. In the beginning God made man and woman with the spirit of his peace and goodness within them, therefore, we have inherited a good nature. The question is whether or not we strive to maintain the good within us or allow it to be tempted away by what seems more pleasing to the eye than that which is gathered together for the good.
The eternity of goodness was upon this earth, it reigned openly and freely without hindrance until a method was devised by the adversary of God to destroy perfection. He is the total and complete opposite of the creator, who had outlined a wonderful and joyous life for mankind. He forfeited a good life when he craved more than he was given and made the fatal mistake of trying to overthrow God. Now he strives to cause others to follow his doomed example.
The adversary is the author of all things that aren't good and is the deceiver of those who are good. He seeks daily to taint, hinder or destroy our inherited good. We must decide whether or not it's worth the time and attention to hold on to positive and well mannered behavior. Should we put good on the table and gamble with the outcome, taking what we can gain and shrugging off the lost?
I consider the question of being inherently good as important and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. When the question of good becomes easy to sidetrack or is scuffed at, I believe we'll have a downfall of a nation and be left with a world in uncontrollable chaos. There is good in everyone, it comes from the heart. No matter what the status of person whether saved and in church or on death row, they know the goodness of love.
Our morals are at stake everyday, each generation will be tested, society as a whole must form a direct and firm opinion as to what is acceptable and good for the people, of the people and by the people before this important quest becomes buried in the ancient history of our lives, because being good would have lost it's attraction and moral appeal.
Take for example the economy, people are losing jobs, homes, transportation and are struggling to provide the basic needs for their families. Is this a time to forget about being good and use the troubled state of the country to resort to negative means or should we stay hopeful and faithful while waiting for things to take a turn for the better?
Also, while thinking of being inherently good, child birth comes to mind. Who in this world doesn't believe their child is born good, for that to be true then being inherently good becomes a fact instead of a question. What we do with this inheritance brings us to this controversial doubt of wondering if good was ever embedded into the fabric of our souls.
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Learn more about this author, Barbara Griffin.
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No
People are neither inherently good nor evil. I say this because good and evil are subjective, culturally-based concepts. What is considered good in one culture can be abhorrent in another. Female genital mutilation is an example. In some traditional cultures, this practice is considered essential to the maintenance of family and social order, ergo, it is good, and so are its supporters. To those of us in the western world, this is an odious and dangerous practice, and those who do it are the personification of evil.
The human animal, like any other species, is inherently selfish. Selfishness is not of itself either good or bad. It is the result of selfishness that we define the terms good and bad. Making sure you get enough to eat so that you have the strength to better care for your family is a good thing. Taking the last morsel of food and allowing your children to go hungry qualifies as bad.
If people were 'inherently' good there would be no need to teach proper behavior. Our inherent goodness would lead us to the peoper behavior unaided. If inherent goodness was a human trait, police forces would be unnecessary. We would not prey upon our fellow humans, generating the need for courts and police forces to mitigate these actions. If people were inherently good, there would have been no mortgage crisis. There would have been no mass of self-indulgent people to create a market for risky sub-prime mortgages that unscrupulous lenders were able to exploit.
There is no such thing as inherent goodness or badness in the human species. As individuals, we are at first aware of ourselves and our own needs. At some point in our development, we become aware of others and, through training and experience we become aware of their needs. Some learn to balance the needs of self with the needs of others; some learn to put mothers first; and some remain totally self-centered. The bottom line is that people are 'inherently' people. They are judged to be 'good' or 'bad' based on the norms of the group of which they are a member. Because we tend to hold multiple memberships - family, school, work group, peer group; we can be good and bad at the same time. Young men who follow their peer group norms regarding their treatment of women can be considered 'good' by their peers while the rest of society view them as manipulative and bad. On the other hand, if they subscribe to the view that being gentlemanly is the road to travel, some groups will call them good, at the same time they find themselves rejected by their peers.
Are people inherently good? Look around and ask yourself if that question even makes any sense.
Learn more about this author, Charles Ray.
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