Is human nature inherently good or evil?

Answer 1

The truth of God's Word in Romans explains that all humans have a conscience and desire self and group acceptance.

Romans 2:13-15 "(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)"

Further truth reveals that all humans are also subject to deceitful lusts.

Ephesians 4:22 "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;"

Before God's involvement in our lives, we were “dead in trespasses and sins” and “by nature the children of wrath” due to Satan's influence.

Ephesians 2:1,2 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air…”

By accepting Christ, a person receives the spirit of God within and can accomplish good works for God.

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Only when love is the motivator can a person renew his mind and replace the old man nature with the new man.

Colossians 3:9,10 "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"

Answer 2

ThThey are both. To everything there is must be a balance, a yin and yang, night and day, happy and sad, malice and kindness... We can be more of one than the other but even criminals can be kind- Robin Hood for example. God is seen as good but he was known to smite those who angered him... And destroyed entire cities. Nature- hurricanes, poisonous plants, venomous snakes... Of course clear sunny days, butterflies, delicious food... Man is part of nature therefore is capable of both good and evil: Hitler or Mother Teresa... So asking this question makes no sense...

Answer 3

Actually neither. Good and evil aee subjective terms, dependent upon the perceiver. Human behavior is naturally inquisitive and egocentric. How that is viewed by others is judged good or evil. There are many philosophers on both sides of this question - suggest reading the Lockean v Hobbsian Consensus.

Another answer:

Human nature is "selfish and rebellious to authority." Therefore, it's naturally drawn to "evil and sin." It's easily deceived... either by the god of this world, or even self-deception.

"...the carnal mind [the natural mind of man] is enmity [hostile] to God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be." (Rom.8:7 KJV)

So, the answer is: human nature is inherently EVIL... but likes to THINK its good.

Additional Answer:

From the biblical account of creation the first human beings originally displayed no evil thoughts or actions. Adam & Eve lived in harmony with their Creator and with each other. As God saw, all was 'good.'

We are also told in The Bible that human beings were made in the image and likeness of God. This is why we have the ability to love, to reason and to feel and express complex emotions.

Along with reasoning, God gave each of us the capacity to look at facts and come to conclusions - hence the power to choose. We make hundreds of reasoned choices each day from what to wear and decide what we'll have for lunch. We determine what in our lives gets priority. We also choose which thoughts we'll consider and which ones we'll discard - how we'll deal with our emotions and what actions we'll take in treating others.

It is in this way that we human beings have the capacity to choose between good and evil. We can choose to control our anger or we can choose to burn down our neighbor's house in revenge. The issue of choice is a complex human activity, but freedom of choice explains why human beings can be both good and evil.

Although unpopular today, the being Satan (who rejected God and became the opposite of Him) enters the Garden and tempts Eve with the forbidden fruit (see Gensis 3:6). She did eat and then offered it to Adam who deliberately disobeyed God by also eatingof it and they both,immediately started to experience the world on Satan's level (opposite of God: hate, angry, selfish, cruel, inwardly pleasing, etc). So it began...

Their human nature became a mixture of good and evil. The evil in them, and in all of us, is a reflection of the devil's evil nature and is the opposite of what God intended for us.

Answer 4

It was the fourth-century saint, Augustine who really introduced the idea that man is inherently evil to the Western Church. The Orthodox Churches never accepted this Augustine doctrine and do not hold that man is inherently evil.

So it is a Christian view, held in parts of the Western Church, that man is inherently evil. The rest of us see good in man and only regard a person as evil if he demonstrates himself to be so.

Answer 5

The Scripture is very clear that mankind has the knowledge of both good and evil and has the free will to choose between them. Philosophers like Locke and Hobbes take the two different approaches to this question as with the natural law approach of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In God's creation, everything was good. By deception Eve ate of the forbidden fruit God had warned them not to eat from. She gave it to her husband Adam who ate of it too. Thus the first sin. From then on humankind had choices to make - follow the way of God which is good or of the way of the 'god' of this world - ha Satan, which is evil.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4New King James Version (NKJV)3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Answer 6

The debate on whether human nature is inherently good or evil remains ongoing. Some argue that humans possess both good and evil tendencies, influenced by various factors such as upbringing and environment. Ultimately, it is a complex and nuanced topic with no definitive answer.

Answer 7

Another answer from our community:

Human nature is inherently evil and self-deceiving... and likes to THINK it's good.