God and the Devil and what God expects of us

[Mukhtar Farid]

peace be upon you members
I do not subscribe myself to any religion but do believe there is a God and an evil one-and the continous strife between the two.
I have seen problems in all religions yet the logical aspect is a God does exist and so does evil.Everything in the world points to this universal truth.
Anyway please visit my youtube video where I summarize some of the things I have pondered over researching the absolute truth
Thanks
peace be upon you
peace
Amin/amen

 

[The Hammer]

No

 

[Viker]

Universal truth? Absolute truth? Here we go again.

And welcome to the RF.

 

[The Hammer]

What if God is actually Evil, and Satan is the True "God"???


"although Gnostics, like other Christians, find salvation through the messages of Jesus, Gnostics seek salvation not from sin but from "the ignorance of which sin is a consequence." The gnostics believe that the evil creator God and his angels cause this ignorance."

 

[Brian2]

peace be upon you members
I do not subscribe myself to any religion but do believe there is a God and an evil one-and the continous strife between the two.
I have seen problems in all religions yet the logical aspect is a God does exist and so does evil.Everything in the world points to this universal truth.
Anyway please visit my youtube video where I summarize some of the things I have pondered over researching the absolute truth
Thanks
peace be upon you
peace
Amin/amen

Hi and welcome.
Interesting introductory video.
It is hard for me to comment at the moment, I'll have to comment when I come across your replies to posts.

 

[danieldemol]

peace be upon you members
I do not subscribe myself to any religion but do believe there is a God and an evil one-and the continous strife between the two.
I have seen problems in all religions yet the logical aspect is a God does exist and so does evil.Everything in the world points to this universal truth.
Anyway please visit my youtube video where I summarize some of the things I have pondered over researching the absolute truth
Thanks
peace be upon you
peace
Amin/amen

I dont have the time to watch your video right now, but would be interested to know what kind of God you believe in and why.

Also why do you believe in an "evil one"? Surely there are many sources of bad in the world, so what makes you think there is a single power behind it all?

Kind regards and welcome to RF

 

[Kenny]

What if God is actually Evil, and Satan is the True "God"???


"although Gnostics, like other Christians, find salvation through the messages of Jesus, Gnostics seek salvation not from sin but from "the ignorance of which sin is a consequence." The gnostics believe that the evil creator God and his angels cause this ignorance."

I think this, in Christian terms and as a Christian ( no problem using the term), is what we call Is 5 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 

[syo]

there is a God and an evil one-and the continous strife between the two.

No dice.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Good and evil, and the struggle between them is obvious to anyone who looks at this world honestly. Good luck with your search for truth.

 

[Viker]

I think this, in Christian terms and as a Christian ( no problem using the term), is what we call Is 5 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

But I like bitter sweet.

 

[Polymath257]

Good and evil, and the struggle between them is obvious to anyone who looks at this world honestly. Good luck with your search for truth.

The struggle between good people and evil people is clear. But it is limited to humans and is not a part of the world beyond us. And, actually, most humans are a complex mix of good and evil. Very few are all one or all the other. Very few people are villains in their own mind.

Of course, once you get off the Earth, notions of good and evil just don't appear.

 

[Wildswanderer]

The struggle between good people and evil people is clear. But it is limited to humans and is not a part of the world beyond us. And, actually, most humans are a complex mix of good and evil. Very few are all one or all the other. Very few people are villains in their own mind.

Of course, once you get off the Earth, notions of good and evil just don't appear.

Once you what?
No I mean the battle between good and evil both inside and outside of us.
Why do we even struggle with evil inclinations? As far as that goes I don't even know what evil is, if there's no higher power?
Why do we care?

 

[Polymath257]

Once you what?

I fixed the typo. Sorry. Once you get off the Earth.

No I mean the battle between good and evil both inside and outside of us.
Why do we even struggle with evil inclinations? As far as that goes I don't even know what evil is, if there's no higher power?
Why do we care?

We care because we are a social species. Good and evil relate to how people treat other people and how our actions affect others. No 'higher power' is required, as far as I can see: only compassion and a sense of fairness (which other primates have as well).

We struggle with evil because we all have conflicting desires and inclinations. We are not monoliths, but a complex amalgam of drives, desires, wants, and needs.

 

[Wildswanderer]

We care because we are a social species. Good and evil relate to how people treat other people and how our actions affect others.

Narcissist people don't care about that. And why should they? Should I not just do what is best for me?
Without some higher authority I think I would do just that.

 

[Polymath257]

Narcissist people don't care about that. And why should they? Should I not just do what is best for me?
Without some higher authority I think I would do just that.

If you are a narcissist and don't care about others, and belief in a higher authority keeps you for committing evil against others, then please continue to believe in a higher authority.

Most decent people *want* to do good. They realize that doing good is ultimately 'good for themselves'. They don't need a higher authority to tell them to help others.

If you do, then by all means, continue to believe.

 

[Wildswanderer]

If you are a narcissist and don't care about others, and belief in a higher authority keeps you for committing evil against others, then please continue to believe in a higher authority.

Most decent people *want* to do good. They realize that doing good is ultimately 'good for themselves'. They don't need a higher authority to tell them to help others.

If you do, then by all means, continue to believe.

What is a decent person,? Totally arbitrary unless someone tells us what is decent. Our society promotes narcissistic behavior today... it's what makes social media huge.
Babies are pretty narcissistic. The only reason we changed is because we learned that treating others well is expected. If society had told us that being selfish is ok, like it does today, would we act " decent?"
I know that it's better to give than receive now because of experience but I had to be told first.

 

[Polymath257]

What is a decent person,? Totally arbitrary unless someone tells us what is decent. Our society promotes narcissistic behavior today... it's what makes social media huge.
Babies are pretty narcissistic. The only reason we changed is because we learned that treating others well is expected. If society had told us that being selfish is ok, like it does today, would we act " decent?"
I know that it's better to give than receive now because of experience but I had to be told first.

If you think it is arbitrary for a social species to have a sense of what is decent (for that species), then I do feel sorry for you.

Treating others well is how a social species survives. Being selfish leads to extinction. So, we learn to be decent. Being told is how we pass on our understanding and allow for flexibility as things change.

Even children learn to bond with others: they are not purely narcissistic. They care and have a sense of fairness. If you don't have this innate sense and need to be told to care, then I do feel sorry for you.

 

[74x12]

The struggle between good people and evil people is clear. But it is limited to humans and is not a part of the world beyond us. And, actually, most humans are a complex mix of good and evil. Very few are all one or all the other. Very few people are villains in their own mind.

Of course, once you get off the Earth, notions of good and evil just don't appear.

I see good and evil even on the bacterial level. You have good bacteria that are beneficial ... symbiotic actually and you have bad parasitic bacteria that cause harm. They aren't just bad or good because of what they do or don't do to people/animals. It's how they behave ... This is also true of fungi/yeasts and viruses.

 

[Polymath257]

I see good and evil even on the bacterial level. You have good bacteria that are beneficial ... symbiotic actually and you have bad parasitic bacteria that cause harm. They aren't just bad or good because of what they do or don't do to people/animals. It's how they behave ... This is also true of fungi/yeasts and viruses.

I'm sorry, but I don't see it like that. Bacteria are not moral agents. They don't have the capacity to be either good or evil. They can be beneficial or harmful *to us*, but they might be harmful for us and beneficial to another species or vice versa. They have no intent, and intent is central to being good or evil. We are the ones the determine whether the actions of a bacterium on us is harmful or not.

 

[Wildswanderer]

If you think it is arbitrary for a social species to have a sense of what is decent (for that species), then I do feel sorry for you.

Treating others well is how a social species survives. Being selfish leads to extinction.

That's what I mean by arbitrary. If it is just a survival instinct it's not goodness at all. Do you even understand what you just implied? It's not being good because we are actually compassionate beings in your world view, it's just what keeps us from going extinct.
In my view there's a higher good that informs us what right and wrong are.