Nither!

Not a subscriber to the "original sin" construct.

I'm with Artie and Rogue.

I think that humanity is somewhere in the middle with leaning toward bad, the "take what is rightly mine" mentality driving the lean.

Can’t figure a vote. In my view/experience we’re a blend. The best of us will moments of selfishness or thoughtlessness and the worst of us will have some moments where they do something positive. I suspect most of us want to be good, we just aren’t as successful at it as we’d like as often as we’d like.

What makes a person bad? What makes a person good?

This, but also what Artie said.

quote:

Originally posted by jaaron11:
Good in that we are made in the image of our creator and he declared all of his creation "very good". But we fail because we have the self-induced critical flaw of sin, which invades every aspect of our behavior.

That sums it up pretty well, theologically.

quote:

A mix, of course.

And that sums it up pretty well, practically.

Yes, all men are sinners in need of salvation. But some seek salvation and some do not. And some are more evil than good.

As for the poll, I voted:
Good, but generally failing.

I think most people strive for the good... but none of us succeed all of the time. I see people as inherently good, and give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming good intentions, until shown otherwise.

for forty years I have said that there are way more good people than bad.
I am 60 now and I think that it turned around,

there are now 10% more bad people than good people.

its what happens when good people choose to do nothing

I think most people are inherently good, deep down inside, but like bendable, I think the most part is smaller than it used to be.

Both. Been that way since the beginning.

If there is any such thing as "good", then we are logically forced to conclude that humans are "inherently" good. Otherwise, there would be no fundamental mechanism by which a human being could make a "good" decision to even recognize "good", because we would have no valid basis to even distinguish "good" from "bad" or evil, and we would certainly have no incentive to choose the "good".

I prefer to think of us as an inherently good potential, that can then be swayed, through ignorance, into a succession of ignorant choices. When the ignorance becomes profound enough, we call it "bad", and when it becomes deep enough, we call it "evil".

quote:

Originally posted by jaaron11:
Good in that we are made in the image of our creator and he declared all of his creation "very good". But we fail because we have the self-induced critical flaw of sin, which invades every aspect of our behavior.

And I believe that is exactly accurate, but expressed in more "religious" terminology.

Depends on which social group you're dealing with.

(And usually, the more "inherently good" the less likely to want/have a strong state.)

PA Dutch, pretty much inherently good, and a deep hatred of the state - and a strong social "stigma" system.

Small Town Texas - mostly good. Small town South... eh, neutralish, but a long way from either of the earlier groups.

Cuban party members - evil. Cuba was an odd place. About half really nice people, and about half scum. Never been to a place w. that many scum bags.

Rural Mexico - mostly good people.

NYC/Atlanta/Houston/Austria/St. Petersburg all mostly good. Really, if it supports civilization, and created it on its own/sustains it on its own, mostly good.

It is easier being bad than good.
Heck we go thrown out of the garden of Eden.
In Christianity we are taught we are born with original sin. So, we are basically sinful.

Communism teaches that it is easier to be good.
They say that capitalism makes people evil.

There’s more good than bad. The internet and technology brings more bad to our attention.

People are good. Humanity is good. If you can’t see the good, maybe you need to look harder.

This a Christain video. Whether you agree with that or not, the expressions on the faces of people when the realize what they are is priceless. You can skip ahead to :14.

People are naturally good. Talk to any children. Children are us, in our natural state, before the world pumps hate into us.

certainly a vexing question

i would say 'mostly good' - with extremes at both ends

but it's also very instructive to see how people behave when the shackles of 'law enforcement' are removed - in other words - when they can commit crimes with no repercussion

things can get ugly quickly

but again - as a baseline - I say mostly good. i try to be optimistic - 'Mr Brightside' - without being naive

----------------------------------

Man naturally has an old sin nature that makes us selfish and "bad." We have to learn to be good. Look at small children for an example.

Both. Some people are more of one than the other, but pretty much everyone has the capacity to manifest either. I thing the vast majority of people aspire to be good, or do good, and most people also far short of their own standards on a regular basis. That’s not a failure, it’s just the human condition.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
...

but it's also very instructive to see how people behave when the shackles of 'law enforcement' are removed - in other words - when they can commit crimes with no repercussion

....

Did you enjoy your trip to Chicago?