nukedkitty Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 What if peoples evil behaviour was not caused by sin but by their lack of understanding, well if you can't learn anything you cant understand how to change things that are wrong. What if knowledge is our food and learning our appetite, and if we don't eat our minds will grow sick and die. What if learning selectively is as bad as eating selectively, well if people only learn what they want how can they begin to understand what they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinkleyBoo Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Interesting, the part about people's evil behavior caught my eye because of folks from our old church. I think some people are simply evil because they like it. It gives them the high they're looking for. I don't doubt there are some who do wrong things because they truly have a lack of understanding, but the ones I had experience with were just plain evil for the love of being evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm reading this as when I was young and didn't realize that blurting out what was in my head could be hurtful to others, and over the years I learned to be polite. No one needs to hear that I think their clothing is ugly. I've grown up in lots of other ways, too, by trial and error and losing friends and having people get mad at me. A lot of public behavior is just socialization. I was not a mature youngster or teenager! I've also known some really horrid people and I've learned to not associate with them, but there are times I've learned more of their situation -- they usually grew up with abuse and the same nasty attitudes that they exhibit. I can feel sympathy for them at that point, and I can understand why they act as they do and I can understand that after 50 or so years they probably can't see themselves as being wrong or wanting to change, but I still don't want to be friends with them, or more than simply polite. A lot of people who enjoy being cruel to others and cutting them down suffer themselves from low self-esteem and a childhood of being belittled themselves. Again, I can have sympathy, but I still don't want to be friends with them. To call these things "sin" and to say that god can change all of it is just bullshit. Most people can't even see their own issues because that's how they grew up and it's ingrained in their families and it's the normal way to live for them. I'm not evil, but I'm not perfect, and I know I can't see myself clearly. But I'm cool with myself and, yes, being open to trying to understand and change my behaviours when applicable is also cool. I think I've gotten nicer as I've gotten older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moanareina Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I don't believe in the concept of sin anymore. There are two kinds of people and maybe more...but I think you got a point here. There are those who don't understand. And sometimes I belong to them too. Also I think it has to do with oneself. How much do I understand about myself, my behavior. Why do I get mad when someone does something to me that evokes a reaction. Where does that reaction come from. The more I know myself the better I can deal with my emotions and don't let others be the target of those feelings. But I also learnt that there are people who just enjoy being "bad" guys (of course this applies to both sexes). They have two girlfriend and flirt with a third woman just to have fun. They invent tragic life stories so they will be heroes in the eyes of the other...they manipulate you because it somehow serves a need within them. They feel powerful and good about themselves. This is the kind of people you should distance yourself from as soon as possible. Because they are dangerous. And they will mostly never change and they will not find understanding because they lack the ability to do so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinas Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 People act according to their desires and their needs. Some desire to inflict pain and do so because it gratifies their feelings of power over others, or some other motivation. Some desire to be kind and do so because it gratifies their desire to feel virtuous. Some may desire to inflict pain but moderate that with a rational understanding that their desires do not ultimately benefit them; others may temper their kind natures when they see that they are in danger of expending themselves to their own detriment. Motivations are a complex and individual mix of the visceral and the rational in each one of us. But, ultimately, none of us are better than the best of humanity, or worse than the worst of humanity, so it pays not to judge too harshly or too generously when seeing the "good" or "bad" in others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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