JadussD
11-25-2005, 08:34 AM
What is your conception of evil?
In some Christian theologies, it is merely "the abscence of God", that which is part of his forsaken Creation, the terrible forces of nature which mercilessly weed out the weak and give or take at random. The world is the flesh is the devil, and God is a "higher" force that provides salvation only if his will is followed. Satan is merely an advocate for the natural forces that govern this world, who leads men away from salvation because it's the only way he can have his revenge against God, who supposedly weeps whenever one of his sheep is led astray. That's a conception of evil I did not encounter as a Lutheran schoolboy, but I am told is quite common among many more studied Christians, depending on the version you're dealing with. (BTW, for those who haven't been here for long, I am not anywhere near a Christian, and am not fond of it because I believe it leads people away from "reality" and into a realm where fictional things take precedence over life, but it fascinates me and I have begun to read more about it again due to its central role in society)
Anyways, the idea is that evil does not exist as a force per se (ie, God is Good, Satan is Evil) but is merely the abscence of God's graces. This is why many Christians this day in age believe that hell is separation from God and not literal physical torture.
Anyways, I do not have a solid conception of evil, I think it is actually quite like the Christians who ascribe to the theological interpretation above, in that evil does not exist as a force, it is a spiritual void that if embraced creates great difficulties, in that its a place where a person dying has no more importance than any other event, where the very concept of importance or any other abstract idea does not exist, and the only thing that separates you from the ground you walk on is the fact that your brain functions in such a way that it provides the convenient illusion of self and free will. Otherwise, you're just a bunch of matter doing what it will according to the laws of physics (the reason for them existing at all is something we will never know probably) that govern it, and part of the way this conglomeration of space and matter and time governed by physics plays itself out is that it creates the idea of free will among its more intricate members (ie, humans) so that the conglomeration of matter that is you can accomplish certain things by having desires, drives, and such. So evil does not exist except as a definition of the way things actually are in our physical, tangible universe, in that respect I would agree with some Christians if they said that I was evil, if evil is the abscence of God. In this way one who denies the existence of God is evil according to the Christian sense of evil, and since their definition of evil is as good as any for an abstract, non-existing concept...well, then that would make me or anyone who denies the existence of good or evil an Adversary, now wouldn't it? It's an unavoidable consequence of being against the predominant view of EVERYTHING that you become an outsider, and are considered evil by many.
What is your concept of evil, since the concept of being against evil is used to justify...oh...pretty much anything, what is your concept of evil? I place great importance on this idea which I consider to actually be non-existent (like all ideas except in the minds of those holding them, mind you), because it influences actual, physical reality in ways that are spectacularly important to those who are conglomerations of matter who wish to continue to be in motion, according to their illusion of free will (an illusion I play along with just for the hell of it, hehe)
In some Christian theologies, it is merely "the abscence of God", that which is part of his forsaken Creation, the terrible forces of nature which mercilessly weed out the weak and give or take at random. The world is the flesh is the devil, and God is a "higher" force that provides salvation only if his will is followed. Satan is merely an advocate for the natural forces that govern this world, who leads men away from salvation because it's the only way he can have his revenge against God, who supposedly weeps whenever one of his sheep is led astray. That's a conception of evil I did not encounter as a Lutheran schoolboy, but I am told is quite common among many more studied Christians, depending on the version you're dealing with. (BTW, for those who haven't been here for long, I am not anywhere near a Christian, and am not fond of it because I believe it leads people away from "reality" and into a realm where fictional things take precedence over life, but it fascinates me and I have begun to read more about it again due to its central role in society)
Anyways, the idea is that evil does not exist as a force per se (ie, God is Good, Satan is Evil) but is merely the abscence of God's graces. This is why many Christians this day in age believe that hell is separation from God and not literal physical torture.
Anyways, I do not have a solid conception of evil, I think it is actually quite like the Christians who ascribe to the theological interpretation above, in that evil does not exist as a force, it is a spiritual void that if embraced creates great difficulties, in that its a place where a person dying has no more importance than any other event, where the very concept of importance or any other abstract idea does not exist, and the only thing that separates you from the ground you walk on is the fact that your brain functions in such a way that it provides the convenient illusion of self and free will. Otherwise, you're just a bunch of matter doing what it will according to the laws of physics (the reason for them existing at all is something we will never know probably) that govern it, and part of the way this conglomeration of space and matter and time governed by physics plays itself out is that it creates the idea of free will among its more intricate members (ie, humans) so that the conglomeration of matter that is you can accomplish certain things by having desires, drives, and such. So evil does not exist except as a definition of the way things actually are in our physical, tangible universe, in that respect I would agree with some Christians if they said that I was evil, if evil is the abscence of God. In this way one who denies the existence of God is evil according to the Christian sense of evil, and since their definition of evil is as good as any for an abstract, non-existing concept...well, then that would make me or anyone who denies the existence of good or evil an Adversary, now wouldn't it? It's an unavoidable consequence of being against the predominant view of EVERYTHING that you become an outsider, and are considered evil by many.
What is your concept of evil, since the concept of being against evil is used to justify...oh...pretty much anything, what is your concept of evil? I place great importance on this idea which I consider to actually be non-existent (like all ideas except in the minds of those holding them, mind you), because it influences actual, physical reality in ways that are spectacularly important to those who are conglomerations of matter who wish to continue to be in motion, according to their illusion of free will (an illusion I play along with just for the hell of it, hehe)