Do you guys think children are naturally good and are then exposed to evil..


Or are children all born evil, and have to be taught to be good by their elders?

I think that everyone is born good but it is our society and the world we live in that ****s people up.

I think everyone is born neutral and then either taught good ways, or bad ways.

But... on the other hand, I was the angel child when I was little. I was really really really good. My sister...haha. Devil child. Horrible little bugger, she was.

I've always been rude, I guess it was how I was raised. Kids can be taught good if they're lucky enough to have good parents, my brother is also evil.

I agree with Karli. I see babies like a lump of clay that can be moulded anyway the parents or guardians see fit.
If a person does turn out evil then it's because of the people or situations they were exposed to. Everyone is a product of their own environment. That's why, if you go to a therapist, they will basically tell you that everything that's wrong with your life is your parents fault.
I think that most of the problems I have can be traced back to my parents. They screwed me up royally!!

I think kids are born neutral and then what ever they are exposed to is what they are like

All kids are evil.

Well in my morality class we are forced the beleive that babies are born evil...... I disagree and say that they are born good and taught evil from society.

I am totally against the religious tripe that says children are BORN evil "and that's why we have to baptize them to wash away the Original Sin..." I've read that in the Jewish faith the concept of Original Sin is a foreign concept. And besides, how can you look a cute little baby and think it's "evil"?? It's all in how you raise it. I actually read that Robert Schuller says that people are basically born AFRAID, and that the whole thing of sin is due to how we deal with fear. If we are brought up to trust, then we won't sin (as much), but if we are not trusting, then we resort to stealing and other illicit activities. Like if we don't trust our parents or someone, we'll steal that candy if we think they're gonna say no when we ask, unless we ask them first and find out they were gonna say yes. (Just an example.) No matter what the Bible says, we're NOT born worthless little sinners who need to be drowned like rats in the baptismal pool, we are NOT a blotch on God's green creation. God loves us even before we're born, and it is just a matter of which direction we take in life.

Originally posted by Juss Like Jo Po
I think kids are born neutral and then what ever they are exposed to is what they are like

Yep, I agree.

Great answer!!!!!!! I totally agree with you on that one...

evil

This topic reminds me of something I took in pyschology class this year. The class had to write a position paper and say whether we thought people were influenced more by heredity or environment, which is basically around the same lines as asking if kids are born good or evil. I think everyone is born good and that it is the environment that shapes how we are as people. I think that the environment can influence people to be evil because if you look at the news about wars, if you see other people fighting and yelling when you're really young, whether it be your parents or someone else, or if a person sees an older sibling being mean, they might turn out mean, too. I know of some people who are jerks who have younger siblings who are jerks, as well. So, yeah, everyone is born good and some people turn evil. I don't think anyone is born evil. That's my opinion.

evil.

I think all children are born innocent and are made bad by society. Some know how to stay away from the bad and some dont. Im one that stayed away from the bad kids. Im a good kid :)

Why do people believe are born evil? How do they think evil thoughts fresh out of the womb? Didn't Jesus say unless you become like a child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven? What does this mean to people? How does a child acquire evil thoughts? Can a child comprehend murder, rape, and larceny?

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
Why do people believe are born evil? How do they think evil thoughts fresh out of the womb? Didn't Jesus say unless you become like a child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven?

I understand you're a religous person and I respect that but you can't use the Bible to back up this particular arguement - especially when the people you are trying to discuss this with don't believe in the Bible.
For the record, I do agree with you - the idea of 'original sin' is total crap as far as I'm concerned. But you said in an earlier post that " if we are brought up to trust then we will not sin. But if we are not trusting we resort to stealing and other illicit activities". Could you elaborate further on that please (without using religous analogies)? I'm not a trusting person. Throughout my life people whom I thought were my friends have constantly let me down, have been duplicitous and sneaky and I now have very little faith in anyone. Despite this, I do not go out and steal, or commit crimes or intentionally hurt other people. I want to know what makes you think that if a person is untrusting they are compelled to rebel.

Originally posted by Mossopp
But you said in an earlier post that " if we are brought up to trust then we will not sin. But if we are not trusting we resort to stealing and other illicit activities".

And um, how about the people who don't even believe in God? I know some perfectly swell people who are Athiest, and they don't go out and steal, nor have they ever gotten in trouble...

And for my record, I don't trust jack ***** as far as trusting goes. I have never stole, got addicted to any sort of snorting or smoking, sure ok I was addicted to alchol for a little while there but that wasn't because I didn't trust anyone.

Originally posted by Babes_Kay


And um, how about the people who don't even believe in God? I know some perfectly swell people who are Athiest, and they don't go out and steal, nor have they ever gotten in trouble...

And for my record, I don't trust jack ***** as far as trusting goes. I have never stole, got addicted to any sort of snorting or smoking, sure ok I was addicted to alchol for a little while there but that wasn't because I didn't trust anyone.

I completely agree with you. It seems to me that some people hide behind the Bible cos they can't find any substantial or concrete evidence to back up their arguements.
Karli, if you don't mind me asking, you are only a teenager - how can you become an alcoholic when you can't even legally buy the stuff? I drank before I was 18 (the legal drinking age in the UK) but I could never get my hands on enough of it to develop a problem. If you don't want to answer me here then PM me and if you don't wanna talk about it full stop then I'm sorry. I've had a few problems with drink aswell so I'm always happy to listen to your problems.
Mossopp
x x x

Originally posted by Mossopp
Karli, if you don't mind me asking, you are only a teenager - how can you become an alcoholic when you can't even legally buy the stuff

Well as I just PMed you with the whole story, I'll just settle it for the people on here who might think I'm a psychotic 13 year old who needs AA meetings...I'm not. Trust me. I wasn't a full blown alcholic...I just had problems.

:wave:

Thanks for the PM Karli. It's appreciated :)

Originally posted by Mossopp
I agree with Karli. I see babies like a lump of clay that can be moulded anyway the parents or guardians see fit.

Exactly. That's a good one. Kids' personalities almost always depends on their parents. If their parents are evil, pretty good chance they'll be evil too. If their parents are good, then yay they'll be good.

I think I'm way behind on the convo here but oh well..........

Good. Its the society that turns innocent into evil..some can survive it some cant.

Actually no. Ive always believed our lives were planned out before we were born. We dont control it (though we think we do), we just live it. Its like fate.

Evil. . .my little 2 year old sister was and is always a bratt, i didnt' have to teach her that tho im reallllllllly good at it. . . .

We are all born sinful nature but that doesn't mean that were evil I think were born natural then exposed to evil in this sinful world and another reason some kids act evil is because they let there sinful nautre get the better of them, it's our choice to act evil or good.

Originally posted by JoPol_wannabe
We are all born sinful nature but that doesn't mean that were evil I think were born natural then exposed to evil in this sinful world and another reason some kids act evil is because they let there sinful nautre get the better of them, it's our choice to act evil or good.
I agree. You put that better than I did! lol

I think people are bad by nature. Face it, if we weren't born "evil", then there wouldn't be a need for laws and punishment in this world, and there wouldn't be so much corruption.