[reagan_fanatic]

Are some people born evil?

I'm leaning towards yes.

[AD from SpringBay]

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[BibChr]

Are some people born evil?

No. ALL people are born evil (Romans 5:12-21).

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG
Pyromaniacs

[Psycho_Bunny]

Evil is a necessity which some are born into, some are pushed into and some succumb to.

I tend to believe that, if there is a God, I could see circumstances in which some evil people - like Hitler - are chosen to do a needed bidding.

It sounds horrible but, in a grand sense, it's logical.

[DreamsofPolycarp]

Human beings are born with a sink of depravity within them that will result in ANY of us being a monster like Hitler or Pol Pot or Mengistu, given the right circumstances. What should shock us is not that there ARE gruesome creatures like Nero, Felix Dzerzhinsky, or Idi Amin, but that there are not MORE of them.

The sad thing is that today no one has read "Human nature in its fourfold state" (Boston) or Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" or Jonathan Edwards, or Luther's "Bondage of the Will" or ANY of the classical works that deal with the effects of fallenness and sin on the human soul. As a result, we have a secular society which is genuinely perplexed over what is clearly evil, yet it has no grounds for classifying it as such. Moreover, we have a liberal, humanistic church which echoes the man-centered voices of our age in affirming that people are "basically good" and that all we need is a bit of a nudge to sanctify ourselves. Therefore, we don't need grace. Therefore, we don't teach it, but focus on silly silly exhortations to be "better" Christians (more bible reading, more prayer, give more, more evangelical duties).

As a result, we are just as aghast as the pagans when true evil shows its face...., and no wonder, for we are pagan in our theology of the human condition

"For lack of knowledge My people are destroyed" says the old book. Too true.

[freespirited]

But [Daumer] had a brother, David, who never did anyone any harm and who now lives quietly under another name. David had the same parents, the same start in life and carried the same cartload of genes and DNA as his brother.

Nope. Brothers don't have the "same cartload of genes." On average, siblings share half their genes. But it can be less than that, or more. Children of the same mother also don't develop in the identical prenatal environment.

My opinion: this guy doesn't know what he is talking about. Yes, there are some people who are, as the saying goes, "born to hang."

[RichardW]

This is a serious subject. And I think it is entirely open to question. The one thing I am reasonably certain of is that if a person has no conscience, which such people as serial murderers don't have, they can murder without feelings of guilt. I would posit the view tha why some people don't have consciences ought to be the study of inquiry.

[RightWhale]

'When did evil enter Hitler's soul?

When he was rejected at the art academy.

[nmh]

No, people aren't "born evil" BUT they do inherit tendencies from their parents. A watchful parent strives to bring out the BEST in the child and lead them in the right direction.

As the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree but that doesn't mean the apple HAS to be rotten. In other words, you can MOLD a child's will one way or the other.

[gcruse]

"Are some people born evil?"

Normal Mailer was, I believe.

[Revolting cat!]