[Diamond]

I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you suggesting that good and evil are defined by the whim of god?

Not at all. I'm attempting to speak to you on your own terms. Here's the problem:

You said that people who seek the truth outside the realm of verifiable knowledge give you the heebie jeebies, and then you went on to imply that there is some objective standard (or "scale") of good and evil.

I think you will have a very difficult time attempting to give a coherent, adequate accounting for any objective standard of "good" and "evil" as we know it from an evolutionary perspective, and much less "verifiably" so.

If evolution is responsible for everything that exists then there is no basis for calling anything that exists because of it either 'good' or 'evil'. The concepts become meaningless without an appeal to some transcendent standard that would precede impersonal evolution, which is obviously impossible if evolution is true.

Cordially,

[js1138]

I accept that there is a problem finding common definitions of good and evil. I don't think the problem is very deep -- it is the natural result of people's individual desires conflicting with others. There are lots of messy solutions -- laws, courts, politics, police, but the underlying concept is simple.

The scale I have in mind is one of intention. Good people intend to keep their behavior from causing harm. Evil people intentionally cause harm to others. Liberals, of course, take this scale of intentionality to extremes, but that's another scale, the one dealing with intelligence.