What is the root of all evil?
18 Sep 2014, 11:11 pm
lol... The devil is a cool story character. Some actors have said there's more scope in an evil character than a good one.
Possibly one of the worst catch phrases is, "The devil made me do it." Talk about passing the buck!
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20 Sep 2014, 1:38 pm
The prophet Muhammad carried on with over 10 wives and unusually enough one below the age of 10. He did not repress much of his sexual nature that is for sure.
The height of hypocrisy in the original Muslim teachings as expressed today is that women should be held as lesser in equality with reproductive freedoms.
But anyway, repress any part of human nature, whether it is 'normal' reproductive freedoms, human emotion, or 'by GOD' just the opportunity and ability to dance and not walk on sidewalks in a straight line only; or be forced in a room without windows sitting still in front of a computer screen 8 hours a day; and the not so savory parts of human nature can and do arise.
And of course the inability to gain enough territory and basic subsistence for day-to-day life and compatible mates, is another major cause of what some folks describe as evil in the world.
This is part of why one sees the healthiest most peaceful societies in cultures where folks get along and share whether it is government mandated in Scandinavian countries or the smaller more peaceful societies that do still have populaces that co-exist peacefully in sharing rather than collecting and dominating; oppressing and repressing the nature of other human beings through subjugation and fear tactics whether it is an imaginary devil called Satan, or an imaginary literal threat of hell fire.
The GOD of nature is ONE, in my opinion.
Humans are the only animals silly enough to divide nature into good and bad, as what they imagine can and does come true in conflicts and wars where innocents die. And if some could have his or her way the Armageddon scenario could come to fruition and everyone would suffer a horrifying death.
Fortunately the GOD of nature, overall, makes humans to survive, not to kill themselves off instinctually.
As a whole, ignorance is the root of so-called evil.
And if there is any real evil in the world, it is human produced human suffering, taking people away from their GOD given natures.
The Prophet Muhammad PBUH was so poor that he slept on the ground and he refused to accept large sums of money from his companions to better his life style. He was married to many wives because Allah ordered him to in order to keep the prophethood going. Remember being a Prophet requires diplomacy with other tribes and such. His later marriages were for various reasons. Some marriages were with the view to help the women whose husbands had been killed while they were defending their faith. Others were with a view to cement relationships with devoted followers like Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. Yet others were to build bridges with various tribes who were otherwise at war with the Muslims. When the prophet became their relative through marriage, their hostilities calmed down, and much bloodshed was averted.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), instead of taking concubines, entered into lawful marriages based on reason and wisdom. Maria the Copt was given to him as a present, but rather than taking her as a concubine, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, thus elevating her status by marriage.
I don't need to be apologetic to how many the wives the Prophet had. His lifestyle does not concern you and your hate for the Prophet is unnecessary and filled with bigotry as I was only quoting something from him and there was no need for you to go into things that you think is flawed about his lifestyle Prophet Muhammed PBUH.
If you studied his biography, you would know too well that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH had a very simple lifestyle and He was very poor.
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Last edited by azaam on 20 Sep 2014, 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
20 Sep 2014, 1:45 pm
Wait, so other people can insult other religious individuals but when it comes to Muhammed it's off limits? Sorry, but that's hypocritical.
Some people are just inherently evil, whether that be the work of a spiritual force (if you believe in that), the devil (again, if you believe in it), the environment they are in, how they were raised, etc.
20 Sep 2014, 2:26 pm
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), instead of taking concubines, entered into lawful marriages based on reason and wisdom. Maria the Copt was given to him as a present, but rather than taking her as a concubine, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, thus elevating her status by marriage.
I don't need to be apologetic to how many the wives the Prophet had. His lifestyle does not concern you and your hate for the Prophet is unnecessary and filled with bigotry as I was only quoting something from him and there was no need for you to go into things that you think is flawed about his lifestyle Prophet Muhammed PBUH.
If you studied his biography, you would know too well that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH had a very simple lifestyle and He was very poor.
I have studied Muhammad's biography thoroughly and actually overall like the philosophy of the man, and understand the cultural issues that made some of his behavior necessary, as yes, he was just a man and flawed like the rest of us.
But no, it is clear he did not repress his sexual nature. That was my only claim about the man Muhammad. If Muslims as a whole, actually carried on his original philosophy of equality between men and women, the Muslim world would be a much more harmonious place, for women at least.
And to be clear I have many Muslim friends including females that are married too, who completely agree with me on these points. They see the problems clearly of how falsely the Muslim religion is effected in the real world now. A religion of hate it has become for many, if one is a woman subject to stove burnings for insufficient Dowries and such as that. Not so bad for a man though, obviously.
But no that's not Muhammad's fault. If there is one thing that is clear, that was one man who really liked women. And that's OK, within the guidelines of the law of course. Today he would be in prison, for the under 10 year old thing, at least in the US. But that was then and now is now.
But NO, no matter what time it is, I for one never condone THAT. It's obvious to me he had some issues too, if that is true.
But I don't like to armchair analyze historical folks, especially when we really cannot be sure we have all the facts at this point; yes, much of the man's life is conjecture at this point a century and a half ago, not unlike the over 2K issue with the man Yeshua aka Jesus.
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23 Sep 2014, 10:14 pm
That is true because most evil that is committed by people like stealing and so on is to satisfy our desires of living the best life we can and that means breaking the rules sometimes. The closest means of satisfying our love for this life is through money as most people think. And some people want it so bad that they will commit any sin, even killing people, just to acquire wealth.
Do you agree this is the case?
Do you watch the news at all lately? I don't believe in a source of all evil, but if I had to pick one, it appears to be Islam as of late.
02 Oct 2014, 8:36 pm
I was going to suggest that it might be ignorance but after reading the thread I'm convinced. Definitely ignorance.
Most evil people act from their arrogance as a result of wordy things. Politics is one example.
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If nobody will give a s**t about me, then I will give a s**t about me.
03 Oct 2014, 2:14 am
I was going to suggest that it might be ignorance but after reading the thread I'm convinced. Definitely ignorance.
Most evil people act from their arrogance as a result of wordy things. Politics is one example.
To reduce evil, you need 3 things:
- Open minds (reduce intolerance)
- To be thoughtful (to be mindful and considerate)
- To be educated (to remove ignorance)
Evil thrives in the absence of these things.
_________________
I'm not blind to your facial expression - but it may take me a few minutes to comprehend it.
A smile is not always a smile.
A frown is not always a frown.
And a blank look rarely means a blank mind.
04 Oct 2014, 2:32 am
Per the comment above..where's the like button..;)
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04 Oct 2014, 4:28 am
The reality is evil is a societal concept. Were are capable of discerning good and bad, and being good people.
What Islam and other religion try to do, is link that to the need to believe in their doctrine, however their doctrine includes all sort of thing that either have nothing to do with morality, or could even be called evil.
The reality is nature creates desire. For some religion is a mental trick to control that desire. it is kind like having a life coach in the sky, only problem is the advice is archaic, often contradictory, and morally suspect.
Other people can moderate desire
Morality doesn't mean you have no desire. Not does religion. Quite often people can be dutiful worshipers, and pious, but their behavior in general is selfish and immoral.
To Azaam, there is nothing profound about these statement. It wasn't profound then and it isn't profound now. It is the kind of stuff you get in a self help book, nothing more nothing less. If you look for meaning in a desert, and you really want to find meaning you will find it, becuase your desire to find meaning must be quenched. All you are doing is telling yourself what you already know, and what you want to hear. If you substitute a better more eloquently written book, you can get the same effect with better advice.
There are also sort of inspiring people who said some pretty astute things. Mohamed and his story rank pretty average. Then there is all the questionable example that he set.
You could argue threat the Jesus story, has more clear and moral example setting, and clear moral principles. Mohamed on the other hand, this is a rehash of old testament thinking with the book of revelation thrown in for good measure. It is backward step if anything.
04 Oct 2014, 4:38 am
The concept of trying to get a good position in the afterlife is itself selfish.
As stated the best approximation of the 'root' of evil is desire. That doesn't mean that is all desire is bad, but uncontrolled desire, can cause suffering, it does often affect other people an things.
I'm not banging the Buddhist drum, but clearly they were more perceptive on this than Abrahamic religion which skirted round the issue. The Buddhist at least realized the morality is not absolute in nature, and it is you personal quest.
This is better moral guild than the Bible or the Quran.
You can argue that believing in a "root" is itself a flawed, and tantamount to black and white thinking which is not objective.
04 Oct 2014, 6:06 am
This is clearly a skewed view of reality. Much as religion has its foibles, it is simply not appropriate to blame Islam for the mess that is the middle east.
Russell Brand, foppish tit that he might be, put it quite succinctly. He suggests we view every bomb that is dropped as a seed from which insurgents will grow.
04 Oct 2014, 3:38 pm
I was going to suggest that it might be ignorance but after reading the thread I'm convinced. Definitely ignorance.
Most evil people act from their arrogance as a result of wordy things. Politics is one example.
"Wordy things"?
I think that you mean "belief systems", ideologies, or creeds. Which includes religions, including Islam.
Much evil is indeed done in the name of ideologies, including religions, including Islam.
Much good is also done in the name of beliefs.
Much evil not done in the name of any creed, or belief system.
So it ain't that simple.
