Good Vs Evil. The classic power struggle?

Good V Evil. The classic power struggle?

The classic debate of what is Good and what is Evil. What's the difference? Is there a difference. How can you tell? If you are Evil can you become Good  and vica versa. Is the battle external as in all around us or is it inside the human psyche, conscious or otherwise such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . Are people born evil or good as in is it Genetic. Examples of Evil and Good in Hollywood Film and even advertising. Taking things to the extreme does Evil and Good actually exist or is everything neutral in our world and is only coloured by our preconceptions, society, religious or cultural brainwashing or even just a figment of our imaginations..........we actually live a a place that is utopia? We'll take a look at all these different views.

In my humble opinion there is a spiritual warfare going on in the world in these modern times between what I cal
l light and darkness. Most people who I class as in the Grey territory are either blissfully unaware this is happening right now, some people are vaguely aware and choose to look the other way or bury their head in the sand. There is a minority however that are in the thick of it right now and know what is going on and are brandishing their spiritual swords.

To understand good you have to understand evil. To understand evil you have to understand good. At a very basic level everybody knows that God = Good. Even adding an extra o to the word God creates the word Good. Evil everybody knows in the traditional religious sense is represented by The Devil. Take the D out of the word and what does it say.....coincidence?

Moving on and taking things a step further what is the basic meaning in cold, clinical and literal terms taken straight out of a Dictionary for Good and Evil

Dictionary meaning of Good

adjective
1.to be desired or approved of.
2.having the required qualities; of a high standard.
3.possessing or displaying moral virtue.
4.giving pleasure; enjoyable or satisfying.
5.thorough.
6.valid.
7.used in conjunction with the name of God or a related expression as an exclamation of extreme surprise or anger.

Dictionary meaning of Evil

adj. e·vil·er, e·vil·est
1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.
2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.
3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.
4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.
5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.

General words associated with Good and Evil taken from a Thesaurus.

Words associated with evil

Darkness, Negative, War, destruction, deception, anger, gluttony, vanity, the self, ego, pride, lust, hate, jealousy, rebellion, Disrespectful, addiction, laziness, slander, sinful, swearing, misfortune, bitterness, chaos, disagreeable, demonic, aggravation, revenge, sarcastic, cutting, possessed, mind control, oblivion, bad, baneful, beastly, calamitous, corrupt, damnable, depraved, foul, liar, crooked, harmful, hateful, filth, uncleanliness, heinous, hideous, iniquitous, injurious, loathsome, maleficent, malevolent, malicious, temptation, malignant, nefarious, obscene, offensive, pernicious, poison, rancorous, reprobate, repugnant, taking repulsive, revolting, spiteful, stinking, ugly, unpleasant, unpropitious, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, wrathful, wrong

Words associated with Good

Creation, Light, Positive, Holiness, Peace, Contentment, Faith, Love, Harmony, fortunate, Patient, Charitable, unselfish, giving, cleanliness, caring, helpful, respectful, auspicious, decent, honesty, moral, sinless, upright, virtuous, admirable, agreeable, commendable, congenial, favorable, gratifying, welcome, worthy

The Wikipedia Definition

The conflict between good and evil is one of the precepts of the Zoroastrian faith, first enshrined by Zarathustra over 3000 years ago. It is also one of the most common conventional themes in literature, and is sometimes considered to be a universal part of the human condition. There are several variations on this conflict, one being the battle between individuals or ideologies, with one side Good, the other Evil. Another variation is the inner struggle in characters (and by extension, humans in reality) between good and evil. Conrad defined all humans as having an "inner evil" or Heart of Darkness in his novella of the same name.

Films with Good V Evil themes
There are hundreds of films out there that have a Good Vs Evil theme as their main plot line. You could say many films will feature this somewhere within any film. But these films below feature the battle of Good V Evil as the very foundation of the film and it's story line. The common theme is always a massive struggle with evil seemingly having the upper hand but with good against all odds (massive) prevailing in the end but not always.

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Star Wars

The Shawshank Redemption

El Cid

Spartacus

Batman The Dark Knight Rises

The Omen

Rocky IV

Maleficient

Aliens

The Matrix

Terminator 2

The Exorcist

Seven

The Devils Advocate

The Divide



A debate among a number of people representing different faiths concerning Good and Evil. The people in the debate include a Christian Pastor, A spiritual teacher and best selling author, a Catholic Priest, A spiritualist intuitive and author and a Criminal Profiler from the FBI.

Larry King Show Live Good V Evil

Good V Evil in Advertising

A banned Nike Commercial from 2008 with a Good V Evil theme

What other religions say about Good and Evil

An interesting refreshing approach to Good and Evil.
A Zen Buddhist approach to good and evil. The video below goes into great detail on the how and why's that evil doesn't actually exist, that everything in the world is actually neutral, it's only our minds and how they have been programmed by parents, society or religion that makes us think something is inherently evil or good. Apparently this attitude frees our minds and takes us to a higher level in life and we find peace and harmony as the black and white mindset has been removed. I think this is a very dangerous and problematic view as we will see in the two examples below and would explain why we are seeing the increasing problems we have in the world today.

Here's two examples with a few words from myself giving a Christian Perspective.

Scenario 1
A man has a gun sees somebody and decides to kill them. That we would perceive as evil. BUT take the same situation and this time the man is firing the gun in self defense is that now evil? Or are both situations actually neutral but are being pre coloured by our own life programmings?

This is an easy one. In Christianity it's perfectly clear that murder is a breaking of one of the ten commandments and is a sin and evil. Doing it in self defence the motive is different BUT the end result is the same, a loss of life. Either way it's pretty simple and abundantly clear it's evil, and why is he walking round with a gun in the first place? The Oscar Pistorius case springs to mind here.

Scenario 2
Everybody is aware of Hitler and also Churchill but this Buddhist theory challenges the pre-concieved notion that Hitler was Evil and Churchill was Good. In Hitlers Eyes he was doing good and his massive following thought the same. They were performing a cleansing of the world and the Jews were evil and people like Churchill were evil and were getting in the way of their master plan that would benefit humanity. This theory states that Churchill and Hitler in reality were actually Neutral. Neither Evil or Good it just depends which side of the war you are standing on that will colour your perception either way to whether they were actually Good or Evil.

Looking at this in a purely simplistic way without even bringing in the Christian Card. If Hitler was Neutral and wasn't really evil, religion aside how do you explain the Holocaust that resulted in the deaths of millions in gas chambers and ovens. If that act is neutral and not evil then what I dread to think what actual evil would be? His association with the Occult and use of it's symbolism. That's a grey neutral area as well. Did Churchill do the same thing.......you guessed it.... no he didn't. Again as far as I'm concerned it's pretty clear who was Evil and who was Good, it doesn't get any clearer than that. There is no Neutrality here!

After watching the complete video the conclusion that was reached was yes this is an interesting theory but this to me is just another example of evil at work, confusing your mind saying that's OK to do that it's "Neutral" or it actually doesn't exist, when in fact your heart, your mind and your gut are saying otherwise. You are fighting basic human instincts here and they were put their for a reason.

Good V Evil. Why evil doesn't actually exist. Via Actualized.org

The Hindu View on Good and Evil
As far as I can gather there is no heaven or hell, or devil in Hinduism, their all powerful creator is both good and evil all in one whereas good and evil in Christianity come in separate entities. I can't fathom this religion whatsoever it all looks a bit Pagan to me but here's a woman that is an Ex Catholic that explains Hinduism and it's views on good and evil.
Hinduism and Good and Evil

My personal views on Good and Evil

Having recently been "Saved" and previously being of a Pagan belief I can honestly say from personal experience there is Good and Evil. I have been at both ends of the spectrum. I think it exists in our world, also in a spiritual dimension that is not of this world and within every single person on this planet. Evil or Good is nurtured within somebody via upbringing, society, culture and religious beliefs and ultimately how you live your life and what experiences you have had. I don't think it is entirely a Black and White scenario as the main picture at the top of this article indicates. It's much more complicated than that. Can you be born evil or good again that is highly debatable.

From my experience evil normally comes disguised and with words like it's OK, everybody is doing it, don't worry it will be great, go on give it a try, the first one is free, or go ahead and do it no one will notice, or it's not legal but nobody ever gets caught. Good never uses such wording as it's the truth.

Evil comes and is charming and charismatic and seductive and hypnotic in behaviour. Good again doesn't have to resort to such techniques.

Evil in any shape or form gives you an initial buzz but it never lasts and it comes at a price, and it keeps you coming back for more,  think hard drugs and you are on the right lines. Good is more akin to building a house, the buzz initially is minimal but when the work is completed it gives a different buzz that lasts a lifetime.

I think there is some validity to the argument that just like a car battery, it needs both positive and negative energies to bring about that life giving spark to start a cars engine. I also think that there is some validity to the argument it depends which side you are standing on that decides whether that side is good or evil. The 9/11 pilots must have been convinced that America is Evil and they were Good. From an American standpoint and most of the rest of the world what happened was Evil and America is the Good victim.

The karma or vibe thing also has some validity, if you have suffered a negative experience in your life, this can result in negativity or evil being attracted to you and obviously the reverse is true with a positive experience.

A penniless mother steals bread from a supermarket to feed her starving child, is she doing good or evil. The good is she is feeding her starving child, the evil is she is stealing to do it and breaking one of the ten commandments. If she didn't steal the bread and allowed her child to die of hunger, she has unwillingly committed murder that also breaks one of the ten commandments, is that good or even more evil? This is an example of what I call a "Grey" area.

Good in my books is somebody or something that produces a positive outcome and is the truth. Words like Creation, Light, Positive, Holiness, Peace, Contentment, Faith, Love, Harmony and fortunate create a vision of well being and justness that paints a vision of Good

Bad or Evil in my books is somebody that embraces a negative outcome and is not interested in the Truth but lies and  Darkness, Negative, War, destruction, deception, anger, vanity, the self, ego, pride, lust, hate, jealousy, rebellion, disrespectful, addiction and many more things that have a negative connotation.

The problem I think that exists in the world today is firstly people seem to be increasingly confused on whether something is good or evil and our modern society seems to make what was considered evil say 20 years ago to be OK these days. The grey scenario is increasingly occurring and the neutral theory seems to be an emerging belief which I think has dangerous connotations. A plane flying into the World Trade Centre killing hundreds/thousands of people with no warning, regardless of the sides involved here, it's quite simply evil whichever side you look at it from. It's certainly not a neutral event that's for sure.

I agree with the FBI guy in the previous video on bad things happening to good people. Life is a continual test and sometimes bad things happen for a reason and good can come out of this hence the expression, "Every cloud has a silver lining"

As the Buddhist view video states you can't taste, hear or smell evil or good. I agree, therefore it must be something that is in our minds that makes us see it which means in effect everything that surrounds us is Neutral.

My personal opinion is stick to the biblical Ten Commandments and be aware of the 7 deadly sins and that will give you a solid starting point on defining what Good and Evil is. Also God created man in his own image and gave him intelligence and five senses and a sixth sense to help him decide whether what he is doing is actually Good or Evil. When you start twisting things and getting clever to make it seem as if what you are actually doing is Good then most of the time it will be evil, because Good doesn't need to be twisted to make it Good as it is normally accompanied by the truth. Following your "Gut" is as valid today as it has been for thousands of years regardless of sex, race, creed or religion.

The ultimate test for me is the final outcome. Kill somebody with a gun in Case 1 and kill somebody with a gun in self defense Case 2, one is different from the other granted but the final outcome is the same, a loss of life which is evil in my books and certainly not Grey or Neutral.

The Christian and Biblical View on Good and Evil. Bible Quotes

Some biblical quotes referring to good and evil to get your head round. some are self explanatory otherwise require a second, third or fourth reading.

The Christian Religion along with Islam and Judaism are pretty clear on Good and Evil and would explain why they are the three major religions in this world that are monotheistic as in believe in one God.

In Christianity God Created good which was changed when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge

And the Lord God said, "Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
Gen 3:22

Relevant Bible Quotes concerning Good and Evil

Since I've been a Christian I have noticed that evil is more visible in my life than it was before and the bible references this battle an unbelievable number of times

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 2:17

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Rom 12:21

And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"
Job 28:28

2Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

1John 5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

3 For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.
2 Cor 10:3-5

38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
Matt 13:38-40

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Eph 6:11

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
Rom 1:28-31

20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.
John 3:20-21

The evildoer must continue to do evil, and the one who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy. The one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy."
Rev 22:11

Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.
Isa 5:20