• Are human beings basically good?
• Is human life more valuable than any other kind of life on earth? Why?
• Are there any answers in the Bible to current questions that have to do with human life?
Human beings are not inherently evil. They are born with a conscience and a rational mind, thus the feeling of guilt and remorse. The debate however of what is rational, what is good and what is evil carries on as each group of people have their own interpretation of what is good, justified by the circumstances in which they exist. It is difficult to have a distinct measure for human nature or to make a simple determination of whether someone is evil o r good by nature. This is because an individual’s character lives under the influence of the society they live in.
Human beings are born pure and of kind heart. “Assuredly, unless you become like the young children, you will not see kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18: 3). This indicates the desire God has to have us liken ourselves to young children who are of innocent at heart and oblivious of good or evil. Indeed, He wanted human beings to think of ourselves as pure beings of kind and innocent heart s knowing no evil. When a baby is born, he or she is neither good nor evil rather they are neutral and pure.
The change from the pureness of heart, which an individual comes to the world with, draws motivation from different reasons such as their pursuit for happiness and a deep self-interest. Jealousy and self-interest develop in the hearts of many against their fellow successful beings causing a corruption, which poisons the initial good in people’s hearts. Abel’s sacrifice to God corrupted Cain’s heart, turned him against his brother, and consequently turned him evil (Genesis 4). The bible in its essence advocates for the human race going back to their ways and abandoning all evil insinuating that people are good in their initial existence but succumb to challenges of the world.
The constant quest that human beings take up to better themselves and achieve their lives goes to show that the human race strives to excel. Human life is indeed more valuable than all other life on earth. This is evident when God creates Adam; a more complex being than all previous creations; in his own image and likeness. He then went on to leave him in charge of all other creation. This indicates the value accorded to the human life supported by the responsibility, which he took up in naming creation (Genesis 2: 20).
The Bible, though written ages ago, can still provide answers t o current questions that have to do with human life. The Bible vastly reviews issues of morality, the difference between good and evil through all the books from Genesis to Revelations.
The Bible talks about current and ongoing issues that revolve around human life. Popular examples are on matters of family as stated in the fifth commandment, “Honor your mother and Father… (Exodus 20:12), relationships between man and woman, marriage: “husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and g ave himself for it….” (Ephesians 5:25), parenting: “bring up your children in the ways they should follow, and when his is old, he will not go astray.” (Proverbs 22:6) sexual orientation (homosexuality) “Thou shalt lie with a fellow man, as with a fellow woman it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22), alcoholism, religion, work and work ethics just to mention a few.
Conclusion
Many declare human nature as evil because evil is what is most prevalent and evident in everyday life. This however does not depict human nature at large. Though the society has corrupted members of the human race, it does not mean that people are inherently evil. There are bad things in the media. This does not mean that there are no good things happening. Yet, with the backing of the bible, and stories from the bible, the human race gets emancipation from the harsh ruling that they are all evil.
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Grammar
F
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Formatting
D
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Organization
C
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Style
D
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