Are people by nature good or are they inherently evil?

score:6

Deriving from the topics of Original Sin and Common Grace, I would argue that the answer is "both".

Let me expand. Our born nature is that of a sinner - one who cannot obtain God's favor on his own. However, we also have natural tendencies to take care of immediate family (Matthew 5:47 "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" and Luke 11:11 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?").

In so far as it benefits US, we are "basically good". But since we tend to epitomize selfishness, when the benefits for US no longer exceed the cost, we will tend to be "basically evil".

As to the extreme examples of that (theft, murder, etc etc), the cost-benefit analysis was either never made, or is highly skewed.

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📝 Are people by nature good or are they inherently evil?
📝 What doctrines teach that people are inherently good or bad?
📝 Are sins sinful because they are inherently acts of badness or because they are acts of disobedience against god?
📝 What is the Catholic biblical or canon basis saying some moral works without grace (transient or permanent) are good (or not have the nature of sin)?
📝 Are there published testimonies from people who had experiences with the Christian God of which they had no prior knowledge?
📝 According to Catholics & Protestants, do good people from other religions go to heaven as well? If they do, what's the point in being a Christian?
📝 (Catholic view) Why do we pray for God's Kingdom to come if good people go to heaven when they die?
📝 Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?
📝 What prophesies are people alluding to when they say "look at the Middle East"?
📝 Are the notions of good and evil different in Christianity and Islam?
📝 When people say "I am waiting on God." Are they afraid to take action in their own lives?
📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
📝 Are some people created to go to Hell?
📝 Who are these people in this Catholic Reformation meme that are considered more influential than Martin Luther?
📝 Do Calvinists believe they know whether they are saved?
📝 What are indulgences and when and why were they used?
📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses respond to the charge that they are false prophets (because their end-of-the-world predictions didn't come true)?
📝 Why are some people born into famine and starvation?
📝 Do Catholics believe that they are actually eating the body of Christ? Does this make them cannibals?
📝 Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place?
📝 Why are people traditionally buried facing east?
📝 Why are the books of the Protestant Bible in the order that they are in?
📝 Are there any biblical incidents of people condemned for consensual premarital sex?
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📝 Are the names of all people originally written in the Book of Life?
📝 To what are the scriptures referring when they speak of the books of the "chronicles of the kings"?
📝 Where is the verse about people sinning because they know God will forgive them?
📝 Do Jehovah's Witnesses have membership fees or how are they funded?
📝 Are Lutherans comfortable with worshipping a consecrated host or do they consider it to be idolatry?
📝 What does it mean that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are of the same nature but different personas?

Are people by nature good or are they inherently evil?

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