As light is defined by everything that is not darkness, goodness can be described as an action or thing that defies all that is bad. But just as light cannot exist without darkness, good is dependent on the bad. Without the presence of sin and the wicked, the term “good” will apply itself to everything, eventually losing all meaning.
Good and bad do not exist in a world as simplistic as that of a Disney movie, because actions and intentions defines what something or someone is. Since people and things do a multitude of different activities, we are all a mixture of ethical and unethical, good and bad. Even the gods and goddesses of ancient Rome fall prey to this theory. For example, Zeus, the king of the gods, was idolized for his power over the skies and weather and his heroic actions, but he was also known for his infidelity and his temper that could result in one being swallowed. Similar to Zeus and the other gods, people tend to sin as well as do good work.
It is impossible to do only good actions because what is good for one person could affect another in a negative way. For example, the expansion of Germany prior to and during World War II benefited the Germans through land, resources and pride, but it cost thousands of people their lives. Some people may argue that saints, such as Mother Teresa or even Jesus, were good people, and what they are saying is mostly true. But despite their abundance of good deeds, they all sinned. Jesus lied by omission of the truth to his parents when he ran away to the temple, and even Mother Teresa must have given her parents a difficult time without sufficient reason. Goodness and badness exist in everyone and everything; it is nature.
In conclusion, I would like to mention that I think that people and things can overall be “good”, but because actions define who we are, I think that they have parts of them that are inherently bad as there are in every person and thing.
Micha, I like how you said that we all inherently have bad in us. I find it hard to go throughout our whole lives without doing something that could be classified as "bad" or a sin. Yes, we can fulfill our lives by carrying out good deeds until we die, but at one point unconsciously or consciously, we have slipped. I sometimes think that we are more defined by other people and what they determine is good and bad, as opposed to the actions themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe that seeing the bad in the world not only allows us to notice what is good but helps us appreciate it. I believe that when it comes to people it is really hard to distinguish between who is "good" and "bad" and that, in fact, the world is not split up between "good people and death eaters" as Sirius Black would say but that, as humans, we are all muddled up with good and bad no it is which we decide to strive to act on that defines who we are.
ReplyDeleteI love the part when you talk about Jesus like he was a rebellious teenager, such a funny thing to picture. However i do think that what you are saying is true. I think that everyone has done something wrong in their lifetime because that is human nature. However people like saints and martyrs are often dismissed of their sins because of all the good that they do. It makes me wonder "If i were to stop 'sinning' for the rest of my life and do only good, would anyone remember the bad things that i have done up until this point?"
ReplyDeleteI love the part when you talk about Jesus like he was a rebellious teenager, such a funny thing to picture. However i do think that what you are saying is true. I think that everyone has done something wrong in their lifetime because that is human nature. However people like saints and martyrs are often dismissed of their sins because of all the good that they do. It makes me wonder "If i were to stop 'sinning' for the rest of my life and do only good, would anyone remember the bad things that i have done up until this point?"
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