Wow, this thread degenerated from Good and Evil to sex in a big hurry
Back on topic.
I think this is less difficult than it is being made out to be.
Good is the opposite of evil.
Any debate on that? If we cannot agree on that simple premise than the discussion is useless. No basis for discussion then exists, thread dies.
Somebody above states they seek to follow reason, we can do both, I think, if we can agree on the above.
If good is the opposite of evil, we then must simply define one or the other to determine them both.
That is the crux of the issue, I believe.
You must then define some common basis of one or the other. We live in a Judeo-Christian society, so we could then use the Judeo-Christian ethic to determine one or the other. Though we live in a Judeo-Christian society, we have accepted many other ethics as possible, so this is admittedly an imperfect assumption, but we must start somewhere.
Using the Judeo-Christian basis, the next assumption is that God is inherently and unequivocally good, thus what he expects of us is good, his example is good, and his wisdom is good. This can be extended to any definition of deity, whether Allah or others, because apart from the My God/Your God argument, any who believe in God at this point believe that their God, by any definition is good. Those who are agnostic will generally accept the Good/Evil argument on the basis of what is best for society. Those who are atheist generally will do the same on a wide scale basis, though both may disagree on a small scale or individual basis.
At some point about here someone will point out that I am assuming a lot about God, or their beliefs, or whatever. The simple truth is that if you don't make that assumption, there is no basis for a decision about good and evil.
So if God is good, then what is in opposition to him is bad, this falls basically in the "if you ain't with us, you agin us" argument.
So you can then, using reason, walk through the above situations and decide which is good, which is evil.
Rape-Against all known moral and religious ethics=Evil
Murder-Not self defense, not protecting others, murder is defined as the killing of others for personal gain or pleasure.-Same as above=Evil
Gambling-Risk is not the same as Gambling, Gambling is defined as intentionally placing yourself or your valuables at risk in the intent of achieving gain at the risk or loss of others. Thousands of years of moral prohibition arising from the obvious damage done by gambling created a significant inhibition against this. Our society today is beginning to see the damage caused by state sponsored gambling, as the poorest of the poor pay the biggest burden percentage wise as they gamble with money they cannot afford to lose. Most recognized religions condemn gambling, though some accept it as a part of life, in small amounts. Though JerryM and I tend to disagree on many things, using our/my basis above.=Evil
Rock and Roll-So far as it espouses things generally recognzed as bad-illicit sex, lust, depravity then it is evil. Is it inherently evil? It is a form of music, any music can be made to be evil, it conforms to the performer, in and of itself it is not evil, but it can be used in evil ways, much like a gun is not inherently evil, but can be used in evil ways. The comment ascribed to Mick Jagger, "We intend to destroy the family through sex, drugs, and rock and roll" comes to mind here. (Don't ask, its been too many years since I heard the quote to remember where)=Not inherently evil, but easily abused by evil meaning people.
Lust-Against the mores of every recognized religion. Do not argue that lust is necessary for life, LOVE is necessary for life, procreation may be a side effect of lust, but it is neither desirable when due to lust, nor a planned effect of it. (Name someone who PLANNED on getting pregnant from a one night stand!) Do not equate lust with a God created emotion, pleasure is not equal to joy. Lust creates a short term pleasure which society pays for in the long run!=Evil
Drugs/alcohol-used appropriately, a great benefit to society, used inappropriately, creates a huge burden on society.=Not inherently evil, but easily abused.
A very short list, but at least a basis to start on.
Goodnight.
Bill
