Right, Penelope, we can say evil is an effective brand for behavior a culture wants to stigmatize--until we come up against examples which cultural relativism doesn't excuse, such as female genital mutilation or other child abuse. If cultures have evolved acceptance of such practices, they have evolved evil practices. It has been known to happen, here in the U.S. viciously in the form of chattel slavery only 150 years ago, for one example.

It's commonly noted that the Bible doesn't say money is evil, but that the love of money is evil. The qualification is necessary because money is a good thing. I'm quite fond of it, actually, even though I've never figured out how to get more of over to my corner without missing out on things more important to me. Or I could just be lacking in certain skills, but no matter in my case, because I'm lucky enough to live in a country and time, and to have had middle class parents who wanted me to get an education (and paid for it), that I've done all right despite not being a fireball of ambition.

So it isn't a sin to seek knowledge ; it's what you do with that knowledge that is the question.

I have the knowledge that' my neighbours go out on Friday nights and that knowledge isn't sinful unless I go round there and pinch their chickens . If a fox goes round and pinches chickens , that's not sinful it's a fox being a fox.

The Bible says 'be not wise in your own conceits' and that is saying 'do as you're told and don't rely on your own judgments. 'Judge not lest ye be judged' - well we need knowledge and wisdom to make a judgement that is sound but we really must judge and think or we become fanatical followers of superstition , often in the form of religious extremism.

Flann 5 wrote:

Gnostic Bishop wrote:Oops. Pardon the regression to my more primal self. That stress likely took a day out of my life. The scientist that did the report above indicated that for every one day of stress, one lost about 6 days of life. That is for primates and I am not sure if it applies one to one for humans.

If this applied to humans and you were 20 years old and every second day of your life was stressful, you would really be minus 40 years old!
Of course that's based on life expectancy but if it was stress every second day reducing life by six days per bad day there's still something odd about it.

Not if you consider that stress has various levels. Factor those in and there you are.

Here is where I picket up the information.

http://www.upworthy.com/something-fasci ... ?c=reccon1

If you found value in his work on primates and think this scientist worthy then you might also watch what he says about you in this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNSe4Ff ... r_embedded

Regards
DL

Flann 5 wrote:

Penelope wrote:I think the fact that we know so much of what is going on around the world, via technology ,causes high stress levels. We can't uninvent communication so we need to deal with it. I only listen to the news once a day and try to identify the things I can do nothing about and those where I perhaps can.

There's a lot of a bad news in the media really and the everyday positive things don't make the news. So taking the theme here how would this apply to seeking knowledge?

We know the line that where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise!

The writer of Ecclesiates says: " For in much wisdom is much grief,and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
And later; "Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness."
There's something paradoxical it seems in relation to these things. Wisdom is better than knowledge though knowledge is not bad, but I guess like with the deluge of mass communications we know things that are bleak that we wouldn't otherwise know.
So like you say Penelope, we have to find an approach to dealing with it.

Two thinks come to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Oww4Ap3YZA

It is actually surprising how well the world is developing. We are doing great as we are driving down all the stats for evil from poverty to death by violence.

Second. I am a man of -----

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08e9k-c91E8

Regards
DL

Chris OConnor wrote:Some of these discussions spiral out of control because we're each using common words differently. To me, and I assume to most people, evil means something quite different than you think, Gnostic Bishop.

Google defines it in the same way I think most people define it:

wicked, bad, wrong, immoral, sinful, foul, vile, dishonorable, corrupt, iniquitous, depraved, reprobate, villainous, nefarious, vicious, malicious; malevolent, sinister, demonic, devilish, diabolical, fiendish, dark; monstrous, shocking, despicable, atrocious, heinous, odious, contemptible, horrible, execrable;
informallowdown, dirty
"an evil deed"

Two animals competing for limited resources for survival cannot properly be classified as "evil."

Job applicants are not acting "evil" by competing.

I've competed for jobs many times and lost the competition plenty. At no point did I feel as if evil was done to me.

Did your like to lose?

I do not and to me losing is bad. That is a low level evil to me.

To you, if losing is not bad or a negative, then let me assume you found it good and a positive. If not negative then how would you describe your loss? What adjective?

I do have one exception to my disliking losing at competitions. In competing by debate for the supremacy of ideas, I actually prefer to lose as then I learn something new and improve my thinking. Learning something new is one of the greatest pleasures I have found.

Many fight even when they have lost a debate because they do not want to learn anything that goes against their present biases or beliefs.

Faith is actually not wanting to know the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTN9Nx8 ... e=youtu.be

Regards
DL

Penelope wrote:The Bible dubs a lot of things as evil which sometimes diverts us from using our own judgement and identifying 'why' something is called evil. I am thinking of same sex relationships which hurt no one if between consenting adults. But child abuse is obviously and absolutely evil.

Some religions are forbidden to eat pork or beef or offal or shellfish but no one seems to mind our eating tortured battery chickens, or pigs which have been chained to the floor and not allowed to move. That is evil - and anyone must know it in their hearts but turn a blind eye for the sake of cheap meat.

20/20

We have disassociated ourselves from nature and the world is showing us the results of that error.

Regards
DL

DWill wrote:Right, Penelope, we can say evil is an effective brand for behavior a culture wants to stigmatize--until we come up against examples which cultural relativism doesn't excuse, such as female genital mutilation or other child abuse. If cultures have evolved acceptance of such practices, they have evolved evil practices. It has been known to happen, here in the U.S. viciously in the form of chattel slavery only 150 years ago, for one example.

It's commonly noted that the Bible doesn't say money is evil, but that the love of money is evil. The qualification is necessary because money is a good thing. I'm quite fond of it, actually, even though I've never figured out how to get more of over to my corner without missing out on things more important to me. Or I could just be lacking in certain skills, but no matter in my case, because I'm lucky enough to live in a country and time, and to have had middle class parents who wanted me to get an education (and paid for it), that I've done all right despite not being a fireball of ambition.

Yours is a common view and in the past I would not blink an eye or try to change your view but in todays reality, I think that wealth has become evil indeed. Money is just a convenient tool for us to trade with but actual wealth, the way it is used and distributed today is evil at the hands of those who own it.

http://www.upworthy.com/9-out-of-10-ame ... ing-fact-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQYA9Qjsi0

We are now truly slaved to those who have entrenched hereditary wealth.

We are all living in oligarchies and not in any way can we call what we have democracies.

There out to be a law against such slavery.

Regards
DL