Good and Evil...

[aprilannies]

...so what do you think?

Can 'evil' actions sometimes be good?

If you lie to protect someone's feelings, (i.e. 'No you don't look fat in that dress.') is it still a sin?

Are there sins that are evil no matter what the situation?

Is good or evil determined by the person's belief systems or perspective? (i.e. suicide bombers)

[Tigerlilly]

I think the two concepts have some relativistic properties, but not fully. It would be kinda silly to think that murding thousands of innocent homeless people for any old reason would be good, and not evil. It really depends on the consequences of the actions and why you are doing it (what to achieve).

[mrmufin]

Hello, aprilannies, and welcome to the DC&R forums.

To the best of my knowledge, good and evil are assessments. That is, we have no absolute standard to reference when deeming something good or evil (kinda like tasty or pretty). It is entirely possible for a single event to be regarded as good by some, evil by others, etc.

As to your questions regarding sin; well, I'm not quite sure what a sin is... If a woman asks me if the dress makes her look fat, I plead the fifth. There's simply no good answer to that question.

Regards,
mrmufin

[ST88]

Can 'evil' actions sometimes be good?

If you lie to protect someone's feelings, (i.e. 'No you don't look fat in that dress.') is it still a sin?

Are there sins that are evil no matter what the situation?

Is good or evil determined by the person's belief systems or perspective? (i.e. suicide bombers)

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, one of the characters purposefully makes his family suffer to such as degree that they will be able to enter Heaven just through their suffering. Is it good that he wants them to go to Heaven, or is it evil that he wants to make them suffer?

I agree with mrmufin to a large degree, actions are actions and good/evil are judgments placed on them by others. In this way, the person's own belief system matters only to that person. He/she may come to believe that his/her actions were good or evil, but judgments about the action can also come from others, and they will not agree with each other.

Also, does lying in that context constitute the Biblical "bearing false witness"? Is it a sin to lie about your own subjective opinions? Maybe it's just a sin to be untruthful about objective things, things that anyone could have perceived had they been in the situation. Hmmmm.