Is man born good-natured or bad-natured?
By 2timothy
@2timothy (794)
Philippines
January 15, 2007 9:09pm CST
The philosopher Mencius says that man are born good-natured while the philosopher Xunzi says that man are born bad-natured. Especially parents who saw their children grow up, are they born good-natured and later influenced by environment to become bad, or are they born bad-natured and later disciplined by environment to become good?
8 responses
@Avichail (694)
• Indonesia
30 Jan 07
The Bible revealed that no man was born with a good nature (Romans 3:10-18 - NASB). All men after Adam are inclined to sin from the first day they are concieved in the womb.
At first I found it a bit hard to accept this, but later I found out by myself that how it is always so easy to sin rather than to do good. Without God's grace and His guidance through the works of Holy Spirit, my inclination is always to sin and to be honest much more often than not, the guilt only sinks in after the sin is committed. That's why I know how much I need God's grace every moment in my life.
1 person likes this
@wraithstrider (198)
• Philippines
5 Feb 07
Even if you read the whole chapter 3 of Romans, or even the entire book of Romans, in any Translation, you CAN'T read ANYWHERE on it that "no man was born with good nature".
I believe that if we would like to profess our thoughts by citing biblical verses, the least we could do is to be biblical. Nothing more, nothing less..
We shouldn't add or subtract any word or even a single dot from it.
@wraithstriderwife (938)
• Philippines
22 Jan 07
Lo, This is only I have found, that God has made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions
-- Ecclesiastes 7:29
1 person likes this
@wraithstrider (198)
• Philippines
5 Feb 07
I believe on what the Bible has spoken, that God has made man upright.
@hiitssomu (657)
• United States
16 Jan 07
i would say man are born NO-nature. we all make the good and bad. if see a child who try catch a hot water bottle, he don't know that the bottle is hot and if he touch that what can be consequence of that. once he touch that he feel 'oh! it is HOT!' now he understand that hot bottle is not something good to play with. he could also likes that. so he is learing which one is good and which one is bad. now it depends on nature and surrounding environment to influence the little boy to make his decision whether he will go with bad, or wil go with bad.
i can remember one another great philosopher and monk Sri Ramakrishna, once he gave one good example on this topic. he told that we use same soil to make the sculpture of a God Jesus or a monkey. the catch is you don't bring anything with you when you born, you develop everything by youe own, all the raw materials are same, but the way of seeing and understanding the life is different.
@2timothy (794)
• Philippines
6 Feb 07
Parents especially mothers noticed that children are born differently in nature, some are born particularly sweet and quiet while their other children are born particularly naughty and ill-tempered. Also, children speak lies at their early age without people telling them to do so. How do we explain that?
@Brentsky (164)
• United States
16 Jan 07
Ok I just wrote a lengthy response and It didn't show up at all. Anyways, I believe you are born neutral, and the world you are brought into shapes how you are. If you get into thinking about it though, there are numerous ways this could go about. If there is a thing as reincarnation then maybe your experiences from your past life, good or bad, rub off into your next life. Or maybe the pregnant mother's good/bad natured spirit somehow rubs off on your own spirit while you are within the womb. So who knows, there are many possibilities. Anything is possible.
@loved_0506 (84)
• United States
16 Jan 07
i think alot of it has to do with your upbringing and your surroundings ....... what kind of morals are instilled within you from young to grown
