Deceiver of the whole world

@whodey said
Ever been in the presence of evil?

Where does it come from?

If by "it" you mean evil behaviour, it "comes from" people.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Darkness is the absence of light. 'Evil' therefore is not a thing in itself, but the absence of goodness.

I don't think one follows the other, a non-sequitur perhaps.

Light is photons which are a type of energy even if they have no mass; goodness is a subjective observation of another person's nature as reflected in their actions. The absence of actions does not mean the absence of goodness and the absence of goodness is simply a perception. It could be argued that evil is an intent, but the absence of an intent to do good does not mean there is an intent to do evil.

@kellyjay said
II wonder what others that believe he real, think his great deceptions are that he is doing to the whole world? What truths would he want to hide from everyone in the world?

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Are you talking about the guy you voted for as US president ?
The guy you personally support and endorse ?
Sounds a lot like Trump .

@divegeester said
I don't think one follows the other, a non-sequitur perhaps.

Light is photons which are a type of energy even if they have no mass; goodness is a subjective observation of another person's nature as reflected in their actions. The absence of actions does not mean the absence of goodness and the absence of goodness is simply a perception. It could be argued that evil is an intent, but the absence of an intent to do good does not mean there is an intent to do evil.

Actually, in a religious context, I would even take it one step further. 'Darkness is the absence of light. 'Evil' therefore is not a thing in itself, but the absence of goodness.' This, in turn, (on the flip side) means that hell is simply a place in the absence of God. (As opposed to a literal place of fire and torment).

I get your point about 'subjective observation' but am tendering the notion that evil is merely a state of lacking something. In a similar fashion, 'stupid' does not exist, with stupidity merely being a lack of intelligence. - We perceive something as bad/evil when it is void of goodness.

@whodey said
Where does it come from? It certainly is the polar opposite feeling of being in the presence of God.

Not! 🤔

What value is there, being in the presence of evil, with being in the presence of God, that would lend itself to the idea of them being polar opposites?

There's no comparison is what I'm trying to say. The presence of evil and the presence of God have no correlatives, therefore there can be no corresponding quality associated with either.

Just my opinion.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Darkness is the absence of light. 'Evil' therefore is not a thing in itself, but the absence of goodness.

Are you saying that darkness is not real?

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Actually, in a religious context, I would even take it one step further. 'Darkness is the absence of light. 'Evil' therefore is not a thing in itself, but the absence of goodness.' This, in turn, (on the flip side) means that hell is simply a place in the absence of God. (As opposed to a literal place of fire and torment).

I get your point about 'subjective observa ...[text shortened]... erely being a lack of intelligence. - We perceive something as bad/evil when it is void of goodness.

If you think about the things that you see in the world that are evil (muder rape theft etc) that are the result of a thought process which is then acted upon.

The evil is therefore not a default position for the the absence of goodness, but it is the result of a motivated event or series of events often combined with deception.

@kellyjay said
II wonder what others that believe he real, think his great deceptions are that he is doing to the whole world? What truths would he want to hide from everyone in the world?

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Logically then, if you accept that there is an original dragon, a devil, the question would be "How does he influence the world?"

for it is written (1 John 5:19) "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. "

When the devil offered the world to Christ in return for an act or worship Jesus never disputed if the devil could deliver or not. So how does he control this world?

@fmf said
I have been in the presence of people who'd done ~ or were capable of doing ~ evil things. I see "evil" as more accurately and appropriately used as an adjective rather than as a noun.

Seems natural for you then, that if God doesn't exist, then of course evil doesn't either, as well as anything eternal.

I think that creates a vacuum of sorts in ones ability to cogitate outside of materialistic dimensions.

@fmf said
If by "it" you mean evil behaviour, it "comes from" people.

Or possibly through people.

@secondson said
Are you saying that darkness is not real?

It is a consequence of there being no light.

Sit in a dark room for a moment and perceive that darkness as something real and tangible, and then switch on a light and see the immediate non-existence of that darkness.

We can switch on light, as it is real. We can not switch on darkness. (To achieve darkness we have to 'switch off' the light).

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Actually, in a religious context, I would even take it one step further. 'Darkness is the absence of light. 'Evil' therefore is not a thing in itself, but the absence of goodness.' This, in turn, (on the flip side) means that hell is simply a place in the absence of God. (As opposed to a literal place of fire and torment).

I get your point about 'subjective observa ...[text shortened]... erely being a lack of intelligence. - We perceive something as bad/evil when it is void of goodness.

I would disagree stupid exists; it is no different than cold being the absence of heat. There is a limit to cold, the removal of all heat at some point it can get no colder, while it can always get hotter. Evil and badness require goodness to be real if there isn't anything good than what is it that is lacking for there to be evil? The only reason we know evil is part of our reality is that we have some idea of goodness; without that, how do we know?

Hell is a created place, this doesn't fall into the same category as you are describing.

A side point: Stupid and ignorance are not the same thing, stupid can get information and get it wrong while information can cure ignorance.

@medullah said
If you think about the things that you see in the world that are evil (muder rape theft etc) that are the result of a thought process which is then acted upon.

The evil is therefore not a default position for the the absence of goodness, but it is the result of a motivated event or series of events often combined with deception.

Okay. Let us first start by taking the word 'evil' off the table. The opposite of 'good' is 'bad', not evil. (I view the word 'evil' as an emotive religious word, in the same deck of cards as 'sin' ).

Murder, for example, is indeed 'bad' but only because it is 'not good' and as a result of thought processes and actions that are 'not good' or that lack goodness. The real 'motivator' here is the 'lack of something' (just as a drought brings destruction due to a lack of water).

Bad things happen when good people do nothing. etc etc.

@secondson said
Or possibly through people.

His point was a good one; there is no "evil," even Satan like man, shows us evil in the behaviors done, which are of course, not good things. So if we see a creature, any creature that does things that are not good or amoral, they are doing evil. If we step off the path of righteousness, we are not walking on a righteous path, and if we turn off the light we are in darkness.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Okay. Let us first start by taking the word 'evil' off the table. The opposite of 'good' is 'bad', not evil. (I view the word 'evil' as an emotive religious word, in the same deck of cards as 'sin' ).

Murder, for example, is indeed 'bad' but only because it is 'not good' and as a result of thought processes and actions that are 'not good' or that lack goodness. Th ...[text shortened]... ings destruction due to a lack of water).

Bad things happen when good people do nothing. etc etc.

I beg to differ, why would opposite of good not be evil? Bad can be a amoral term, I can have a bad apple, that does not address a good moral action! I cannot have an evil apple that would require a morality given to apples.