Christianity with a rejection of Dualism

[korvus]

I don't believe in good or evil. I just believe what we perceive as evil is just misunderstanding/out of context/prejudice/general lack.

The Bible seems to have a very dualist mentality with the concept of two-dimensional "enemies", of which I don't believe there are such a thing.

There seems to be soo much people out there who think of the government a an evil entity that against Christianity, where actually it's many people with many points of views and it doesn't deserve to be given the "evil" stamp.

I know the idea of good/evil doesn't equal single-tracked mindedness, but as I said, I don't believe in evil, I just blame lack due to the fact we as humans don't read minds.
(If only God gave us that ability.)

Is the rejection of the idea of perfect good and evil compatible with Christianity?

 

[Sketcher]

No it isn't, but you're not even defining dualism correctly. Dualism refers to the struggle of equal good and equal evil. Christianity believes that God, who is good, is supreme, having no equal. Satan is not an opposite god or God's evil twin brother. He is a much lesser being who cannot challenge God directly, and he will be ultimately defeated because God is supreme. Therefore Christianity is not properly dualistic.

 

[willlowbee]

I don't believe in good or evil. I just believe what we perceive as evil is just misunderstanding/out of context/prejudice/general lack.

The Bible seems to have a very dualist mentality with the concept of two-dimensional "enemies", of which I don't believe there are such a thing.

There seems to be soo much people out there who think of the government a an evil entity that against Christianity, where actually it's many people with many points of views and it doesn't deserve to be given the "evil" stamp.

I know the idea of good/evil doesn't equal single-tracked mindedness, but as I said, I don't believe in evil, I just blame lack due to the fact we as humans don't read minds.
(If only God gave us that ability.)

Is the rejection of the idea of perfect good and evil compatible with Christianity?

Dualism:
Theology . a. the doctrine that there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, one good and the other evil.


Perfect evil seems to be an oxymoron given the definition of evil as we know it. However, I don't think someone can reject dualism in the Christian model and still fit the context of salvation into making sense. The protagonist/antagonist structure would be dubious.

The scripture of Isaiah 45:7 helps the reader, at least in my case, to know that God is all things and in this way perhaps the duality you refer to is simply the Eloheim. God being all and the source of all, what we then would define as evil is simply the other aspect of the God power that we refer to as 'evil'. And that then is the adversary or the antithesis of the higher consciousness, the righteousness, we are to strive for.

Though what we define as evil is simply that coextension of God.

 

[lesliedellow]

I don't believe in good or evil.

So the Nazis weren't evil. That's interesting.

Is the rejection of the idea of perfect good and evil compatible with Christianity?

It isn't even compatible with common sense, let alone Christianity.

 

[jehoiakim]

Certainly a lot of things are misunderstood causing people to demonize them as more evil then they are, but I think many people committing evil believed they wee doing good. That doesn't mean they were or excuse them. For instance Hitler genuinely believed he was doing good for German's by killing Jews.

Even some of our most loving acts are tainted by our own evil desires even if they are not our main motivation, or they causes us to compromise our morals in an end justifies the means scenario.

If God is however Perfect as we want and expect him to be then could a Perfect God tolerate any evil? If he tolerated any evil and did not intend to contain it or remove it then he himself would become unjust and he would also become evil would he not? God must root out evil which includes any man who has ever committed any evil because man in his imperfections cannot be worthy of a perfect God. God however is loving and merciful so as Christ himself said, he allows the tares to grow with the wheat until judgement day. Were e to uproot the tears now the wheat might be uprooted with it. God existing in eternity is not as slow in his judgement against evil as we finite mortal humans perceive it. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That is why all men need the blood of Christ to redeem us, he loved us so much he gave himself to suffer our punishment if we believe in him and commit ourselves to him

 

[LBP]

Well, I'm disappointed. I assumed this would be a thread about mind-body dualism, which would be way more interesting! It sounds as though what you believe is more in the vein of "illusory" evil, which would be akin to some strands of Buddhism. I was discussing with my wife just last night that the Jews' understanding of Satan is far different from the Evil Fiend of Christianity, and that their view is borne out by books such as Job. However, there is no question that, by any reading of the New Testament, Christianity posits Satan and evil as a genuine (non-illusory) being and force that is unalterably opposed to God. So I would have to say that regarding evil as illusory is fundamentally incompatible with Christianity. To me, the reality of evil is a core belief. To say that evil is illusory would be similar to saying that you do not accept that Jesus actually, historically, bodily rose from the dead -- sorry, but this is one of the absolute fundamentals of Christianity (unlike, say, the Virgin Birth) and you simply aren't a Christian if you don't believe it (even if your name is John Dominic Crossan!).

 

[lesliedellow]

Just realised I have already responded to this question, so I have deleted this post.

 

[hedrick]

As pointed out above, Christianity doesn't believe in dualism in the sense of equal and opposite good and bad gods. We do believe in the reality of evil. However the overall Biblical message recognizes that no one is purely good or purely evil. We all are made in the image of God and we are all imperfect images. Jesus ate with sinners, and generally discouraged the "us vs them" approach. But that doesn't mean we're all just fine. Evil is present in all of us.

Yes, the Bible says there are enemies of God. However you may be reacting against Christian paranoia, not anything Biblical. While enemies of God do exist, there's no real statement about how common they are. I very much fear that there are people who are so damaged that they barely remain human. Maybe God will reconcile even them, but I don't think we have any assurance of that.

 

[ViaCrucis]

As others have noted, Christianity isn't dualistic; indeed Christianity has historically always rejected dualism by asserting that evil has no real, objective existence. Evil isn't a thing, but the lack of a thing. Good and Evil aren't equal opposites, but are as light and darkness, darkness is the absence of light, not its ontological opposite. There is no such thing as "Dark", but there is such a thing as "Light"; likewise there is no such thing as "Evil", but there is such a thing as "Good".

The Bible likewise does not recognize a cosmic dualism, but rather asserts the utter Sovereignty of Yahweh, and which the New Testament (in particular) very explicitly confesses is Good, "God is love" writes St. John. Evil, therefore, has no objective, actual existence.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[juvenissun]

I don't believe in good or evil. I just believe what we perceive as evil is just misunderstanding/out of context/prejudice/general lack.

The Bible seems to have a very dualist mentality with the concept of two-dimensional "enemies", of which I don't believe there are such a thing.

There seems to be soo much people out there who think of the government a an evil entity that against Christianity, where actually it's many people with many points of views and it doesn't deserve to be given the "evil" stamp.

I know the idea of good/evil doesn't equal single-tracked mindedness, but as I said, I don't believe in evil, I just blame lack due to the fact we as humans don't read minds.
(If only God gave us that ability.)

Is the rejection of the idea of perfect good and evil compatible with Christianity?

No.

Are you seeing everything is gray? That is because we have good (white) and evil (black). Good/evil (white/black) is the source. All shades of gray is the mixed consequence. Everything (gray) has some good (white) and some evil (black).

If there is no black/white, there will be no gray.

 

[juvenissun]

As others have noted, Christianity isn't dualistic; indeed Christianity has historically always rejected dualism by asserting that evil has no real, objective existence. Evil isn't a thing, but the lack of a thing. Good and Evil aren't equal opposites, but are as light and darkness, darkness is the absence of light, not its ontological opposite. There is no such thing as "Dark", but there is such a thing as "Light"; likewise there is no such thing as "Evil", but there is such a thing as "Good".

The Bible likewise does not recognize a cosmic dualism, but rather asserts the utter Sovereignty of Yahweh, and which the New Testament (in particular) very explicitly confesses is Good, "God is love" writes St. John. Evil, therefore, has no objective, actual existence.

-CryptoLutheran

A thing which lack of a thing is a thing.

Darkness IS something. (John1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.)

 

[tulipbee]

I don't believe in good or evil. ...The Bible seems to have a very dualist mentality with the concept of two-dimensional "enemies", of which I don't believe there are such a thing....

Past, Present and Future, combined in God's World ~IS~ dualism.

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