why are there so many evil people in the world?

There are a lot of good people in this world too.
Sadly a lot of people who claim to be religious are very unpleasant indeed as I know for a fact.

There always Pascals Wager

The gist of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He doesn’t exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He really does exist, we have gained hell and punishment and have lost heaven and bliss. If one weighs the options, clearly the rational choice to live as if God exists is the better of the possible choices.

stevevw said:

There always Pascals Wager

The gist of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He doesn’t exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He really does exist, we have gained hell and punishment and have lost heaven and bliss. If one weighs the options, clearly the rational choice to live as if God exists is the better of the possible choices.

Click to expand...

Which god-concept is being assumed in that
scenario, though?

If one attempts to live as though (their idea of
God) exists, how do they know that, in doing so,
they're actually angering whatever god might
actually exist?



-

RayJeena said:

Which god-concept is being assumed in that
scenario, though?

If one attempts to live as though (their idea of
God) exists, how do they know that, in doing so,
they're actually angering whatever god might
actually exist?



-

Click to expand...

I don't think it matters. Remember the wager is about hedging your bets so even if it is the wrong religion it doesn't matter. Why not cover all religions and try to live a good life. Obviously Pascals Wager implies a certain God that has consequences for the type of life you live. Pascal is talking about the Christian God because the consequences are heaven and hell. Not all religions have a bad consequence for bad behavior and in fact I think most are pretty quiet on bad outcomes like the Buddhist ones.

Even so those that have consequences usually require a person to live a good life, treating others kind. So in that sense I think you can cover most religions by being good and will be pretty safe. The other point is it is also about having the best life in this world. Living a religious life has many benefits.

prosperity4all said:

yes
why do you think this is happening?

Click to expand...

End Times. Jesus said that it would be like in the days of Noah before the flood when every thought of man was only evil continually :


And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man
• Luke 17:28



Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
• Genesis 6:5-7



.

The so called mythical 'end times' have been around since Jesus died, even he seemed to think they would happen in the lifetime of his disciples. I reckon if religion is still on going in 2000 years time, some might still be threatening that they are imminent.

Quackduck said:

The so called mythical 'end times' have been around since Jesus died, even he seemed to think they would happen in the lifetime of his disciples. I reckon if religion is still on going in 2000 years time, some might still be threatening that they are imminent.

Click to expand...

People are going to get even worse than they already are before the end. You'll see


.

Jude1:3Contendforthefaith said:

People are going to get even worse than they already are before the end. You'll see


.

Click to expand...

In your opinion with no evidence to support it.

prosperity4all said:

why are there so many evil people in the world?

Click to expand...

Some people just don’t care about the harm their actions have on other people.

stevevw said:

There always Pascals Wager

The gist of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He doesn’t exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He really does exist, we have gained hell and punishment and have lost heaven and bliss. If one weighs the options, clearly the rational choice to live as if God exists is the better of the possible choices.

Click to expand...

What about all the other gods that might exist?

Jude1:3Contendforthefaith said:

End Times.

Click to expand...

Just around the corner for going on 2,000 years now.

Larnievc said:

Some people just don’t care about the harm their actions have on other people.

Click to expand...

That includes a lot of people who claim Christianity is their religion

Quackduck said:

That includes a lot of people who claim Christianity is their religion

Click to expand...

Yep

Desk trauma said:

Just around the corner for going on 2,000 years now.

Click to expand...

And almost coming to an end.


.

Quackduck said:

In your opinion with no evidence to support it.

Click to expand...

Pay Attention. Watch The News etc.


.

Jude1:3Contendforthefaith said:

And almost coming to an end.


.

Click to expand...

Oh dear!

Jude1:3Contendforthefaith said:

And almost coming to an end.


.

Click to expand...

Said every generation of Christians. After it didn’t, well, time for reinterpretation.

Desk trauma said:

Said every generation of Christians. After it didn’t, well, time for reinterpretation.

Click to expand...

Not all Christians keep claiming the mythical end times are upon us, it is the more extreme ones who make these crazy threats without any evidence to support them. The Bible is no sort of evidence, however much they claim it to be.

Larnievc said:

What about all the other gods that might exist?

Click to expand...

Actually, Pascal asserted that the other religions could be swatted away from further consider for certain reasons BEFORE one is to take the plunge with his Wager. Unfortunately, some folks apparently didn't get the whole message Pascal offered.