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Perspective On Evil

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Perspectives on evil and its creators have changed throughout history. Every religion explains evil in different ways, in eastern countries evil is “the effect of spiritual ignorance” and in Christianity evil is “a parasite state that perpetuates itself by misusing God’s good resources and by following a wrong direction.” Evil, in Western Countries, is associated with Devils, Satan, and demons, to some extent. The devil and Satan can be interpreted as the same entity. However, Satan is a devil. The word “devil” comes from the Greek word diavolos, meaning an accuser and a malicious slander. Satan, on the other hand, is God’s fallen angel. Therefore, Satan is a malicious slander and an accuser. A demon, unlike Satan, is “neither moral nor …show more content…

Evil, for the most part, is associated with wickedness, harm, and mischief. The concept of evil has changed throughout the course of history. In the Hebrew Bible, evil is either created by a flawed human will or a flawed cosmic order. Meaning, evil is either made by men’s imperfect structure or just a flaw in the universe which cannot be stopped by anyone or anything. In Greek Philosophy, Evil is non-existent. However, there is vice caused by humans. During the rise of Christianity, evil was blamed on the fall of Lucifer. Evil was a concept of failure and hardship, not of fate and will. Evil, in Christianity, is caused by Satan. The Christian definition of evil has remained throughout time. However, modern philosophers considered evil as either human nature or human corruption. This made evil a more biological aspect of human nature rather than a force of the world or the wickedness of Satan. My idea of evil is like some modern philosopher’s ideas. I believe humans are generally benevolent, however, under certain circumstances evil can corrupt …show more content…

There is now applicable definition of demon during the times of the Old Testament. In the ancient world, demons were thought to be natural beings or supernatural. For instance, Plato described demons as entities with “supreme power able to order human affairs.” He believed demons gave “peace and reverence and order and justice” to humans. He rejected the idea of demons being evil. Platonists and Neo-Platonists contradicted Plato’s beliefs and believed some demons were good and others were bad. Platonists influenced Christian philosophers. Therefore, Christian’s definition of demon is similar to that of Platonists. St. Augustine, a Christian philosopher believed Demons resided in-between of gods and humans. He stated that demons where “the fount of all spiritual and material evil.” Augustine believed witches where the offspring of demons and humans. Demons, today, are less of a belief. Although some people do believe in demons like evil spirits, witches, and ghosts, demons are not taken as serious as they were in the ancient world and witch trials. Some consider sleep paralysis as encounters with demons. In many cases, people wake up in their dream and feel an evil presence near them. I have had sleep paralysis and see these demonic figures near me creating distress in me. Diotima of Mantinela. Socrates’s teacher, explained how the sleep state was a state in

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