Cruel Intentions
Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2008
by Sara O'Rourke
We are born, I believe, with a predisposition to cherish and protect life. Time, and living, makes us endure experiences that can change that fundamental programming - that can, in a matter of speaking, make the good go bad.
While writing, and then re-writing the characters in the novel I'm in the process of creating, I started to realise that the picture was really a whole lot bigger than I had estimated. There is not simply good and bad. I couldn't understand what makes people combine the two, what determines which quality is dominant, and, most of all, if, once you've tripped over the edge to the dark side, is there any going back?
It was St Augustine who first uttered that although it was sin that caused war, war was acceptable if it would be a remedy for sin. Therefore, it is not precisely the act of war itself, but the intentions behind delaring war or going to war, that determine more honestly if a person, or a nation, is good or bad.
Of course, what then occurrs to the reader is that who could ever fairly judge whether intentions are pure? A religious war, of which there are uncountable numbers, according to Francis Bacon, has five prime aims. Although some of these include the admirable ending of cruelties and killings against members of a particular faith, others are a little more dubious. For example, the retrieval of once Christian land could be seen, on the surface, to be a crusade to rid the land of its devilish inhabitants and restore it to the Papal fold, but, when you scrape that initial glimmer off the surface, what you could well find is just another army using religion as an excuse to access power, wealth, and all the rest.
Should we not just prevent situations from getting so complex, so heated, that we have to justify our actions with any excuse? Why do we defend our actions, like those of ours in wars, if we really feel that our intentions were wholly good? We spend so much time defending what we do; governments clashing with the press over their actions, that it makes me wonder whether there is such a thing as an act that has no trace of selfishness in it. And, if that is the case, what turns us into that, when we are born so perfectly untouched and harmless?
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I have always considered why people do what they do to be more important that what was done. Good article.
Hi Sara.I can see why Jean made this her Pick of the Day. And I agree with Ken.Best Regards,Dianne
Yes Sara, who is right and on who's side is God on? I ask that in my last few articles? Who says one is right over another and who is sinning or evil? Is war acceptable? The answers to that so comlpex one could discuss it for days. If we say we are fighting against evil, in who's opinon and by whose standards? Confusing, no. I think whenever humans are hurt, exploited, abused, killed, destroyed and anything else that one accepts as evil, being aware that they other persons inflicting such may not agree, then whatever is God's purpsoe will eventually be fulfilled. Good jobs, Best wishes.Opinion renders war a bit of an incurable disease - so long as a person believes, 100%, that they are in the right, can you really blame them for trying to do good?Thanks for your comment!
Hi Sara, very well stated. Motive is always the determining factor in good or evil acts and the their is only One who can see the heart of man. The rest of us have to use the best judgement possible. The fact that we are all born with a sinful nature paves way for all kinds of cruel intentions. Some give in to the temptation to be cruel and others do not. Great job--you are a wonderfully gifted author. You express yourself well. May God bless you always. TeresaCongrats on being the pick of the day, it is well deserved.Do you think that it is predetermined whether we will be make good or bad choices? If not, what do you think makes some people swerve so far off track?Thanks for the feedback, Teresa! xHi Sara,Good questions. According to the word of God, it is not predetermined whether we will make good or bad choices and the reason is this: When we were created, we were given a free will to equally chose good or bad. Every person born inherited a sinful nature which responds according to our personalities, likes and dislikes. Which explains why each of us have different weaknesses. Some for alchohol, some for anger, some for sex, etc. At the same time, we were each created with a desire for God--created to worship. As we grow, our exeriences in life will either cause us to go toward God or something else for comfort. God tells us when we reject his calling on our lives, we turn more torward sin. That is because we want to tune God out. And then, it just gets harder and harder to choose good, until we get to the place were we are so bound by sin that we have no choice but to chose bad, even if we no longer want to. The only thing that will give us the power to turn from sinful choices is the power of the Holy Spirit of God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. People get angry at this notion because it challenges their individuality, but it is true because God said it was true. And there are countless testimonies to prove it true.The bible also talks about the predetermined will of God, but this is in relation to His foreknowledge. (Romans 8 and 1 Peter, chapter 1) What this means simply is that God knows before he even created us who and what we will choose and because he knows this, he will allow certain things to happen in our lives, for example, if he knows that during the course of your life, you will choose Christ, he will bring people into your life to share Jesus and make himself known to you. If he knows that you will reject him, he will let you live your life according to how you chose, he will still intervine because he is a loving God, but the Bible tells us that ultimately, he will leave us alone if that is what we truly want.I suppose the answer to your questions are not that simple, but I hope this helps for starters. :-)Have a blessed day.
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