Is Man Inherently Good or Evil?

This was the title of an article yesterday on CNN's website. The article was prompted by the Boston Marathon bombing, and goes on to extol the heroic actions of of Carlos Arredondo, and the iconic photo of him in the cowboy hat saving the life of one of the bombing victims.

There is an exquisite beauty in people selflessly responding to needs working towards the good. It reflects the God in whose image we are made. Some might say that God has nothing to do with the question posed. "Is man inherently good or evil?" Actually, the very question implies the existence of God. What defines good and what defines evil? If we define it, then good and evil is subjective. One person views a man as a terrorist, and another person may view the same man as a liberator. There must be some transcendant law that defines good from evil. If there is a transcendant law, then there must also be a lawgiver. The very question cries out "there must be a God to even ask the question!"

Is man good or evil? The CNN article uses the ad hominem example of Carlos Arredondo as evidence that man is good by nature. Mr. Arredondo, if you happened upon this little blog, can I just say that I am inspired by your readiness to serve the need, and I thank God you were there to help save this man's life. But one man's heroism is a poor argument for mankind's inherent goodness. Since this article was published yesterday, there was a police officer shot multiple times, and a car jacking and police pursuit all in the same city as the bombing,  At this point, authorities do not know if the three events are related.

But let's look at some of humanity's exploits. According to the NSPCC, 24.1% off young adults have experienced sexual abuse! AND "Almost one in 10 children aged 11-17 (9.4%) have experienced sexual abuse in the past year. Teenage girls aged between 15 and 17 years reported the highest past year rates of sexual abuse"[1]. In the U.K. 36% of women in England and Wales have had an abortion, according to the Department of Health [2]. I am only pointing out these two areas to highlight something that is profoundly ignored. Everyday people make choices that defraud their neighbour of good. In the case of sexual abuse, there are lifelong scars that the victim lives with. In the case of abortion, the primary victim doesn't live at all, but is killed. Is man inherently good or evil? The statistics echo the words of God through the prophet Jeremiah, "the heart of man is desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). There is no person who is inherently good (Psalm 53:3).

But God is good. The Bible tells us that this good God is a good Judge, who will judge evil. The brutal truth is we all naturally stand on the wrong side, the evil side. But this good God also came to live amongst us. Jesus who was the only good man, for he was more than just man, suffered the evil of humanity. Why? Because this good God is a God of love, and he seeks to save mankind who is inherently in rebellion against God. Do people do good things? Yes they do. We are made in the image of God (marred though that image may be). But our evil core requires deep redemption, so that we might be reshaped as new creations. This means that in Jesus there is hope for every person. But to place our hope in a mere person is a vain hope. We need a Saviour.

'but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8