Are People Evil?

Rapists, pedophiles, murderers, child abusers, wife-beaters and others seem to embody evil.

Is it possible that people are evil? Are they born that way or do they become that way?

My simple answer is I do not think there are evil people. Here is why:

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”

Since God is good or and all He created was good how could people be evil?

See what 1 Timothy 4:4 says: “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,”

Since everything God created is good people cannot be evil.

So how do I explain evil…First let me say that God’s ways are higher than mine. I do not have all the answers…

God tells us apart from Him all our good deeds are like “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). So compared to God even the good things we do are disgusting and nasty. We humans have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Sin separates us from God and earns us death (Romans 6:23).

These facts set up the building blocks of what I think about evil. I cannot do anything remotely “good” apart from God. That does not make me evil, but that does make me capable of evil. It makes me susceptible to do evil things.

When confronted with evil, I think that the person who perpetrates the evil is deceived into thinking that they get something beneficial out of these evil deeds. I also think at some point a person gets so comfortable with evil that he or she begins to resemble evil. But I do not think they are evil and thus too far away from God to be saved.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Those verses don’t mention any conditions. If you do it and really believe it, you are saved. So it is with men who choose evil.

What do you think? Evil people or evil actions?