Root of all evil

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AuthorTopic: Root of all evil
Shock Trooper
Member # 4942
Profile #0
What is the root of all evil? Everything seems really slow around here, and I am tired, and just thought I would throw this out there. It will probably only get like 10 replies, but what the heck, right?

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Wham Bam Shizam
Posts: 247 | Registered: Monday, September 6 2004 07:00
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #1
I suppose I might as well post the old joke...

girls = (time) x (money)
time = money
girls = (money)^2
money = (all evil)^(1/2) -- that's a square root
girls = all evil

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #2
Well, hemlock's a root, and it's pretty evil.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #3
I think we established a while ago that it was the love of money, not money, that was the root of evil. So, working from

girls = money squared,

the love of girls = the love of (money squared)

the love of girls = evil divided by...

mh. This doesn't seem to work.

---

Now back on topic:

I'm willing to offer a few guesses, though the love of money seems to take the price for now.

- Organized Religion

- Politics

- Opinions.

[ Sunday, January 16, 2005 23:15: Message edited by: Where ever foaming billows roll ]

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperment, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 4784
Profile Homepage #4
quote:
I'm willing to offer a few guesses, though the love of money seems to take the price for now.

- Organized Religion

- Politics

- Opinions.
I will expand to what these groups would say.

- Organized Religion - the Devil or anyone not in the faith

- Politics - the other party

- Opinions - anyone who does not agree

In conclusion the root of all evil is always the 'other guy'.

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Forever Always on Past the End

tracihedlund@charter.net[/url]
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Posts: 563 | Registered: Tuesday, July 27 2004 07:00
Warrior
Member # 4973
Profile #5
According to the Bible, the love of money is the root of all evil.(1 Timothy 6:10) Perhaps there are secondary roots as well?

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There are three kinds of people in the world: those who think, those who think they think, and those who would rather die than think.
Posts: 104 | Registered: Thursday, September 16 2004 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #6
It first needs to be established if (and if so what parts of) the Bible itself might qualify as said root. :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperment, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 258
Profile Homepage #7
A small joke concerning holy people here. No one take offence please...

Inquisitor to man: Do you belive in god?
Man: No.

BAM!

Inquisitor to man 2: Do you belive in god?
Man 2: Yes.
Inquisitor to man 2: Do you belive in my god?
Man 2: No.

BAM!

All-beit not the funniest joke but you get the point. Arguments can become pointless after a few short minuites. So perhaps the other guy is wrong or "evil" or perhaps you are. It all lies in what you belive. WHat your oppinions are. So. I suppose that the ability to make those choices, to activley think and choose would be what is really evil. A will of our own is from what all evil springs. If we were all slaves, zombies to a higher cause with one mind and one ambition there would be no right or wrong. But to choose a choice... by chooseing you make one decision wrong. And what would evil be without good? Something has to reflect something else. Right? Or else there's simply one thing? So we create good and evil by makeing choices. Without choices there would be nothing but one way, one path and that would be correct.
Human Will is evil. (Although I don't know who Will is...but I'm sorry...he's a rather bad man:)

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...well I thought it was funney...? didn't you?
Posts: 296 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 3719
Profile Homepage #8
Religion is the root of all evil. Without it, the world would be very peaceful.

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Scandalous Stories, fishing,and great photos
Posts: 294 | Registered: Monday, November 24 2003 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 5009
Profile #9
Okay I guess I can post my version.
Diamonds are a girls best friend.
Diamonds cost a lot of money.
Money is the root of all evil.
There for girls are the root of all evil.

Edit: Dampeoples you are right on that one. Well atleast thats my view.

[ Monday, January 17, 2005 16:05: Message edited by: Creeper The Great ]

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Post count 446 + Current.
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I am Dolney, A guy with some level of grammar and The rightful owner of 5000.
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"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd rather watch grainy video of cheerleaders being introduced to lesbianism." -Jeff Vogel
Posts: 30 | Registered: Tuesday, September 21 2004 07:00
Warrior
Member # 4973
Profile #10
quote:
Religion is the root of all evil. Without it, the world would be very peaceful.
Be that as it may, religion is impossible to eradicate. The human nature demands that man worship something.

Edit: And personally, I disagree.

[ Monday, January 17, 2005 17:04: Message edited by: The One Lighter ]

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There are three kinds of people in the world: those who think, those who think they think, and those who would rather die than think.
Posts: 104 | Registered: Thursday, September 16 2004 07:00
Agent
Member # 2820
Profile #11
Religion is not the source of all evil. It helps us hate it, though. Religion at least gives people a higher order mandate not to do evil, but apparently it is fine to kill and rob from the other religion.

Greed, not necessarily money, is the root of evil. Without it, there would be no reason to cause someone else hardship or to deceive others. But without greed, where would we all be today?

I was also wondering about the power of moral convictions to avert evil. If someone of good morals is forced to murder and does not become extremely horrified at himself, will his morals be weakened? Will he be able to kill easier in the future? Can he ever regain his aversion to killing?

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What do I put here?
-Garrison
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #12
quote:
Be that as it may, religion is impossible to eradicate. The human nature demands that man worship something.
Maybe your definition of "worship" differs from mine, but I'd say it's human nature not to worship anything in particular for very long. As far as I can tell, even most people who claim to be religious don't make religion a major part of their lives -- which is surely what sincere worship would entail.

[ Monday, January 17, 2005 18:50: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 4942
Profile #13
Desire, I think, is the root of all evil. This is parallel to Garrison's statement.

If there was no desire, no wants, what kind of place would the world be?

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Wham Bam Shizam
Posts: 247 | Registered: Monday, September 6 2004 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 1092
Profile Homepage #14
I saw this episode of Southpark last night and uhhh....

Don't ever go in to the nearby forest any time around Christmas. You'll run into a bunch of Satan praising evil little critters that get you to kill the mountain lion because evry year it kills their new born saviour. This new born saviour= Satan's and a porcupine's version of Jesus.

That Southpark episode was funny as hell though, only because it's stupid as anything.

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When you think you can't get any lower in life and hit rock bottom, God hands you a shovel.

Following the rights movements
You clamped on with your iron fists
drugs being conviently available for all the kids

Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don't even flinch
All our takes paying
For your wars against the new non rich
Posts: 615 | Registered: Friday, May 3 2002 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #15
quote:
Originally written by The One Lighter:

quote:
Religion is the root of all evil. Without it, the world would be very peaceful.
Be that as it may, religion is impossible to eradicate. The human nature demands that man worship something.

Ergo, Humanity is the root of all Evil! Makes sense, actually.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperment, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 3605
Profile Homepage #16
Seeing as were the only creature on this planet that can commit evil, any way we look at it its our fault.

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"Fair and unbiased"
Posts: 358 | Registered: Monday, October 27 2003 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #17
No, we are not. Other creatures can, by our standards, do things we would see as evil - an alligator killing a human is doing something that we would see as evil if we did it ourselves, no?

Of course, being rational, we cannot expect other creatures to adhere to human values (unless we're dumb).

It's just that no other creature has a definition of good/evil that they can communicate to us.

Maybe, alligators have a code of morals too, which they occasionally break? And humans do it all the time, but the alligators don't see that as evil, because after all humans don't understand alligator morals? :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperment, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
By Committee
Member # 4233
Profile #18
Perhaps it isn't the root of evil, but a good right hand of evil would be oil. It inspires greed and war. It creates single-resource extraction societies, which keep the rich rich and seem to promote extremism amongst the desperate poor. Our economies depend on it like a drug. I'm waiting for other energy sources to be developed so that we can kick the habit.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Agent
Member # 2820
Profile #19
I'm surprised no one brought up the question, "What is evil?" Surely someone must think that human morals are arbitrarily made, and will boldly ask, "By whose judgment should we abide?"

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What do I put here?
-Garrison
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 258
Profile Homepage #20
*Mung Raises his hand*

!!!
quote:

"By whose judgment should we abide?"
!!!

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...well I thought it was funney...? didn't you?
Posts: 296 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #21
For an easy non-answer, evil is that which a society collectively deems unacceptable and deviant.

Some societies' declarations of evil, and some evil things in all societies, are baffling to me. We tend to get weird, abstruse laws based on equally incomprehensible morality that more often than not comes from religion. Blue laws aside, the rest of societal evil tends to stem from my view on the root of all evil.

What is it? Evolutionary pressure, of course! This is closely linked to the idea of desire as the root of all evil, because evolution has necessarily led to individuals (or herds, or colonies) becoming more and more selfish. Selfishness is a survival trait and thus more likely to be passed on than passivity, altruism, or generosity.

—Alorael, who can therefore either blame godlessness, which permits the existence of evolution, or amoebas for the ills of the world. Take your pick.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 258
Profile Homepage #22
Sooooo, what your saying is that I was correct. By admiting that a human emotion, a human dictated things was involved admits that human will was at fault. If a person were not allowed to choose or were not able to do such a thing then all the evils, if seen, if interpreted, if collectivley decided, would be moot. There would be little use for evil or good. All that would exist would be nutrality. But I don't think that's possible at all:P We are human to the core. there is no room for definate decisions or any such thing. We can never be on one side or the other. there will always be a thought or an idea or a difference... it's unavoidable. So really, what is the use of arguing or any such thing? Everything in the end is affected by change? What little is accomplished by an argument or agreement is soon rent apart again into something else completly. Am I wrong?

btw, did anyone notice how usefull a place this is for psycho babble? :D

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...well I thought it was funney...? didn't you?
Posts: 296 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Infiltrator
Member # 4256
Profile #23
quote:
Written by Alorael: We tend to get weird, abstruse laws based on equally incomprehensible morality that more often than not comes from religion.
Most morality systems are understandable if looked at in the correct context. This is not to say that they are correct in these contexts, (since I don't believe in moral relativity or at least not in the standard sense) but they are at least understandable.

I try to think of moral relativity the same way that I think of physical relativity.

For physical relativity (or at least special relativity) there are two constants.

1. The speed of light is the same in all rest frames.
2. The laws of physics are the same in all rest frames. (Though from a different rest frames events may not seem to follow these laws)

Thus for moral relativity

1. Something analogous to the first one- not sure how that one would really work.
2. The laws of morals are the same in all rest frames/situations (Though from a different rest frame/situation events/actions may not seem to follow these laws, even when they actually do)

I suppose the two are different in that the laws of physics can't be broken while my hypothetical laws of morality could be. Or perhaps the laws for morality would not be in the commandment type "You shall not...." but rather in the form of actions and consequences. "If you do this, this will happen".
Edit:
quote:
Written by Alorael:
Alorael, who can therefore either blame godlessness, which permits the existence of evolution, or amoebas for the ills of the world. Take your pick.
Perhaps this would work as my first moral constant, God.

And yes this is a very good place to put your psycho babble. You will rarely if ever convince anyone of anything but that really isn't the point. I at least enjoy it because it helps me clarify my thoughts, even if what I write isn't very coherent. ( Or always spelled correctly :P )

[ Tuesday, January 18, 2005 14:21: Message edited by: Macrsp ]
Posts: 564 | Registered: Wednesday, April 14 2004 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 4557
Profile #24
All systems (dealing with morals, science, whatever) are just generalities created to explain how the universe, or certain parts in it work. The aforementioned laws of physics are complex ideas created inductively based on several observations. Most moral systems (and other systems) take an opposite approach by trying to prove an assumption. They end up rationalizing.

Some systems created during the Enlightenment, Rennaisance, and a few created in the east don't do this. (I'm sure I'm missing other time periods, these are just all I can think of.) These are called "philosophies" and were created through inductive reasoning. Based on this and all that was written earlier, I believe the practice of assumption is the "root of all evil," or at least contributes greatly to the spread and continuing practice of evil.
Posts: 264 | Registered: Wednesday, June 16 2004 07:00

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