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Regarding the existence of the evil side in every individual, Judaism and Christian Science teach two conflicting doctrines. Judaism teaches that the evil side (Heb. yetzer hara) is an essential and non-negotiable part of human makeup:

Rabbi Nahman bar Samuel bar Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman: ... "And behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31) - this refers to the yetzer hara. But is the yetzer hara indeed very good?! - Were it not for the yetzer hara, a man would not build a home, or marry a woman, or have children, or engage in business.

Mary Baker Eddy, in Science and Health with Key to the Scripture, says that human nature is a logical system, and the presence of any sort of evil side in a human being will eventually lead to the entire human being becoming evil (ex falso quodlibet) Quote:

If man is constituted both good and evil, he will end in evil. An error in the premises must appear in the conclusion. To avail yourself of the power of the Spirit, you must depend on no human reliance.

Which one is closer to traditional Christian doctrine?

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  • I fear that your question may be closed because answers are likely to be opinion-based. That's because you are asking for people to say "which is closer to traditional Christian doctrine". That's an either/or question.
    – Lesley
    Commented Feb 13, 2023 at 12:52
  • What is "traditional Christian doctrine"?
    – guest37
    Commented Feb 13, 2023 at 23:54

1 Answer 1

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Christian doctrine/the bible lays out the matter of sin and the remedy for it. Rather than everyone dying the death that broken law/sin deserves, Jesus offered himself to die for all instead.

Humanity is not evil in any way. It was created in the likeness of God who is holy and perfect in love etc.

Evil is an influence on humanity just as the spirit of God is an influence for good. The evil influence comes from the present 'god of this world', the devil. 2Cor 4:4

It was present in the garden of Eden with the first humans and will remain until he is banished as mentioned in Rev. All men remain under this influence until God opens the eyes and restores true sight John 9:39, 6:55

Judaism understood that they required a savior and experienced this in many ways as types of Jesus who was the one to come via Moses, David, Sampson, Joseph etc, They understood this from the writer of Gen who spoke of the one to come, the seed of the woman to defeat the evil one Gen 3.

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  • Thanks this is a good answer.
    – CosmicGenis
    Commented Feb 13, 2023 at 19:39
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    TY, sad to see such an angry response with the downvotes to a question that apparently is 'not to be asked'. +1
    – steveowen
    Commented Feb 14, 2023 at 7:34
  • @Finster unfortunately there are some fundamental flaws in the Christianity.SE that dont allow questions like these. Personally I dont think that cults like JW and mormons are or should be considered Christian, but for the purposes of this site anyone claiming to be a Christian is one. I dont agree with it. It is also why I dont post here often.
    – Neil Meyer
    Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 0:45
  • @NeilMeyer FWIW, most of Christianity doesn't follow the Christ, his words or those of the NT writers, so I'm sure many are here except to push their own barrow of doctrine. If it matches the Bible's clear mandate and revelation, I'm eager to hear it explained accurately. That we have such questions are evidence of utter confusion in the religion that prefers fairy tales to biblical truth.
    – steveowen
    Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 8:03

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