What is the root of all evil?

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The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said the root of evil is the love of this life more than anything as stated in a authentic quote "The love of the world is the root of all evil - Prophet Muhammad" PBUH

That is true because most evil that is committed by people like stealing and so on is to satisfy our desires of living the best life we can and that means breaking the rules sometimes. The closest means of satisfying our love for this life is through money as most people think. And some people want it so bad that they will commit any sin, even killing people, just to acquire wealth.

Do you agree this is the case?

So let me get this straight it is evil of me if I love the planet I live on? Well sorry but if its evil to appreciate nature and the planet then I'll keep being evil. Now if we are talking all this BS society crap and the way humans are screwing each other over and liable to destroy themselves entirely eventually then loving that I could see correlating with evil....loving wasteful society to me could correlate with evil.

But to me loving the 'world' if by that we mean the planet, its water, food, resources, appreciate the trees, nature and how awesome things can look then I don't think loving the world is bad at all. Imagine a world with no wealth....but that would also mean no poverty.

Read the quote again.

Prophet Muhammed said the root of all evil comes from love of this life. He didn't say loving life is evil but if we are committing sins, then that is because we love this life more than we should.

The hereafter is what really matter but people will continue to deny being judged.

To Sweetleaf:

When religious folks speak of "the World" and being "worldly" they are not talking about a particular planet that may be depicted in a globe in the library. They mean all of THIS corrupt matter we see around us- as opposed to the spirtual realm. THIS world as opposed to the 'other' world. And also to the corrupt ways of humans in this world. Being 'worldly' means the opposite of innocent ( it doesnt mean that you're an expert on foriegn policy like some seem to think). Not just you- many folks think that.

to Azaam:

Well... that's one way of looking at it. Clinging to this life, and striving for material advantage, and vanity, and so forth, does cause folks to do bad stuff.

But there is one problem. Being upset about the fact that millions of people cling to this life, and dont value God, and all of that - and getting so upset about the fact that these other folks dont conform to your ideal that you go out and try to force others to obey god-that ALSO causes folks to do what can only be described as "evil" ( look at the Crusades, look at the Taliban, and ISIS). Alot of evil is done in the name of uprooting what you are calling the "root of all evil".

not loving this life enoughh is part of the problem, hardly the root of all evil. caring about your own life to the point of egocentrism and the common modern delusion of being "self-made," sure, then i would agree that is part of root of all evil - one of main problems of modern worlld is people only caring about their own life and not giving a s**t about what happens to much others beyond few intimates. that can be further generalised to the problem of humans caring onlly about humans and screwing all other species which only ends up hurting themselves.

but someone who truly loves life - who loves this worlld and all the good things in it and is in awe of its natural beauty - that is in no way, shape, or form evil and it is the one and onlly path for anyone to ever have any true understanding of "goodness." i put "goodness" in quotes and would put evil in quotes too if i wasnt lazy, because my view of the world, there is not really good or evil - everything is based on perspective, and there is what is natural and what is unnatural (which is basically trying to exceed or go against the limits or specifications of your own physical or mental nature), and what is unnatural to me is what i woulld call evil if i would have to say anything is, because when an organism attempts to go outside of its environmental niche, it can hurt itself, other organisms, or both, which is what find with humans in my opinion since dawn of agriculture - going outside of their niche, pursuing self-destructive and environmentally destructive behaviours thats brought us to insane world of 7 billion + people on the verge of ecological catastrophe.

i do not care about the "hereafter" - existence is an endless cycle of transformation, meant to be experienced and wondered over in every transformation, and so i do my best to love this life, here and now (its hard because i have suffered alot and continue to suffer but i try), and love everything i see that is naturall, because in the end i am a part of it all, i breathe the air continusly, i eat other lives to survive, and this form will return to soil and whatever else when my life comes to an end, so loving the world is the same and necessary as loving myself. true love of this life and oneself can only lead to harmony then - those who seem to love only themselves do not truly love anything at all because they hurt everything around them and so ultimately they are only hurting and abusing and hating themself.

thats how i see it anyways.

The major root of so-called evil is the oppression of GOD of Nature given human nature. Perhaps the greatest root of so-called evil is the repression of reproductive freedom.

The prophet Muhammad carried on with over 10 wives and unusually enough one below the age of 10. He did not repress much of his sexual nature that is for sure.

The height of hypocrisy in the original Muslim teachings as expressed today is that women should be held as lesser in equality with reproductive freedoms.

But anyway, repress any part of human nature, whether it is 'normal' reproductive freedoms, human emotion, or 'by GOD' just the opportunity and ability to dance and not walk on sidewalks in a straight line only; or be forced in a room without windows sitting still in front of a computer screen 8 hours a day; and the not so savory parts of human nature can and do arise.

And of course the inability to gain enough territory and basic subsistence for day-to-day life and compatible mates, is another major cause of what some folks describe as evil in the world.

This is part of why one sees the healthiest most peaceful societies in cultures where folks get along and share whether it is government mandated in Scandinavian countries or the smaller more peaceful societies that do still have populaces that co-exist peacefully in sharing rather than collecting and dominating; oppressing and repressing the nature of other human beings through subjugation and fear tactics whether it is an imaginary devil called Satan, or an imaginary literal threat of hell fire.

The GOD of nature is ONE, in my opinion.

Humans are the only animals silly enough to divide nature into good and bad, as what they imagine can and does come true in conflicts and wars where innocents die. And if some could have his or her way the Armageddon scenario could come to fruition and everyone would suffer a horrifying death.

Fortunately the GOD of nature, overall, makes humans to survive, not to kill themselves off instinctually.

As a whole, ignorance is the root of so-called evil.

And if there is any real evil in the world, it is human produced human suffering, taking people away from their GOD given natures.

I hate this life, but I still have appreciation and respect for the planet itself and the living things in it...except the living things, humans which are doing a good job of destroying it along with themselves. I also do not subscribe to the concept of sin, and based on all the things that are sins to a lot of religious people living 'sin' free sounds like nearly impossible for anyone to achieve.

I certainly do not think I am an expert on foreign policy, though I disagree with the current one...also not sure how this pertains to the conversation. Anyways I suppose i see nothing wrong with not hating this world, I can see hating all the bull crap that goes on in the world but I don't think it is morally wrong to appreciate or enjoy this life.....and get the most out of it but not in ways that hurt others. That said I don't care much for this life thus far.

Also no one is innocent, everyone's got their dark secrets or thoughts....people can be innocent of crimes, innocent of specific actions they have not taken part in but no one is entirely innocent as in never having done anything morally wrong or thought about it...at least in my opinion.

The root of all evil is clearly humans. If we didn't exist, we would not be able to perceive evil, therefore evil would not exist. Problem solved.

I was just being a busybody, and thought I'd coach your boxing style.

It seemed like your punches were missing their mark because you were getting faked out by taking the words your opponet was using in a slightly wrong (too literal way). But actually you're hammering him fine without my help.

Dont mind me.
Just carry on!

To some degree, I accept the OP's notion. Coveting items can cause evil deeds. But if I covet a new joystick so I can better enjoy Flightsim, then that in itself is not evil.

But the same can be said of empire building. When nations or even smaller groups seek to take over others' lands, and do so with violence, then that is evil. We're seeing it with IS at this very moment.

As for the OP question, "What is the root of evil?" there isn't just one thing, other than perhaps one race - humans. Sometimes it's coveting, sometimes it's borders and boundaries that create inequity. Sometimes it's psychotic rage. Sometimes it's a host of other things.

And sometimes you do evil regardless of your best efforts - hence the choice between the 'lesser of two evils.'

But I do like the following quote. It talks about the human dilemma. Bladerunner fans who have read the original story will remember 'Mercerism.' .

?You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.?
― Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

So, the Devil is off the hook?

Yup,what the hell did he do wrong?Question God's authority maybe?

Your grand poobah said that only because he wanted people to make his ideology the primary focus of their lives. Notice there are no serious religions centered around just living your life and doing as well for yourself as you can. Like totalitarian political systems, the populace must be spiritually mobilized to replace their own interests with those of the belief system.

Satan has already taken over the Vatican.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7tB8dXUSFY[/youtube]

And now I am confused, if you're talking about my post.