Hello, I view threads on this fine forum from time to time and could not resist putting my input on this particular subject. I have a Baptist/Christian background, so I thought my "different" perception might be an interesting read for some people. Feel free to comment, and I sure hope I don't sound like I'm preaching here. I think you ask an excellent question as to the state of man, and the need for God; or more specifically, Gods grace. I'll give you my short answer and my long answer on this subject. My short answer is Yes, I believe man is bad. Is man capable of some good deeds, of course, but with God's grace removed from us, even this would be impossible. Back to the long answer. Ask yourself something... Have you ever lied? Obviously yes. So what does that make you (a lier). A man only has to murder once to be a murderer. "And all liars shall have their part in the lake" of fire (Rev 21:8). Jesus said if you have ever hated, you commit murder in your heart. The Jews thought they were keeping the Law, but Jesus came to show them that God's standards are much higher then they think. An infinite and Holy God, with perfect standards. By breaking His law, we are worthy of an infinite punishment. Another example; Jesus said if they have ever looked at a woman/man with lust, that they have commited adultry in their hearts. And this is only 3 of the 10 commandments. So, if God will judge us on judgement day, and so far we have admitted to being lying, adultress, murderers (not to even mention the other commandments we've broken), then we are guilty. I know I have lied thousands of times over the past multiple decades. God is the great judge, and a man cannot stand in court and say "your honor, I have broken those laws, but I have done lots of good things too." He will say, "Yes, but I must punish you for breaking my Law." Otherwise a judge would not be just. You cannot rob a bank just once after living a life helping and being good and get away with it. A just judge must punish the crime. So I believe we must see the state of man, that he is a sinner, wicked and hopeless, hence we are all bad and in the desperate need of God's grace. It takes a humble soul to put our pride away and see that we have no chance without grace.. So I hope I did not ramble on too much for my first post. I hope my outlook was interesting from a different perspective. And I find all of your posts very interesting to read. Thanks for listening, CharlesW "Thank God for sending us His son to die for our sins"
