ratbastid

I'm absolutely NOT arguing that pedophilia is not wrong. In no way do I condone or excuse the act itself. I'm just saying that popping up with "Pedophilia. End of discussion." doesn't end the discussion. If you'll look at my last post, I definitely believe that those who molest, abuse, or exploit children--however driven by whatever demon drove them--deserve punishment. But I stop short of calling them evil, because they're a victim of their affliction too. I can find compassion for them, in other words. Doesn't mean I forgive them or offer them amnesty, but I have compassion for them. They're suffering too, and in their suffering they cause suffering for others. And I believe they should be separated from society indefinitely so they can't continue to do that.

I don't know how an act can be evil. An act simply is. It has impacts, for better or worse, and it can cause harm, but an act all by itself doesn't have intent. The actor might have intent, but the act itself doesn't. I think when you say "the act is evil", you're really saying "the actor is evil", which I reject on the grounds I stated above.

I do really get what you're saying too, 5757--that compassion can easily turn into forgiveness or absolution. I agree with you about that. I don't believe that's appropriate at all. I also really appreciate you sharing your personal experience, and I hope it all ended well for you, though I know it's probably something you'll continue to have to deal with for a long time.

Regarding whether I believe evil exits... Let me put it like this: I think people think in absolutes a lot, and I think that very very little--quite possibly nothing--in life is actually absolute. My experience is that religous people are more prone to absolutist thinking. I know there are things that people generally agree are evil. But is there evil out there in the world on its own, independant of human interpretation, like an object, a thing? I'm not so sure about that. If anybody finds some Evil laying out there in the street, put it in a box and send it to me so I can take a look at it.

My current favorite Philip K. Dick quote is: "What's real is that which doesn't disappear when you stop believing in it." By that definition, evil isn't real.

I actually think that the notion of "evil" is fairly harmful, and blinds us from our power to alter things in the world. Think about this: why is a thing evil? Because somebody says it's evil. What happens if we stop calling things evil? Evil disappears from the world. There are still acts that cause harm, but now we can deal with them as acts that cause harm. It's not some big Evil Thing that just exists and we have to run from it, it's actually seen for what it is, and can be addressed directly.

The above post is MY OPINION, and I'm clear it will rile some people up. I apologize to the reader for any riling this post or my other posts in this thread cause you.