Good and Evil

How can one distinguish good from evil?

Are there universal indicators behind, within, or consequent upon an action by which one can determine whether it was a good or an evil act? What is the difference between a good person and an evil person? Good and evil may be distinguished outwardly or inwardly.

Some passages distinguish good and evil by their root in the self: good deeds are motivated by the conscience, while evil deeds satisfy the body’s desires. Other passages distinguish good and evil by the mind’s purpose and intention.

Discerning good and evil may be difficult, however, if we cannot fathom the mind’s intention and there is no clear outward indication to go by.

The end of an affair may take time to develop. Here, passages are calling for patience until the matter bears fruit, at which time good and evil will be evident.

Father Moon discusses these ways of distinguishing good and evil, but he mainly fixes on an objective standard: goodness is altruistic and seeks to benefit others, while evil is self-centered.

Goodness Is Selfless and Altruistic, while Evil Is to Gratify Selfish Desires

Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from the eternal, infinite Godhead. God is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law, O Arjuna. Whoever violates it, indulging his senses for his own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, has wasted his life. Bhagavad-Gita 3.16 (Hinduism)

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Christianity)

There are among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds. That is the highest Grace. Qur’an 35.32

Whosoever seeks, by whatever means, merely the happiness of cyclic existence for personal ends, he is to be understood as a mean person. Whosoever reverses deeds done from base motives and turns back the happiness of worldly pleasures for the sake of his own liberation, that person is called middling. Whosoever wishes to eliminate completely the sufferings of others through his own sufferings, that is the excellent person. Bodhipathapradipa (Buddhism)

Four characters of men: He who says, “What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours”—that is the average type: some say it is the character of Sodom. He who says, “What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine” is undisciplined. He who says, “What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours” is a saint.He who says, “What is yours is mine and what is mine is mine” is wicked. Mishnah, Avot 5.13 (Judaism)

If you, Rahula, are desirous of doing a deed with the body, you should reflect on that deed of your body, thus: “That deed that I am desirous of doing with the body is a deed of my body that might conduce to the harm of self and that might conduce to the harm of others and that might conduce to the harm of both; this deed of body is unskilled, its yield is anguish, its result is anguish.” If you, Rahula, reflecting thus, should find it so, a deed of body like this, Rahula, is certainly not to be done by you. Majjhima Nikaya 1.415 (Buddhism)

If, for my own sake, I cause harm to others, I shall be tormented in hellish realms; But if for the sake of others I cause harm to myself, I shall acquire all that is magnificent. By holding myself in high esteem I shall find myself in unpleasant realms, ugly and stupid; But should this [attitude] be shifted to others I shall acquire honors in a joyful realm. If I employ others for my own purposes I myself shall experience servitude, But if I use myself for the sake of others I shall experience only lordliness. Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life 8.126-128 (Buddhism)

The gods and the demons, both having the Creator as their origin, were rivals of each other. So the demons, swollen with pride, said, “In what, pray, should we place the oblation?” And they proceeded to place the oblation in their own mouths. The gods then proceeded to place their oblations each in the mouth of one of his fellows. And the Creator gave Himself over to them.3 Satapatha Brahmana 5.1.1.1-2 (Hinduism)

It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong. Jeremy Bentham4 (Humanism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
How do the directions of good and evil differ? Good always centers on God, the Absolute Being, or puts itself in the other person’s shoes. Evil centers on the self, or puts itself in the subject position.

What is good?

It is to advance the purpose of the whole by sacrificing yourself. What is evil? It is to pull everything toward you. Thus, good and evil have different directions.

Your body wants to do everything it desires, while your mind tries to restrain you from acting to satisfy the body. Thus they also have different directions, one good and the other evil. (16:137, January 2, 1966)

For human beings, the most important thing is to be able to discern between good and evil. Yet until now, the standard for determining good and evil has been unclear.

Evil is to present conditions that enable Satan to accuse human beings. What is sin? It is something that provides grounds for Satan to accuse. Christians more than anyone must know clearly what sin is, especially the root of sin.

Evil began at the Human Fall, when not only Satan but also Eve thought, “I will be the subject partner. I will be the center.” God’s Principle of Creation is to live for the sake of others, while the attitude of living for one’s own sake is Satan’s nature. You must know the origin of good and evil.

An evil person tells others to live for his sake. God and Jesus work to subdue this kind of spirit, which is why they teach us not to be arrogant, to sacrifice for others and to serve others. (69:85, October 20, 1973)

How do we determine if someone is good or evil? It is whether he or she lives for a public purpose or for an individual purpose. That is the norm of human ethics. A good person sacrifices him or herself for the sake of others while an evil person exploits others for his or her own benefit. This is my way of teaching about good and evil. (102:234, January 1, 1979)

There are two basic types of people in the world: those who think and act altruistically for the sake of the greater good, and those who think and act to benefit themselves.

Most people do not like to think about the world and act for its benefit. They prefer to think about themselves and act out of their self-centered thinking. The altruistic person admires the saints who were dedicated to the welfare of the world, patriots who lived for their nation, and righteous leaders of the current era, taking them as role models for his own life.

The self-centered person could care less about saints, patriots, or today’s leaders. He acts only to benefit himself. Which type of person are you? Which type of person would you like as a friend?…

You know the altruistic way is correct and a self-centered life is wrong, but what is your reality? You answer that you are altruistic, but your self-concept does not match your reality. The fact is, you are walking a self-centered path. You know the truth, but your reality does not match it. (117:214-15, March 7, 1982)

By the criterion of goodness, we can classify all people in the world into three groups: first, people who oppose goodness; second, people who know goodness but don’t actively pursue it to make it their own (they end up living in the buffer zone between heaven and hell); and third, people who want to take responsibility for accomplishing goodness. It is the people of this third group whom God needs to accomplish His will. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)

What makes someone a good person?

Someone who just takes a bite out of what he receives is an evil person, while someone who adds to what he receives and passes it on to others is a good person. This is why every parent wants their children to grow up to be better than themselves. (315:211, February 2, 2000)

Does the president of the United States think centering on himself or centering on the United States? Does he act for his next election or for the future of the nation?

These matters determine good and evil. To go one step further, if the president focuses only on the benefit of the United States, then he will only be a respected president within the United States.

However, if he centers on the world and the benefit of the world, then the world will admire him as an American president who has worldwide influence.

Otherwise, although he serves his nation’s best interests, his actions will cause friction in the rest of the world.

All human beings are subject to this law and will be judged accordingly. What will ensnare you in the judgment? The main thing is the self-centered thinking. You will be judged for focusing on yourself.

How can you confidently say that you will not be caught by this universal law? You will be liberated from the law when you become the type of person about whom people say, “He does not live for himself. He lives for the welfare of the world.” (93:302, June 12, 1977)

Good or Evil Is Determined by the Intention of the Heart

Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man. Matthew 15.19-20

How can activity be good or wicked? That which is performed with good intention is good; and that which is performed with evil intention is wicked… That which purifies the soul or by which the soul is purified is merit, producing a happy feeling. That which keeps the soul away from good is demerit—producing an unhappy feeling. Pujyapada, Sarvarthasiddhi 6.3 (Jainism)

If a person has no wound in his hand, he may carry poison in it. Poison does not affect him, for he has no wound. There is no ill for him who acts without intent to do wrong. Dhammapada 124 (Buddhism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Originally, good and evil started from one point; that one point is love. (26:282, November 10, 1969)

Analyze yourself: you have a dual structure. The conscience is in the position of good, while the body is in the position of evil. (227:46, February 10, 1992)

Good or evil can come to existence depending on the direction and the way of your mind. The direction and way of your mind will make the distinction between good and evil. (37:116, December 23, 1970)

A nation’s constitution, which is inspired by its highest ideals, is the basis for determining right and wrong, good and evil within a nation. Likewise, as regards our own behavior, we need some basis or standard for distinguishing right from wrong. Think about it. How can someone who is always drunk determine whether his drinking is good or bad? He cannot be his own standard. This is the case for all of us.

We find all kinds of justifications for everything we do, whether good or bad. How can we judge rightly? Today, throughout the world, people do many evil things and justify them based on their own way of thinking.

Hence, the world is in chaos. This state of affairs will continue as long as there is not a clear and accepted standard of good and evil. There should be one standard, and it should be absolute, unique, eternal and unchanging. (March 1, 1981)

Good or Evil Is Seen in a Person’s Way of Life

You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7.16-20

God enjoins justice, kindness, and charity to one’s kindred, and forbids indecency, abomination, and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed. Qur’an 16.90

Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. Galatians 5.19-23

Worthless men live that they may eat and drink, whereas worthy men eat and drink that they may live. Socrates5 (Hellenism)

God’s messenger said, “Do you know the thing which most commonly brings people into Paradise? It is fear to God and good character. Do you know what most commonly brings people into hell? It is the two hollow things: the mouth and the private parts.” Hadith of Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah (Islam)

“All who commit crimes, robbing, stealing, practicing villainy and treachery, and who kill men or violently assault them to take their property, being reckless and fearless of death—these are abhorred by all.” The king says, “O Feng, such great criminals are greatly abhorred, and how much more detestable are the unfilial and unbrotherly—as the son who does not reverently discharge his duty to his father, but greatly wounds his father’s heart, and the father who can no longer love his son, but hates him; as the younger brother who does not think of the manifest will of Heaven, and refuses to respect his elder brother, and the elder brother who does not think of the toil of their parents in bringing up their children, and is very unfriendly to his junior. If we who are charged with government do not treat parties who proceed to such wickedness as offenders, the laws of our nature given by Heaven to our people will be thrown into great disorder and destroyed.” Book of History 5.9 (Confucianism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
People who live self-centered lives cannot produce good seeds. Those who are trying to benefit themselves cannot bear good fruit. Simply speaking, people who want to use others for their benefit are evil. Good people, on the other hand, are willing to take other people’s burdens. (41:91, February 12, 1971)

Good and evil are not determined by your beliefs. They are determined by your daily life. Whether you are destined for heaven and hell is not determined by your worldview, but by your daily life. (40:294-95, February 7, 1971)

Evil acts by using force. Its activity is not the natural way, but goes against nature. That is why it utilizes oppression, fear, intimidation and threats. (60:61, August 6, 1972)

Everything has its beginning and its end. Whether it is good or bad, once it begins, at some point it will reach its end. If it is a good thing, the result may take a long time to bear fruit but its record will remain in history. However, if it is a bad thing, its result will quickly appear.

Good keeps step with eternity, while evil keeps step with the moment. A deed that quickly perishes is fascinated with the moment, while the deed that prospers is fascinated with eternity. (18:64, May 21, 1967)

Good is standing for a public purpose, and evil is standing for a personal purpose. By this standard, a patriot and a faithful wife are good people. The greater cause they live for, the better they become.

Evil is living for a selfish purpose. Since good is searching for something greater, it should at least be centered on the family rather than the individual. That is why a man and a woman should marry and establish a family.

Next, their family should be recognized and praised by their neighbors. After an individual establishes his family, he should go forth to benefit his tribe, his people, his nation, and finally the world. (31:236, June 4, 1970)