Jordan Peterson - Are You a Good Person?
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- Опубліковано 29 кві 2017
- original source: • 2017 Maps of Meaning 0...
Psychology Professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson advises to civilize and incorporate your shadow into your psyche, because otherwise it has the potential to overtake and possess you when the circumstances allow it.
Dr. Peterson's new book is available for pre-order:
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: amzn.to/2yvJf9L
If you want to support Dr. Peterson, here is his Patreon:
/ jordanbpeterson
Check out Jordan Peterson's Self Authoring Program, a powerful tool to sort yourself out:
bit.ly/selfAuth (Official affiliate link for Bite-sized Philosophy)
I love this guy. I have severe depression and ptsd from the military and being homeless and alone. He hit the nail on the head. Pray for me please. Trying to get a job interview today.
Andrew Spliffilin Thank you very much.
bigkahunaburger haven't heard back. "This isn't a very pleasant experience"
CHI-TownYankee I've given up on the VA. I'm too far behind now to catch up. Thank you for your prayers.
@@hoyavp2236 Hey, Buddy. Don't give up. I care about you.
John Smith thank you so much for that. I'm loosing everything I own and being unemployed is to much. But thankfully, I read your reply at the exact right time.
Breaking Bad: a chemistry teacher starts cooking meth.
Boiling Bad: a psychology teacher starts cooking lobsters.
Fuck meth. Mate
Try weed. Galactic I do belive 😊
😂😂😂
This man is absolutely spot-on in regards to PTSD. It's not usually the combat itself, like they show in the movies, it's your failure to save a friend who died. It's things that tell you things you don't want to know about the world or yourself.
thefreeatlast arefreeatlast maybe guilt as well
+Venor Maddox Yea, that too. Guilt stems from failure.
ptsd in most cases is the feeling of shame or guilt, such as soldiers who kill people who didn't want to. But in other cultures like the japanese during the feudal era, the samurai thought killing and dying was a part of glory and everyday life, so the development of ptsd was not prevalent. This being the opposite of today for most cultures that raise people to not kill.or at least be ashamed of it. If you admit your ability to do certain things that otherwise would be thought to be "bad", you can free your mind of such guilt as peterson states.
So PTSD is a denial of weakness by being hyper alert and guarded.
+Morgow Yes, but weakness can mean different things. It's more of a reflection on failure and what those failures tell you about yourself and the world.
One of the most brilliant people i've ever encountered
you should get out more
gherrrie Sam Harris and Dawkins are definitely out of his league when it comes to certain subjects Peterson tries to flex his muscle in.
That's, truly, terrifying.
@@kelleren4840 of course for you it is. im not surprised at all.
@@kelleren4840 The fact that you go from one to other JP video and leave negative comments says a lot about you. Lol, enjoy the rest of your day friend.
I am looking, and looking, and looking, and nowhere can I find the slightest trace of Jordan Peterson being "sexist", "racist" or "transphobic" in any way.
What I find instead is video after video with him giving valuable life advice and trying to understand humans in general.
Because once you add context and let him explain further without putting words in his mouth and actually listen with peaceful intent, it seems that, to me anyway and to you as well it appears, it's simply not the case.
why are you LOOKING for him to be sexist or racist? are you trying to find evidence to call him out? like what? lmao realize how utterly absurd that is.
Really!!?? Wow maybe because he isn’t any of those lol
we call it bullshit
Women's groups don't want advice they want power so they've made Peterson the representative of the enemy.
I have been a terrible person. I have used people as objects to fill my own needs and desires. I've fed people lies and false hope of something amazing, all the while knowing none of it would ever come to be. I was an all around disgusting piece of work.
But with the help of some people, especially one in particular, who too had been wronged by me, I have been able to turn my life around and leave my awful behaviour behind me. It was through their help that I finally came to understand the person I was, and to despise my actions. It lead to an extremely strong need to get my shit together, to thrive to be a better person.
I'm still working on it, and am nowhere close to being what an ideal person would be, but I'm hopeful that one day I'll get there.
We are all "terrible". You've realized a few things & are changing your behavior.
What more can you ask of yourself?
J-TAR Hey We need to chat! Im in the same boat! Just pre change. And i need help guidance ASAP
This is what healing looks like
it's okay. I used your mom
Humility requires strength and building character is healing.
I'm trying to "sort my life out" and part of that is realizing I watch way too much youtube and it just sucks up time like no other.
As a result of this
I've unsubscribed to most of the channels I used to follow. I have far fewer subscriptions--but I value the channels I'm subscribed to much more. It really helps me waste less time on UA-cam. Now, the time I DO spend on UA-cam is more productive and positive.
I highly recommend it!
sort yourself out, BUCKO!
I have completely changed the use of my time as well over the last couple of years. I realized that there is so much knowledge to gain that spending time doing things which will amount to nothing are exactly that, nothing. Keep it up everyone, I wish the rest of the nation used their time productively, we would go a long way much faster
Which channels are you still subscribed to if I may ask?
You tube is better than TV or video games if you want to relax and no one is around.
I watch UA-cam while doing cleaning/sorting stuff out/cooking it's perfect
I used to think I was a good person but really I was just a nice person. That realization made me a much better man. Thanks Jordan
I thought this said “Are You A Good Peterson”
Lol!!! 😂😂😂
It’s called clickbait
Are you a God, Peterson?
Lol! I thought it said, Are you a good parent?
I've fuckin read that book now Jordan. I'm not happy. It'd horrible. And I can't un-read it either
"No tree it is said can grow to heaven, unless its roots have reached down to hell"~Carl Jung. I tell this to anyone if they tell me im a very nice person or if im a very bad person.
This idea that if you are harmless you are moral is wrong. Professor Peterson speaks the truth. In contrast to the "if it feels good, do it" crowd. Are we too far down the wrong track to get back to truth & reality? It's important to realize we are capable of great harm, and then to be careful with ourselves & others. That is, full of care. About the consequences of what you say & do. It matters. It really does. It gives weight & meaning to every single word & thing we spend our lives doing ! Frightening if we confuse goodness with harmlessness. Like he said in another video...sometimes you need to let others know you have teeth & can "bite" them, but choose not to. Now, that, dear Internet Friends, is morality.
Thank you for this thoughts
The tyranny of good intentions.
Steve Ryan “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”
@@thecarlitosshow7687 ua-cam.com/video/Bmc9NFfhx74/v-deo.html
like that
“The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner contradictions, the world must perforce act out the conflict and be torn into opposite halves.” - C. Jung
i wish i had such a professor in my university
I'm sure you can find a racist, sexist, homophobic, hack just about anywhere.
'I have seen the true face of evil. it is not cackling emperors but the petty actions of small men, devoid of consequence or full of zeal.' paraphrase from the red country by Joe Abercrombie
I love that book. Good ol lamb back at it hacking and slashing
An honest man is one who knows he cannot consume what he has not produced.
Ayn Rand
3:12 “Sorry I have a new phone and I’m kind of stupid with it still.”
My ego just sky rocketed. I have found one thing that may put me above JP in any small way.
EDIT: No, I’m definitely still stupid with my phone. Humbled.
How does that adage go?........ pride comes before a fall........ ;)
(Side-note: sometimes we’re better off keeping our mouth shut 😀)
Fear is one of the biggest weapons ON THE MIND
He reminds me so much of my English Teacher from high school. He also had absolutely resonating and profound things to say but sometimes it would be the result of a simple question like "But how do I get this done before tomorrow?".
Funny thing is almost nobody but me liked him. They thought he was too absolute and critical but I liked that. I disliked all the "friendly" teachers, I thought it was too much.
Linkenski I had a professor of philosophy like JP. He was also profound
I disliked those teachers too. Whether or not I truly understood them, they had this knack of picking favourites and making other children feel bad about themselves instead of inspiring/motivating them. Talk about bad teacher.
Back in the days, reading Dostovejskij, Carl Jung, a little bit of Nietsche, Kirkegaard (Existensialist) I never grasped either one commentary and concept of being human and working as a full human being. It was all a game to me.
Well imagine my surprise Jordan Peterson tied all the loose ends together (for my scattered studies in Philosophy), and watching his lectures made me realize that I still want to commit to the human race thanks to all the disturbing literature ive read as a late teen, passed as a game, but not so anymore.
Definitely not a good person. Even as a kid my heart was full of arrogance, envy and jealousy towards others. I'd manipulate my older cousin and make him give me his stuff by guilt tripping him when he got better gifts during a holiday or won something in a competition and I didn't... Had to experience some crushing circumstances resulting from my dumb choices after university for me to start seeing the depth of my evil.
Loser
@Nickhead87 true
You could consider it a blessing that you had this rude awakening. Many people live their whole life thinking they’re a good person, having no idea how ignorant they are and how fallacious this mentality is. I saw an interview once of a young adult who was describing all of his “bad deeds” - lying, stealing, treating people poorly etc. When the interviewer asked him if he was concerned about where he might end up in the afterlife, kid said “naw, I’m way too good of a person”. I also work with some people who have fairly negative reputations because of their attitudes and how they treat people, and they consider themselves to be good people (they have told me this). The ignorance/pride is painful to see/hear.
"You end up in very bad places one step at a time, so you've got to watch those steps"
So very true...
💯
I was going to show a different clip today, but I considering the heated discussion in the Atheism video, I thought I would show you something that is relevant to Dr. Peterson's arguments. It is easy to confuse harmlessness with morality and it's even easier to consider oneself as good when the circumstances are easy and comfortable. Don't take this as a snarky remark, I just want give a bit of background for his arguments.
Bite-sized Philosophy I agree totally and the point about it being easy to be good when the circumstances are in
your favor hits the nail on the head.
Great upload, JBP has very interesting thoughts and ideas.
Seriously I wouldn't worry about some fedoras getting triggered. They are only JBP fans because it's edgy and likely only atheists because that's edgy too. They don't and won't care about understanding what Peterson actually meant.
Fantastic clip, I appreciate your work.
codebeard That is unfortunately very true. I have been consistently disappointed by how little proponents of Peterson actually understand him. A large portion, perhaps the majority, of his proponents are such merely and solely for the fact that Peterson opposes the overbearing aspects of LGBTQ+. These proponents' perspective doesnt extend further than a blind hatred of LGBTQ+ in its entirety, at face value. And as such they ascribe to and venerate Peterson's M.O. despite a severely lacking understanding of it, and they poison his name. Doesnt help youre case trying to prove that youre not a bigot when the neo nazis support you.
codebeard to be fair this channel aimed it at atheists and JBP has a very odd (to the modern west) definition of god that takes many lectures for him to fully flesh out.
side note they're probably atheists because it's the intellectually honest position of a person whose spent more than a week researching the god question
The concept that someone would specifically target another human being, find out their vulnerabilities, then proceed to used the learned information to destroy your life was inconceivable. Let alone coming in the form of a "best friend" a pastor, or a boss claiming she wanted to adopt me as their son, even thought I was already 24. Dark shit, can't come from anywhere but the pit of hell.
good luck with kpin Mr.peterson..
withdrawals suck more than anyone would ever want you can do it warrior
Good Answer 😊 I try my best to be who I am
What a lesson
what's sad is that I think even if you EXPECT a bad thing in the world, especially your own personal world to happen, is that it can STILL break your spirit and leave you a complete mess... whether it is temporary or permanently is up to the individual and the situation they've encountered. I'm not a psychoanalyst...but that's just a thought.
Being good doesn't benefit you in this world. Is what I learned in my life. It's a very dark and cold place we live in. But I still pushed trough my way. Zoro was my inspiration to never stop. It worked. I definitely picked the strongest character in the world. Life's pushing you? Push back harder or die trying! Don't look at what others do. Do what you think is right. Many people did try make a difference in the world. But most of them realized that their effords didn't benefit their own person. So they felt betrayed and took it all back, gave the people what they thought they deserved. The greatest challenge perhaps to overcome as a good person. Honest life is not easy. But if you don't go this path to the end, how do you expect the world to change? Somebody has got to break this loop. I chose to. I also felt I didn't get enough or nothing in return. But I realized and said to myself "I'll be me, I choose not to be like them". Be you, not by looking at others!
wow.. I needed this
Sometimes if a person has been mistreated a lot, then that person can unintentionally become a bad person.
4 my sake I hope your right dude
If you are honest with yourself, self aware, and a critical thinker, Jordan Peterson's words will resonate deep in your soul. A newfound understanding of your being will be understood at a level that is new and acceptable for one's psyche.
The mindset of The Crowd. It brings out our lowest instincts. Suppresses our conscious thought and makes us feel part of a group. It takes discipline to resist. We all fall victim to it, but sometimes it matters more than other times, as it did with those German soldiers. I guess focus on what is good and discipline ourselves to resist the crowd mindset. I suspect that doing the latter is easier than knowing the former.
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
Amazing
When I look at what I've decided to do in the past in relation to causing others pain versus what has manifested in reality then I have to consider myself as less evil than is proposed here but then again I figure it's possible for me to be capable of greater evil than I can conceptualize right now.
im crippled by the worst ptsd almost anything can trigger it and im pretty much isolated use to be homeless but being trapped by your own mind is just as bad if not worse and the negative thoughts are really something! just woke up to a car driving by and now having panic attacks gotta love it i wish the va was more helpful but most of my experience with them is not great. i hope all that are suffering the best and hope they can find a better way to treat it...god bless and rakkason
I have noticed people with PTSD are otherwise very nice and a little naive, hmm
Oziel Esparza This is why majority of PTSD are between the ages of 3 to 22. Coping with stressful situations when you are still trying to figure out the world and who you are is much more difficult to deal with in a younger age then an adult male who figured out how to deal with trauma better.
Pippi Elvesse Bernstein Please read carefully before you react, I said "majority". Now of course that you can suffer PTSD at any age but at the age of 40 you can deal with stressful situation better in certain situations that won't affect you like they would a child. For example an Adult male is for the most part an independent individual and as a result won't suffer a PTSD from being abandoned by his parents as one would if he was 7 years old.
Oziel Esparza I have ptsd and I am not that nice, hahaha. and, it depends on how much they look into their trauma to gain self awareness. from what I've seen not a lot of people with ptsd do.
Numerous people I've worked with didn't show signs of PTSD until there forties.
@Pippi Bernstein No, I disagree, children often times get defensive, dwell, lament and blame others for the event rather than cope healthily, especially if no one teaches them otherwise. Since a lot of people are good people for the sake of being good or for whatever other reason, the chances of that child coming upon guidance is high and they wouldn't stay a victim.
What I've noticed is that I feel less reluctant to help out a child who is being mildly (key word, mildly) tramuatised due to the fact that I've accepted that everybody is a little tramuatised and that they'll eventually find a way to cope and be functioning members of society and even go so far as to find happiness and peace as many have had. Trauma is temporary.
Well- done sr.
Those last few words are truly haunting
WOW! one step at a time... wow!
Jordan, I know you mostly gear your talks toward men or at least speak mostly in front of men, but ever since I found you, I can't get enough! You are so logical, reasonable and Intelligent!
Crazy video editing! They actually made it look like he was giving a lecture in a suit, but he was actually talking to a mirror in his pajamas
"You end up in very bad places one step at a time, so you really gotta watch those steps" - JP
That is partly why brainwashing is extremely dangerous;
because it tends to creep up on you in small doses, so that you don't notice it until you are lucky enough to stop and think "wait a moment, what the hell am I doing?".
Jordan-"Sorry I have a new phone and I am really stupid with it"
Me-BRILLIANT!!!!!
Breaking Bad awesome example
It is interesting how we focus so much on "are we good?", which usually amounts to little more than delusion filled belly button gazing.
If we focused on DOING good. We might not need the question in the first place. ;)
But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In fact SJWs and the likes really do believe that they are doing good and fighting evil. But yet cause a lot of damage and bad instead. I'd much rather we significantly curtail our 'doing good' and simply 'sort ourselves out' as JBP advises. If we do that automatically we will positively impact others towards good.
What you are saying is right, but keep in mind that he is speaking in historical, philosophical and psychoanalytical terms. I could very well dismiss the atrocities that happened in history by saying that those were just bad people who I have nothing in common with because I do good in the world. That line of thinking is naive and can set societies up to repeat the same disasters. At the same time he is not saying you should constantly feel guilty about it, but you can civilize that part of yourself by acknowledging it and turning it into a positive force.
Yes. That is why I wrote "focus". All the sane traditions, philosophical and religious, teach us that we have the potential for both good and evil. Our own experiences will only confirm this.
You have it completely backwards.
The SW's think of themselves as BEING good. EVERYTHING is about their IDENTITY.
Sorting ourselves as JP says deal with potential and intentions ONLY. We must honestly assess our actual actions and the consequences of them to see if we are truly doing good.
Plenty of people do bad things for good reasons simply because they are ignorant to the actual consequences of their actions. "Sorting themselves" won't fix this. Being practical and willing to ignore whether you appear to be good or evil will.
you sound like youve listened to a lot of jordan peterson
know the evil within u and use it for the sake of good
I believe I am a good person. ☺️👼
People who hate Jordan Peterson never truly had a rough time in their lives and I mean a really rough time.
I wish they can answer the question directly , no need for extra words
Fragmented and devastated
John 3:19-21
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Ephesians 6: 12-13
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heaven. Psalm 27 - pray daily / pray continuously
John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
As I age I'm starting to consider that Christ lived and, more than that, he had a transcendent message for mankind.
Its not about what is rational or irrational - those words don't even begin to explain the human race or consciousness.
Hi. Jesus never existed. Please read the book, "On the Historicity of Jesus" by Richard Carrier. There are many lectures of Dr. Carrier on UA-cam worth watching. Check them out.
Charles - it happened over happened 2000 years ago - depending on what happens in the next 2000 years there might be debates among historians about whether Martin Luther King junior was part of the narrative or not; or Ghandi or John F.Kennedy or anyone of importance.
The point is that our thinking amounts from thousands of years of retold stories originating well before the birth of Christ.
I'm intellectually past the point of rationalizing my understanding of it or explaining it to other people. It would be like explaining why I love my parents and grandparents. The connection is inexplicable.
Hi Charles, you do realize that this scholar is in a minority position concerning the existence of Jesus? A vast majority of scholars do not question his existence.
@Jay Snowden: Thats because they go on the basis that the bible/gospels are an accurate source of historicity, other than than that there is practically little evidence. Some scholars who care might be Christian which also explains why the majority agree he exists, oh and they won't want to piss off Christians by claiming their superhero doesn't exist. There is more evidence for Hercules being real than Jesus and I think most would agree hercules isn't real. If I was to say Jesus is real I would say he was most likely a cult leader that had his teaching spread through stories inflated by his followers. Its really hard to prove/disprove the existence of Jesus when all you have to go on is minor questionable references and religous books, but there are some pretty good arguments for disproving he exists.
Yes my friend I see things that way too. When I imagine a life lived wholly on rationality, it hits me that that life would be utterly mundane and meaningless. Peterson talks about this a lot in his lectures on Dostoevsky. A rational reduction of life being reduced to statistics and numbers makes me yearn for meaning beyond a simply rational life If I ever take a moment to ponder things that way. I believe that this is where Christ's message begins in a way.
I am not a good person, I simply do deeds that have the least negative effect on others as well as myself.
This professor has a blinkered view and its useful in order to arrive at an interesting conclusion for him.
I hope you all have a good summer
Being GOOD has no real benefits at all (in my opinion). Being good, can work against you. Being good is a trait that alot of people despise.
If people weren't good to each other then they wouldn't be able to cooperate in anything at all, and parents would definitely not be able to take care of their kids in a healthy manner.
Maybe, but it's also a CHOICE. I would do something that might work against me but I know it's good and the right thing to do, and that brings me peace as I know who I am and what I believe in. It's a choice and who YOU decide to be, despite anything.
Random silly example on top of my mind: Say you are in highschool with a group of friends/classmates who gossip and say nasty things for other classmates. You can choose to gossip as well even though you know it's a bad thing but this will work in your favor, OR you will not want to gossip, risking being potentially cast out from the group and suffering socially.
I used to be a horrible person, until I took mushrooms and realized that everything I ever needed was right within me and all I took was the courage to be honest with myself (:
@Roy Sunshine lol
The good people... are the smart people...🎉🎉
Looking into the unconscious mind seems like a good job for a psychologist AI. Something that can analyze how a person acts and determine what their fundamental though processes are.
I love jordan
I like your channel. So glad this one is non emo music rapping my mental health
Who would win?
A clinical psychologist who formed his views based on facts and evidence, or a whiny Progressive who prefers feelings over facts?
My Uber driver last night had three children die in childhood. Her philosophy of life is she didn't want to own anything so not to care about material possessions. I believe her over others.
Watch your steps
I think I know I'm capable of shitty things due to a history of a number of things so its helped me lots in limiting myself and controlling myself i don't know how bad i can be but the idea that I have a potential is potentially scary but I want to know if any sort of trigger can breakdown the bridge of Self-limitation. Is there a way to know how much trauma, stress etc. one's brain could take before it becomes self- destructive.
I have been looking for a lecture by JP that is very similar to this where he goes more deeply into the concept of people only being good because they don't really have the opportunity to be truly bad. I can't find it. I imagine that it was part of a larger lecture. I'm beginning to wonder if it doesn't actually exist and I'm just pulling together strands from lots of different lectures. If anyone knows the one I'm talking about, I would appreciate it if you could point me to it.
That’s exactly the same reason I’m here. It exists just not sure which video it was on.
Smart phone, stupid me. Sorry. (3:10)
FEAR IS AND CAN BE USED AS A TACTIC TO GAIN TERITORY . ON ANOTHER FEARS FOR NOTIFICATION OF DSNGER OR A WEAPON . PERIOD
Are they a good society for me to live in so I can be a good person in it?
One step at a time...
I need a Jordan Peterson dissection of Death Note
You can't help but have instincts.
I wonder what Peterson does for fun. Does he ever have fun? Maybe this is fun for him. Just try to picture him going to a beach resort or a cruise and getting shitfaced. Imagine Proffessor Peterson hammered on a cruise, walking around in his bathing suit just harrassing everyone on the boat. Every harrassment is then followed by a 45 min existential lecture that he half slurs but still gets the point crystal clear.
In case anyone is actually curious to the question posed here I believe Peterson has said in the past that most of his fun comes from spending time with his friends and family. Nothing out of the ordinary but a reminder of how bloody efficient the man is.
@@Joseph-C actually Im not surprised, that just fits
It's funny all the things you talk about I now realize it's the things that my Dad told me.When your young u think u know everything n Dad doesn't know nothing.lmaso the older I get. Thanks Dad n Mr.Peterson ✌🏻❤️🇺🇸
I really enjoyed that but he could afford to be more blunt. Or just be more organized and specific with his main topic.
“Are you a Good person?”
James(Theodd1sout): Yes.
Of course I'm just scared and clueless
I believe l have been willfully admitting that l can be malevolent, a bit too much.
Think I am :)
Sometimes I don't think I am.
Most of us like to think we are one of the good guys, and relatively most of us probably are. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have evil lurking in the shadows. If left unchecked we can surprise ourselves by our own impulses even if it’s as ‘minor’ as rude words, evil thoughts, wishing karma on someone, or being unkind to a spouse or parent or child. We are not 💯 good. But we aren’t graded on a sliding scale. And it’s not based on if we are better or worse than so and so.
He should address the issue of people changing words that others speak, that shit pisses me off to no end, when i say something i mean just that,....if people understand and DON'T twist words around he wouldn't have to backpedal and explain that he doesn't mean this, or don't mean that...i mean this....
The Einstasgruppen. I think that’s who he was talking about. Genuinely some of the most deplorable people in human history. The stories surrounding them and their affiliate groups from that time of the war are beyond heartbreaking. No humanity.
Thank you mr Peterson for giving me a book idea
Ordinary men. Ordering it from Amazon as we speak
Mike Andresen i read it after watching this video too. It’s literally one of the best books i’ve ever read.
5:40 also read Hitler's Furies
Yeah I don't get the same treatment from my parents anymore
Total depravity is a phrase or name that is used to summarize what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. It is the “T” in the acronym TULIP, which is commonly used to enumerate what are known as the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of grace. Because the name “total depravity” can cause people to have wrong ideas about what is meant, some people prefer to use terms like “total inability,” “righteous incapability,” “radical corruption” or even “moral inability.” Yet what is important is not the name assigned to the doctrine but how accurately the doctrine summarizes what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. No matter which name you use to refer to “total depravity,” the fact remains that when properly understood it is an accurate description of what the Bible does teach on this important subject.
While often misunderstood, the doctrine of total depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man-his mind, will, emotions and flesh-have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. It penetrates to the very core of our being so that everything is tainted by sin and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).
The total depravity of man is seen throughout the Bible. Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19; John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” (Romans 8:7).
The Apostle Paul summarizes the total depravity of man in Romans 3:9-18. He begins this passage by saying that “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” Simply put, this means that man is under the control of sin or is controlled by his sin nature (his natural tendency to sin). The fact that unregenerate people are controlled by their selfish, sinful tendencies should not come as a surprise to any parent. What parent has to teach his or her child to be selfish, to covet what someone else has or to lie? Those actions come naturally from the child’s sin nature. Instead, the parent must devote much time to teaching the child the importance of telling the truth, of sharing instead of being selfish, of obeying instead of rebelling, etc.
Then in the rest of this passage Paul quotes extensively from the Old Testament in explaining how sinful man really is. For example, we see that 1-no one is without sin, 2-no one seeks after God, 3-there is no one who is good, 4-their speech is corrupted by sin, 5-their actions are corrupted by sin, and 6-above all, they have no fear of God. So, when one considers even these few verses, it becomes abundantly clear the Bible does indeed teach that fallen man is “totally depraved,” because sin affects all of him including his mind, will and emotions so that “there is none who does good, no not one” (Romans 3:12).
There is a common misconception regarding total depravity. Total depravity does not mean that man is as wicked or sinful as he could be, nor does it mean that man is without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong. Neither does it mean that man does not or cannot do things that seem to be good when viewed from a human perspective or measured against a human standard. It does not even mean that man cannot do things that seem to conform outwardly to the law of God. What the Bible does teach and what total depravity does recognize is that even the “good” things man does are tainted by sin because they are not done for the glory of God and out of faith in Him (Romans 14:23; Hebrews 11:6). While man looks upon the outward acts and judges them to be good, God looks upon not only the outward acts but also the inward motives that lie behind them, and because they proceed from a heart that is in rebellion against Him and they are not done for His glory, even these good deeds are like “filthy rags” in His sight. In other words, fallen man’s good deeds are motivated not by a desire to please God but by our own self-interest and are thus corrupted to the point where God declares that there is “no one who does good, no not one!”
Since Scripture is very clear that all of man is affected by sin and so much so that “no one seeks after God,” then how can anyone possibly become a Christian? The answer is that God must overcome man’s depravity in such a way that man is able to recognize his spiritual state and his hopeless condition apart from the grace of God. Man’s spiritually blind eyes must be open and the bondage of sin that renders him hopelessly enslaved must be broken so that he can respond in faith to the gospel message and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Some Christians believe that God accomplishes this through some type of universal grace whereby God brings man to a condition where he has the ability to choose or reject Him. Others believe that for a man who is “dead in trespasses and sins” to be able to understand and respond to the gospel in faith, he must first be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3). It is only after God infuses spiritual life into a dead sinner that he can “see the kingdom of God.” Those that hold this view see this as being a sovereign act of God, whereby men are born again “not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
However, even when the doctrine of total depravity is properly understood, many people will reject the doctrine, but that fact should not surprise us, since the world generally thinks of man as being basically good. Therefore, the idea that man by nature is a depraved sinner runs contrary to most modern religious, psychological and philosophical views of the basic nature of man. But the fact is that the Bible does teach the depravity of the human heart, and the root cause of man’s problem is not the environment he is raised in but his wicked and selfish heart. Properly understood, the doctrine of total depravity will destroy the hopes of those who place their faith in any type of works-based system of salvation and will recognize that God’s sovereign grace is man’s only hope. While the doctrine of total depravity destroys man’s self-righteousness and any misconceptions about man’s ability to be saved through his own free will, it leaves one asking the same question the disciples asked of Jesus in Matthew 19:25-26: “Then who can be saved?” Of course the answer remains the same: “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).
1 step at a time...
I try to be
Well great, now I’m gonna go and watch Breaking Bad for the 10th time
Try to make someone's life better not worse.
Fear is a tool used by people wanting to capitalize on somone or somthing in others and a good one if . Detected by the observer . Fear should never be reacted to by the feeling but thought of the situation . FEAR REACTED TO CAUSES A PERSON TO GIVE UP TERRITORY OAD MIND POSSESIONDS . TO BE THOUGHT THROGH WEIGHED OUT the reasons. Not emotional response with fear . Giving into an enemy's. Weapon
2:04 so,Are we good or bad will be shown in your actions and feelings for animals and children!
I'm surprised that the people that didn't want to leave their comrades behind never questioned the authority figures in the first place and rallied their comrades up to stage a revolt.
i dont even strive to be a good person. all i want is being not a bad person. thats all.
not your damn business -Bad things come out of bad deeds, and good things come out of good deeds. I hope you are happy with whatever path you choose.
I think I'm a good person, roughly speaking.
Oscar Bear I don't know anything about you, but I thought I'd give my two-sense that most everyone you ask would tell you that they see themselves as a good person.
1:20
That is a zoot suit.
I seriously will never understand the hate this man receives.
He regularly asks people to seriously look and criticise oneself, and that's one of the hardest things people in today's society can do (can't speak for other times, but it's definitely true now).
Not introducing religion into your comment but one of the best ministers I have ever known was not very well liked by many. He was a kind, loving, good hearten person. He preached un-apologetically with complete honesty that most people do not want to face. I think similar of Mr. Peterson. What was that movie; 'You want the truth? You can't handle the truth'.