Are children really innocent?

[Dargor]

I see pretty much everyone including both religious and non-religious people expressing the common ''belief'' that children are innocent and pure. But I don't think there is really truth to this. Why? Because I don't have the feeling I've ever been pure and innocent myself. I remember being a three years old toddler and being extremely violent, fighting both my parents and other children and hurting them sometimes for no apparent reason other than joy. As I grew older, I displayed sadistic tendencies far more than other children, and would often torture dolls and humanoid toys with knives and scissors etc. And I actually enjoyed fighting at school as a kid. Fortunately, this all decreased drastically as I grew older over time and I haven't fought again since I was 15 years old. Today I detest every form of violence, although I still have a sadistic sense of humor but that's not the point. Perhaps some children who experience life for the first time are truly pure and innocent while other children who've had not so happy past lives still retain some of their original personality? I'm not really a firm believer in reincarnation and past lives myself but it still makes me wonder if it could be related.

[Dan_SF]

They are all pure and innocent. And they do have the connection to God.

Its the 'Ego' that tries to make you believe something else, and you may fall for it temporarily.
Because you are living in duality, you have the choice between peace and fight.
And as they come into duality, they, as well, have this choice.
It is a learning process to distinguish what is good from what is bad - what brings peace and what brings pain.
Sadly, you have to make the choice between this, in this world.

So the view on it should be "the ego is trying to take over, and it may temporarily succeed, but after all, everyone returns to the peace, ultimately".

But the recognition that it is only the 'ego' that is doing it, should set you free.

What you have done in the past, does not really matter. See it as a learning opportunity which leaded you to more peaceful life in the now.

If you have the open mind, then recognize that only the ego is using the past, and it is using it to induce guilt and fear and by it, it is trying to be in charge.

But God does not use the past. Whatever people believe has happened, can not touch nor change the perfection which God has made.

[blossomingtree]

Yes, babies are innocent, as is everyone until they start believing their own ego.

[Lucky 1]

Good question.......were the infant versions of Adolph Hitler or
Joseph Stalin innocent at birth?

How about Pol Pot...the sadistic leader of Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge communist party in the mid to late 1970's and responsible for the deaths of millions????

I'd like to think that babies and children start out innocent......but people like these kinda make me think otherwise......just pure evil seemingly from the beginning!

[Ab Origine]

Hi Folks...

Yes, that IS an interesting question...Given the state of the world we must endure, it really does make you wonder doesn't it..?.. Well, Im a true follower of Christ - not a religious follower but a true elect, gnostic follower of HIS original truth - and Folks, if you trust Him at all, then realise He already gave us the answer to this conundrum...Id like to share some of His original truth here, given to the disciple Thomas but banned by that religion as "heresy" - still its Christ speaking - and even if you don't hold to His claimed status, still gotta admit, He was a very wise dude, wasn't He..??..This is what He says, pertaining to our nature as delivered in the gospel of Thomas :

18. The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?"

Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is.

Blessings on the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."

Ok - So Hes speaking about our ETERNAL NATURE - our Soul - that which we are BEFORE and AFTER life here..

24. His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it."

He said to them, "Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark."

This LIGHT that He often speaks of - is both a metaphorical and a LITERAL truth... There is indeed a literal "Divine Light" that we encounter in legitimate spiritual experiences...It starts always with a the classic "tunnel of Light" that transports the person INTO the spiritual experience itself, and Light here is synonomous with SPIRIT.. When you seek inside the Self with intent to find the SOUL, we will inevitably trigger this Light within, open that spiritual conduit and thus escape the body to experience spirit directly..

50. Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the Light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established itself, and appeared in their image.'

If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.'

If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"

Ok, so this Divine Light He speaks of is the actual SOURCE of Creation itself.. He said it came into existence all by itself and established its own self - it didn't have any "creator" (elsewhere He explains that this IS Creation itself, the Mind that caused it to happen)..

But here -we can piece together what He has told us -to establish fact that our nature IS NOT EVIL and never was.. He told us first that we are eternal spirit, we will be the same after mortal death as we were BEFORE mortal life..

He ALSO told us that as we begin to discover this truth within our self that we will trigger this Light phenomena and all that is associated with it (astral travel for one)...

And finally He told us that this Light IS the Creation - "god" as many know it - or my Father as He alone revealed it in truth.. So - this light that is within us all right now ALREADY and is ETERNAL to our nature IS THE DIVINE LIGHT that is the source of Creation itself...WE are the source of Creation - a PART OF IT always.. So then - the question now becomes - is the SOURCE of creation "evil"..??....Obviously not...

So then somehow - we Humans BECAME evil, perhaps - many certainly do - but it is not our natural or eternal spiritual condition... Christ also had a lot to say about what make us act that way, and what to do to remedy it of course - but for now, we can see clearly if we trust Him at all, something went astray between here and Home - we lost our Self on this journey and have become something here we never intended to Be - created something of the Self in ignorance of our eternal Soul..

[Revya]

I'm going to go against the general consensus here and say that due to inheriting original sin from Adam and Eve, nobody is born innocent. though it's hard to believe that a benevolent God would burn those who die in infancy, I can never be sure.

[LadyOfLorien]

I think when people call children "innocent," they actually mean that children have uninhibited actions/reactions to their environment.

This can mean a few things and is of course unique to each child.

1. They have very open chakras because nobody has taught them to repress their energy yet (being ashamed, embarrassed, etc.)

2. They do not know many social norms, so their actions/reactions are completely full and unfiltered.

Honestly, innocence and such is.. kind of determined by society. I guess it really has to do with what age society decides we are responsible for our actions.

[Lucky 1]

Originally Posted by Revya

I'm going to go against the general consensus here and say that due to inheriting original sin from Adam and Eve, nobody is born innocent. though it's hard to believe that a benevolent God would burn those who die in infancy, I can never be sure.

I gotta admit that I have real problems with this concept....

[ocean breeze]

Originally Posted by Lucky 1

I gotta admit that I have real problems with this concept....

So do i. Everyone should know by now that it was Adam and Steve not Adam and Eve. Eve didn't show up until later for the threesome.


Babies are innocent. But children? Noooooo.

[Nature Grows]

Saw some children today on the train screaming super loud, fighting with each other and crying, arguing over there apple slices then throwing them onto the ground, telling there parents to shut up. Then i stepped off the train and saw three more children who looked like they were in there thirties arguing, yelling insults at each other, this thread made me think about this, they were innocent just annoyed and frustrated and don't know how to deal with it or maybe don't care.

Edit: i realize i didn't really answer the question you posted slayer. Im not sure what i think about it at the moment maybe i will reply later.