I don’t see those as being radically different from the points I raised. He didn’t have a life without tragedy. That doesn’t mean he was doomed to be a mass murderer.
That’s the whole thing your argument seems to be based on, a bald idea that something external must have caused it. I guess we’ve both made ourselves clear on this point so I don’t think I’ll continue any more on it, but maybe address a few other points.
? So I’m not. I’m pointing out that it has to be considered a factor in the development of anti-Semitism, but I didn’t say it’s the only or even the main factor. For example, gypsies have also been discriminated against in Europe without such motivations.
Sure there are. There’s an entire history of humanistic thought separate from Christianity. Informed? Sure. That’s not the end of the story though.
Where did you answer the question, where does ordinary malevolence end and the evil spirit’s malevolence begin?
But you have here, and thanks. I’ll leave it there (again, as I think we’ve both made ourselves clear), but I reject the idea that you have any kind of monopoly on humility.
Edit: I do have one other thought though. If Satan is the source of all malevolence as you say, what makes you think he’s especially needed to explain extreme malevolence? What’s the difference between that and a scenario where people are naturally malevolent to some degree, and occasionally exhibit extreme malevolence on our own? It seems to me you’re starting with the preconception that Satan exists here. Put another way, do we need Satan to explain the existence of any malevolence among people?
I could say this: Malevolence occurs naturally in humans (and in our closest mammalian relatives.) It only grows to outright evil when perpetrators of evil ignore the negative consequences of their actions, however they rationalize it, and allow their hearts to grow progressively harder, giving them an increasing potential to do worse actions.
Richard_Wright1:
