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why is darkness perceived to be evil or bad & why is Light often perceived to be good or pure?

could it not be that some thing that is often perceived to be good or light,could possibly be evil? like for instance a church is seen as pure and yet sometime you'll find, that some churches have done acts of unspeakable horror and evil.

and if that is the case is it not possible for Darkness to be good?

PS no offense is meant by this post I just wanted to know what others thought.

Light could indeed be evil, and dark could indeed be good. I just think that today, we live and believe in what we've been taught. Everything we know and do, we have been taught to know and do for the most part. Very little of the things that most people do they do out of their own knowledge not gained from any scource, believe it or not.


So since "light" and "dark" have been "good" and "evil" for ages, that's what we believe in and go by today.

Anything could be percieved but although I am sure some on here have seen the horror a church can do it is always good to research and get evidence.


And yes sometimes darkness is light as light is to darkness just like no one can die.

Personally speaking I don't perceive darkness to be evil and light to be pure because in that statement alone would mean that night would be bad and day would be good which doesnt make sense to me. Yes I agree with you that the Roman Catholic church has been responsible for many acts but I dont think it was evil per se I believe it was during wars or during crisis times however they took responsibility for their acts. If you could name a particular event you are refering to that is 'evil' than maybe it would be more clear. Now a days there are lots of religions and many "churches" that can be involved with evil doings that we are not aware of too than again who is to say what is evil?

It is simple. The darkness hides things. It holds the unknown. People fear that which they cannot understand. Besides it’s a primal fear because night time is when the real predators used to hunt so it was instinct to be afraid at that time.

I guess beacuse darkness always simbolised some sort of ignorance of the human mind, while light always meant some sort of purificational process of ones inner being.

its because thats just how humans think. it will always think like that.
even people like Hitler thrived for the light, and thought he was doing something good and pure

Polishsiren,

I was not talking or poniting the finger at any one faith, I meant many different faiths and places that are meant to be holy IE:good or light and pure,yet in the past and present day have done terrible things.

so why are they seen as light and good?

Because that is how life is sometimes the most good and purest thing has a mask of evil behind it.

Perhaps it all started thousands of years ago when man was afraid of the darkness and unable to see like in the day time. Until fire was made, to help protect, see, etc.... animals came out hunting at night.

As time progressed, stories, lore,myths oh my! began to emerge... The sun was warmth, beginning of the day and darkness was like a death.

I know you were not pointing at any faith... I just mentioned Roman Catholic because thats where it all began many many years ago and lots of blood shed and take overs with ancient history from what I remember and when you mentioned evil that is what popped into my mind... (also I'm a recovering catholic) he he ... probably they are looked at light/good because they worship a "higher power" or a "supreme being = God" which has mystical powers and they are to reside in the sky where the sun (light) comes from so the coorlation maybe stems from there?

It is the genre of most world faiths to use the metaphor of light and darkness as a symbol of good and evil Polish Siren. Pointing the finger specifically at the Catholic Church, in my opinion has absoultely no bearing on the subject matter.

If you need to bring world religions into the discussion matter, then please consider that mostly all of them that I am aware of have embraced the theory that God created Light and Darkness.

Lum: The story tellers sure know how to use the, "power of darkness" to enchance what they write. This is perhaps where we find the essence of dark and light.

I believe that things that are perceived to be either good or evil, could very well possibly be the complete opposite. Take the movie The Exorcist: The Beginning for an example. They found a church beneath the sand and automatically think, "House of God". However, as the movie progressed, they learned that the church had been built atop the site of a horrible battle caused by the forces of evil. The strength of the emotion from this battle, the pure evil of it, had so permeated the grounds and the site, that the church itself was twisted into a site of evil even though the whole point of it being built was in an effort to cleanse the effects of the battle.

Yes, Sin exactly Luminya's point that it is stories like this which exaggerates the perceived differences of darkness and light..

marajade - I wasn't pointing the finger at the catholic church! if you look at my previous post above the one you responded to I mentioned other religions and churchs which I was responding to this statement from the original post"that some churches have done acts of unspeakable horror and evil."

I meant NO offense to anyone or anybody

Thank you MaraJade....that's my point. Back when man was just learning about his surroundings and thunder, lightning were terrifying, the night was filled with danger with those that hunt, unable to see, etc.

As they learned and became more aware, storytelling, superstition, and ways to manage peoples' fears perhaps to help or to control came into play.

Darkness and lightness are good metaphors from any kind of church doctrine for their own uses.

Anything could be evil. Things could hide as light or pure and really not be that. I have seen many things that seem to be good and pure, but they are not. Mostly churches are like that. In my eyes they try to brain wash everyone and they want power back like they used to have. Darkness is not always evil. I believe it is just because people have had it instilled in their minds that darkness is evil.

Okay, thank-you Polish Siren :)

Here is another light/darkness quote that I found:

"You are like a light in the darkness of knowledge"

Light illuminates that which otherwise would remain obscured, just as also does truth, knowledge, wisdom, and discernment. Thus, light becomes an obvious and powerful metaphor for all that likewise illuminates and reveals all that otherwise would remain unknown and unknowable. Thus for that reason alone, Light is universally perceived and understood as good and desirable to all who seek knowledge and truth. And only those who fear truth and the free exchange of knowledge would perceive metaphoric Light as somehow an "evil."

Darkness, on the other hand, is both the literal and metaphoric environment of ignorance, for whether literally or figuratively Darkness hides from us knowledge of what truly is and also is additionally sought out instinctively by those whose acts wish to be kept hidden and unknown to those around them, and almost always as such hidden acts are intended to cause harm to those around them. Thus, Darkness is the metaphoric and the literal environment usually sought by those who wish to attack, oppress and abuse others and have the knowledge of such acts kept secret from their victims and the world around them. Thus, Darkness is become the equally obvious and understandable metaphor for ignorance, deceipt, and all those who prefer such to the "light of day" wherein knowledge and truth are openly observed and shared.

Now... are there examples where Darkness can be good and Light bad? There is, to my mind, but one such example: When Darkness has has been used by Evil to successfully gain power and control over its victims, whether this be microcosmically such as in a personal crime or attack of a criminal or predator over his victim(s) or on a much larger scale such as in the case of an oppressive government who has likewise succeeded in using Darkness and subterfuge to overpower its citizens and strip from them their freedoms and rights, then it becomes necessary for such victims who otherwise would prefer Light to instead resort to Darkness so as to hide from their oppressors the defensive counterattacks needed to free themselves from their oppressors and remove from them and their loved ones the threat and danger such oppressors pose to them.

However except in such circumstances as those, Light is always preferable to Dark where Truth and Knowledge are preferred over ignorance and falsehood.

my interpretation of the light and darkness:
night, darkness etc. can verry well hide things and in some peoples minds this is a bad thing. what we can't see or we don't know, might possibly be evil

and what can show in the light without fear it is seen just like that thing or person has nothing bad to hide (something to be rejected by others).

it's just the way as i see it..

we have it pounded into our head that darkness hides stuff, scary stuff like ghosts and monsters, so of course it must be scary....that false belief is because it was "taught" to us by society.

Well, it is if you believe it. Best to take your own shot at it :)

Dark is the absence of light... Some things flourish in the light and others in the dark.

Don't need to be a rocket science to figure this out. Ask any police officier. When are the most crimes being commited? Its going to be between 12am - 6am. Don't blame the church for that. Although you will be hearing more and more "white collar" crimes being caught. They too may be acted on during the night time.

Not all that claims to be good (within the light) is good.. We all have the capacity to be good and evil.. My experience has show me that those that are fanatical are more likely to frolic in evil.. Maybe because they find it hard to fight their evil urges then most... They are also more likely to give into them..

I think that the reason people associate darkness with evil is because the dark often hides things that light does not.

Billy, a lot of crime also takes place during daylight. It would be interesting to know the statistics on that, if anyone would know?

The idea that dark means bad and light means good has gone far back and is even made more prominent in movies.

Yes it could be the other way around being that even someone or something that is considered bad can also do good.

Thats just the way it is.

I don't believe that anything is evil or good. I think everyone is equal in this world to tell the truth.

Pure instinct, it goes back as far as we began. Simply put you just can't perceive things in the dark that you can in the light. Also the darkness allows for ones imagination to take flight and the movies sure don't help that.

I think it is due to human's fear of the dark. The basic instinct and fear of the unseen predator in the dark. Since humans are very visual, what you can't see can very well hurt you.

I make this comment towards the very few who fit the profile. Priests are viewed as good and pure. God's messengers even. Though there are a select few of them who turn out to be child molesters. I try not to judge because of flawed thinking and ideas.

Nothing is wholly good, or wholly bad. There are always elements of both within things.

I think the concept of Darkness and Light are arbitrary. Originally people would prefer to use "Light" as a metaphor for good because its associations are usually positive, whereas “Darkness” seems sinister and foreboding. But as I said, these terms are arbitrary. You can choose to interchange them if you will.

I think it is how the humans see it dark is easyer to see as evil then what light is. But ofcourse so can light be evil aswell.

Good is usually associated with light, knowledge, thus by applying light, you see what is there, and it is good. Also, most religions apply the concept of light to creation and darkness to death.

Darkness implies secrets and the unknown. If it is unknown or hidden, then there is an evil purpose associated with it.

well i think that darkness can be good and light sometimes can be bad...it depends on the situation

the interpretation of dark= evil and light =good goes back to the years when there was no electricity and mankind was afraid of what went bump in the night.

Man could not see at night and predators roamed the woods and carried off the live stock.

Man was tied to the earth and he was powerless in the dark.
Therefore, that made dark evil/bad. Ergo, the opposite was light, he could see the world he commanded and could defend his world. That made light good.

We still have this today. When the military first strikes, it is done in the dark to spread panic and fear. People fear what they don't see in the dark.

say that darkness can be anything and no matter if it is good evil or nuetral then light is always the opposite

I defenantly believe that dark and light's common perspectives can be switched. One can always find a way to use Darkness for good and Light for bad. For example, A demon could save the lives of many to benefit the Darkness and an angel can cease the lives of many for the good of Light. It's all dependent on the purpose.

I believe that because we are taught to fear things that go bump in the night, and so on, we automatically see the dark as something bad, evil and so on.

The key is that humans, thousand of years ago, in hunter gatherer societies, were careful in the dark. The dark held predators and unknown. Light and fire were safe.

In those terms, the darkness held evil, death, possibly worse. We never forgot those days. Its almost a genetic memory. That is why darkness is associated with evil.

^ said it right
Light was safe. You can protect yourself better in the light than the dark. Fear is a form seen as evil and the darkness scares humans due to the fact that you have no clue what was lurking in the dark

I agree with the person above.....People are scared of what they don't know alot about and then again some who know alot about it but still have that stick up there butt and they comtinue to stay unopen to the things they should worry about.

In a way, you almost have to say that the vampire movement is a rebellion against our primordal fear of the night.

Evil light is the most difficult to see sometimes...those who are this seem nice but really are not. They can have a lot of the average folk fooled about them and things. In my belief I feel that there's evil/light people, evil/dark people,light/good, dark/good, ect.

People associate darkness with negative emotions, which is portrayed as being related to evil.

As in, your soul is dark.

darkness is not evil, it just thrives on power. take me for example, i am satanic, and i am actually a very nice person when you get to know me. i just choose to look like someone that would break into your house and steal all your crap.

it is true that from the first time we were able to understand our elders and there teachings about darkness is evil and light is good but only good and evil lives in the hart of man nothing to do with darkness and light we as people twist everything to fit our needs be them good or evil

To me darkness is my light..Its my comfort zone

I forgot to add to the latter question.

It is also possible for light to be evil.

You see, what's good to some may be bad to others.

Darkness is because it is so Mysterious you never know what it may hold. Light is because everything is exposed.

I believe the main reason that people associate darkness with evil is because the unknown lies within darkness.

Where there is light, people can see and know for certain what is going on around them. Where there is darkness, people often feel panicky(unless you're one who likes the dark, of course *smile*) because they have no idea if something is following them or watching them from a distance.

dark and light, good and evil, protecting and destroying; all of these lie within each persons perception of it. To some people dark is evil, but to others it is good.

Every one decides on their own beliefs, and what they have been taught. So I don't think their is an answer to this, other than perception.

When small, children are often afraid of the dark, even before being taught about good and evil. They feel safe again once the day dawns. I think it's a prime example that it is not only what we are taught but the way darkness and lights makes us feel once confronted to them.

why is darkness perceived to be evil or bad & why is Light often perceived to be good or pure?


The darkness is something unknown to us, something we can not get a hold of, so there fore must be evil. Light is good because it pushes the fear and darkness away from you, keeps you safe and warm.

i think it is quite simple.. most people think of "heaven" as being a light etherial place and of "hell" being a dark cruel place..

Firstly...Light IS good. Life on Earth would not be possible without light from the sun. Both for the warmth it provides and for the light that, through photosynthesis, is the ultimate source for all food on our planet.

Dark is obviously the opposite of light. I am sure that the original humans came to the conclusion that Light = Good, Dark is the Opposite of Light, therefore Dark = Evil.

Add to this the fact that the majority of predators stalk at night and that ancient man had no good way to see into the dark and it is easy to see how fear of the dark is quite primal in our past.

The fact that Dark is not, in fact, Evil was likely not fully realised until fairly late in human existance. Many still fear the dark and associate it with evil.

its all acording how you are brought up or i mean bought up (raised) the darkness means evil and the light means salvation

It's a matter of perception. Some people feek darkness is evil or bad because it represents the unknown and many fear what they don't understand.

personally i think that evil is suppose to be uknown and in the dark the unknown exsists and good is suppose to be known so in light we can see it

My religion nocturnal paganism believes in four categories of people: Dark-Good, Light - Good, Dark - Evil, and Light - Evil. Most of us fall into the first two categories and relatively few in the later two. I classify myself as Dark - Good. For more on this religion look at < HREF = "http://konstantinos.com/">Konstantinos works as they go into great detail.

light is but a cover..and alibi. lots of evil things happen in the light..but since you can be seen others think no harm can come...that isnt true. Darkness does hide many more things but it isnt necessarily evil..good things happen at night too...

Dark is perceived to be evil because that is when we are told all the bad happens. Also with the dark we can not see what is about to come our way.

Light is good because we can see what we are to encounter and can avoid it.

Also we are taught that u go to the light to get to heaven, and if going to hell u will go to the darkside

Location and time

College students were more likely to be violently victimized off campus than
on campus between 1995 and 2002. This was true for both students who lived
on campus (85%) and those living off campus (95%). Overall, about 9 out of 10
students were victimized off campus.

The most common locations for violent victimizations against college students
were in an open area or street or on public transportation (24%), in a
commercial place (18%) or in or near a friend's, neighbor's or relative's home
(17%). Violent crimes off campus were more likely to occur in the evening or
at night (6 p.m.– 6 a.m.) than during the day (72% versus 25%). Among violent
crimes that occurred on campus, 56% occurred during the day (6 a.m. – 6 p.m.).

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/vvcs02.txt

There is an interesting article on the Chicago alley lighting project.They have a few statistics.

http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/sb1999/sb1999-section3.pdf

maybe because in darkness we can not see what is around us and there for it is seen as bad and in light we see clearly there fore seen as good. =)

I think they can be used for either good or bad. Like a lot of us on here would be considered dark but we're good people, we're not serial killers or rapists. However I know a lot of people who have a lot of 'light' in their life yet they do disgusting things. I don't wanna be offensive but most of these kind of people happen to be religious and I think it's ironic. Christian mostly. I don't wanna offend but that's just an observation I made.

well, i heard say that long ago people used to be scared of darkness because they feared what they did not understand and they did not understand why the sun went away every evening and only came back again the next day. and also, humans are not particularly nocturnal and we don't have the best sight for nighttime.

I hink no matter how one lives their life it all depends how we were raised even if it was through religon or not. I just think religon brainwashes those that can't see the light in their own eyes and has to take someone that they feel is holy like many have said against religon. I myself being brought up as a Catholic and now no longer goes feels that the Catholic had set up a darkness around all us in other religons or not because look what we all been hearing about the catholic priest molesting younger alter boys. This is why I believe all people and old religons are a crock now and if I am going tol live in a light or dark world its going to be on my terms not how others percieve me to live my life and how I make my own choices, good or bad.

In regards to the church being good or evil you must remember that the church was created by MANKIND, in which is then capable of being both good and evil.

As far as Light and Darkness, niether is good or evil. They just are. PEOPLE regard them as good or evil, because humans in general name things to say "That is mine."

The naming of things is age old and the perceptions of Light and Darkness have been perceived ever since ancient times. It was believed that one could only achieve enlightenment by being submerged in complete darkness.

Then, once an understanding of the dark has been ascertained, they step into the light to begin studying that.

"One cannot know the light, until they truly know the dark."

indeed...
light could be evil and darkness could be pure...
it all depends on the person and their beliefs and opinions..
me for one, i am open minded.

I think that Marajade said it best:

"..and for some time darkness has been perceived as a metaphor for evil or ignorance, as when we are in the dark we are in the unknown. When we cannot control something the majority of us find alternative ways to rationale that to ourselves.

So.. just as beauty is the eye of the beholder, light and darkness is also measured on the scale of our own perception."

It's simply just symbolisim when we attribute light to equating goodness and dark to equating evil. As another poster said, primitive man viewed light as a better time during a day whereas darkness was filled with the unknown - i.e. predators, etc.. so it makes sense that this symbolism would only carry on throughout the ages. That is really all it is. Symbolisim. Of course, negativity can be masked as something positive just as much as something seemingly negative can actually be something positive. Its simply one own's perception that dictates what is good or evil beyond, of course, what we are taught during our formative years, as well as, what we learn through society.

So yes. I feel that the reasons why the terms "Light" and "Darkness" are associated with good and evil have everything to do with symbolism, and what we, as a people, percieve those words to mean. It's just all in how we associate termonology.

I think that goodness can be in darkness or light. Sometimes people see things in the darkness and light and it can be good or evil. Sometimes I see spirits and sometimes they are bad in the light.

It's just how one perceives things. Dark/light go hand in hand. They are part of one another. And as for churches...They can't exactly control how someone is going to act within it. You can't condemn an entire group of people for the act of one within an organization but they all pay a price in some form for one's wrong-doing.

Hollywood has made that perception. They have associated everything evil with darkness.

"To that Providence, my sons, I hereby commend you, and I counsel you by way of caution to forbear from crossing the moor in those dark hours when the powers of evil are exalted."


Hugo Baskerville's document, read by Dr Mortimer in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I had to put one of my favorite quotes in there*grins* showing how darkness is seemed and considered a evil time. I suppose one can't see well and so shadows and other things take on a menacing appearance.Our ancestors perhaps too ,spirits and demons and whatever come out more or so t hey think, because we as humans cannot see as well.We are somewhat less unpowered at nighttime then.

Snowwalker I have one last question to your response into what I said wbout this thread. If that is true about religon and dark versus light then why is kids taught at an early age that God created Light and the dark amongst everything else that we have on Earth. If what you said is true, I believe you but I just don't know or understand why there is a difference to all things created for us all to amagine and have our own imput on how we all see things? Maybe you or anyone else can elaborate for me more so that I get what you all are meaning. Thank You!!!!

I don't really get why light=goodness, and dark=evil...
For example, one of 'the Devil's' name is Lucifer...the light bearer...

I think people percive that darkness is evil do to the facyt that alot of evil things happen at night. And during the day when thers light you see everything and theres less chance for evil things to happen not that they don't it's just that people think it happens less

I guess I can agree with you more SonsofIpswich. You said it better then me and others have said it better to me but your way was well said better I guess

extaz -

Darkness has been seen as being evil far longer than Hollywood has been around.

I think darkness is seen as evil because it always connected to negative space, nothingness...so if something is negative, it is not poitive...meaning not good natured...meaning evil. And light...well...blame the religious fanatics in my opinion. The Christians, Catholics, and so on. The light of god and so on, don't you know.

The perceive of darkness as evil comes from ancient times, since the beginning of mankind when, at night, cold, dark, night animals were the main enemies... The light, provided by the sun, meant food, crops, less danger around, heat... it is an ancestral fight...

This is a brilliant thread in my opinion. Why is it everything has to be labeled is my question. And what makes darkness bad? And what makes light good? In my opinion, there is no white without black. No light without dark. And no good without evil. If evil didn't exist, what would make righteousness good? I'm deffinetly thinking now thanks, lol.

I think that for most people they percieve darkness as evil because of the unknown and the unseen. But i don't see it as that way there can be just as much evil in the light in plain site as there is in the darkness.

darkxwhisper -

Things have to be labeled because if they weren't, everything would be considered the same.

Hell, people could be considered oreos if things weren't labeled.

Wonderful discussion, wonderful thoughts and ideas... Great - Remember the absence of color is white. The combining of all light - makes black.
So, knowing this - what is light, what is darkness?
Excellant question - great forum

What's your opinion, Hunter?

Sorry - I thought I gave one - MBK -
Since all light/color makes darkness/black and the abscence of color/ie. darkness is light then one is challenged on the true concepts of what these two things truely are and what they embrace to become what they are.
All I am saying is that it is a challenge - there is no true answer.

This thread has been automatically closed for length.