| “ | Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing | „ |
| ~ Jesus |
| “ | And they said... "Come, let us build a Tower up to the Heavens, so that we might make a name for ourselves." | „ |
| ~ Genesis, The Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:4 |
| “ | There is no Voldemort. There is no Darth Vader. There is only selfish, greedy, uncaring man | „ |
| ~ Anthony Horowitz |
In many portions of the Christian Bible and the monotheistic (one true god) traditions, Humanity itself plays the role of the major antagonist, this is especially true in the older texts but also has prominence during the days of Jesus and beyond - to some modern viewers the extent to which Humanity is portrayed as wicked or flawed is misanthropic but this is countered by the Christian belief that regardless of how corrupt Humanity may be, God does His best to try and save them (even if His methods are beyond the understanding of said Humanity). Though Humanity is portrayed to be already born with sin nature, they are vulnerable targets for temptation and influence by Satan and his demons.
Genesis
According to the accounts in the Book of Genesis, Humanity was described as being very wicked and vicious before the Great Flood during Noah's days. The people were discussed as being very evil to the point that God sent a global flood to kill every living thing on Earth, besides Noah and his family.
Many other religions also have a similar view on Humanity as a flawed species, with a circular system in which Humanity becomes progressively more corrupt before being purged - unlike the circular belief systems however Christianity on a whole believes that Humanity has an ultimate destiny and does not normally follow the circular systems.
Description
The people who lived on the Earth prior to the Flood were described as doing many unspeakable actions such as murders, raping, and many other heinous actions. Some of the earthly women have also have become involved with angels of God and intermarried and raised the cannibalistic race The Nephilims. Their wickedness was so great that God regretted ever creating humanity. He set his eyes on Noah and found favor with him. He then tells him to build an ark large enough for his family and two of every animal of the world so that they could have refuge during the forty days and nights of the Flood.
In the meantime, Noah took this opportunity to try to convince his neighbors to change their ways, lest they would suffer the wrath of God. However, they made fun of him stating that there was no rain before and that he was insane. When the rain started to come down, Noah's neighbors realized that Noah was right about the Flood, and sought refuge from the ark. However, it was too late, as God had shut the door on them, and they drowned. The floodwaters slowly but surely spread throughout the world, purging its wickedness.
A Chance for Redemption
After this genocide, God swore to never flood the world again, and set a rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise.
It should be noted that humanity's behavior during the time of the Flood was believed to have been caused by Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. For more information on the Original Sin, see the Fall of Man.
Humankind's Refusal of Redemption
Furthermore, several texts describe Cain's murder of Abel as further condemning Humanity and although not a part of "official" biblical lore the legend of Lilith suggests that Adam had a wife prior to Eve who mothered demons and evil spirits as well as the first "wicked men".
Biblical Era
Although the Flood purged the world of the greatest evils (namely the Nephilim and those who followed them) the Biblical Era that followed still showed Humanity becoming steadily more corrupt, this would ultimately climax in Jesus of Nazareth's birth and destined sacrifice to remove Humanity's sins (at least until the age of Revelations).
Old Testament
The Old Testament has many cases of Humanity (or at least portions of it) falling back into corruption - this is in part due to the very warlike times in which the Old Testament took place, with tribal warfare and slavery being very common.
Famous accounts of corruption include Moses' followers becoming idol worshipers in his absence during his meeting with God to retrieve the Ten Commandments (which God created to once again try and stop Humanity's corruption).
Other accounts include twin cities that God had to purge due to their sinful nature and numerous accounts of savage lands and people who not only disrespected God's law but seemed to war with His people.
New Testament
Although the New Testament tended not to focus as much on the warring tribes the general attitude of Humanity towards Jesus of Nazareth was antagonistic - especially among those in power, although he was loved by many his enemies grew ever more restless and even as he walked the Earth performing miracles many savage acts were committed.
Ultimately the greatest antagonistic act Humanity committed in the New Testament was the Crucifixion of Jesus himself, although this was very much a necessary evil as Humanity was required to kill Jesus as part of a divine plan.
Revelations
According to the Book of Revelation, humanity is said to revert back to the state it was in during the Flood Days (if not worse), due to the influence of the Unholy Trinity - depending upon the sources the "righteous" will be saved the End Times or suffer (albeit much less than the "damned"), at the end of the Apocalypse it is predicted that a war will break out between evil and good (Armageddon) climaxing in God himself returning to Earth in order to pass his Final Judgement and separate the "sheep from the goats" once and for all, it is believed by ancient texts the corrupted portion of Humanity will be sent to Hell for eternity alongside all evil spirits while only the "righteous" will remain to set up a spiritual paradise in which evil is presumed to be banished forever and God himself decides to stay with Humanity to ensure their eternal protection.
It is worth noting however some texts describe the "Damned" of Humanity as still existing after the Final Judgement and being akin to medieval exiles, banished from God's Kingdom and forced to live in the wilderness rather than suffer in eternal Hellfire (a fate some believe is reserved only for evil spirits, in-keeping with God's supposed benevolence towards Humans).
In more recent texts God spares all Humanity - this goes beyond even the "left behind" type of doctrine in that no matter how corrupt Humanity becomes God is not said to damn them to Hell but rather allow access to Heaven unconditionally (though some beliefs have "temporary" states of exile, such as Purgatory).
See also
- Nephilms