The worst kind of evil is the kind which believes it is good. As the saying goes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. So much evil has been conducted for these reasons - Native American boarding schools for example. The people who set these up believed they were helping and civilizing these children. They maybe even thought it was for fairness and equality. The results speak louder than the ideals.

Isn't good just good and evil just evil....two different things? That's like saying when does dark become light? Dark doesn't become light, its replaced by light.

Good doesn't become evil, its replaced by it.

Meant to reply to OP.

What “good name”? It might as well be named The Church of Flintlewoodlewix. Maybe it’s on Rusty’s to-do list.

The point at which it is used to harm others.
For instance, "Maintaining the good name of the church" has been used in many cases I know of personally, to protect pedophiles from suffering any consequences of their actions and as a result, those same pedophiles were put in positions of power and authority over children, who were raped.
"Convince them of absurdities, and they'll commit atrocities." Voltaire

When it's cloaked in religion

Don't know that it's a continuum, e.g. add sugar to coffee it gets better until passing some point it gets worse.

Exactly. I use a LOT less than I did in my first coffee 55 years ago.

Would you say that to be truly evil there must be intent to do harm, or, at least have disregard for the effect the action may have on another?

If so, can you intend good and reap evil? Probably not--like Dr. No says probably not a continuum. You can intend good and make a big mess of things anyway, and really hurt someone--been there, done that.

I don't believe that Rusty and Wendy and pals intend good. I think they have a total disregard for how their actions affect their followers. They get off on judging. So, evil.

Is "lying for the Lord" evil? Yes.

The good thing is I just learned there are two u's in continuum. Who knew? Dr.No I guess.

Tangentially related: I like it when someone's intent to do me harm ends up doing me a favor.

It's likely many of you have had an experience or two in this realm.

But it's sad when the reverse happens when a good deed does harm.

I enjoy taking the side of "Evil is a relative, not an absolute" in debates.

Evil: each of us knows it when we see it, but we're not all using the same eyes, much less the same judgment.

So is cilantro good or evil?

Look honestly into your heart: you already know. Don't try that chive with me!

how do you know it was good in the first place ?

I posit that 'good' and 'evil' are not nouns. I say they are adjectives, and the meaning of each is whatever you want to say it is. (Okay, predicate nominatives, if you will! Gees!)

Good & Evil are states of being and when you hear someone use one or the other, all you can do is attach the meanings YOU give them; you can't know the exact meaning given to it by the utterer at the instant of its utterance.

"Hate" and "Love" are in the same category...

Language and meaning are so imprecise. It's a wonder I ever got laid!



Wanna know the secret to communication, as in actually knowing what the other person means? It doesn't work 100% of the time, but 100% of the time you try to use the secret, the person with whom communication is being attempted will be impressed and say yes! (Okay, the last part is a lie; there's no guarantee of a 'yes!')

Good becomes evil when it is leveraged to control, seduce, coerce and suppress others.

As in parents raising their children?

Drill Sargents?

Who defines that moment it flips? Could it be an ‘alternating current’?