Pagan Religion:
Good vs. Evil

Is the God of Paganism totally good? Does a totally evil God exist also?
In most traditions, the answer is no. Generally, there is no concept of "ultimate evil" such as Satan. If you consider it logically, Pagan traditions are nature-based religion, and there is no evil in nature. So, it makes sense that there would be no concept of ultimate evil in most Pagan traditions. There are however, opposing forces that create a balance, and sometimes "unpleasant" things occur to maintain that balance. For example, the hawk eating a rabbit isn't "good", but it's not evil either. It's a necessity for maintaining balance.

In most Pagan traditions, there are deities (or aspects of Deity) that are recognized both as the hawk and the rabbit-- a reflection of the light and dark sides of everything that occurs in nature. For example, the Morrigan is considered a warrior goddess. She's generally not considered evil (performing harm and wrong-doings just for harm's sake), but more like the hawk-- taking harsh action when necessary. So Morrigan's followers are generally peaceful, but take action when it is necessary to protect themselves, their families, or their homes.

Are Pagan gods all-forgiving?
In most traditions, the answer is no. Although there is generally no concept of "hell", most traditions believe either the law of return or Karma. These laws state that "you get as good as you give", so a person has to take responsibility for any actions they perform. If one performs "good deeds & actions", then good actions and deeds will return to them. But if they perform "bad deeds", then these will return to them also.

And instead of eternal damnation for these "bad deeds", most traditions believe in a form of reincarnation where one has to continue being reincarnated until they learn the lessons to be a better person. Only after dealing with your mistakes and learning through multiple lives can you move on to a higher spiritual plane (called "The Summerlands" in some traditions). This concept is actually somewhat similar to the concept of heaven and hell, except that heaven is The Summerlands, and hell is life on earth (which isn't really "hell" if you are doing good deeds and not suffering a lot of Karmic backlash in bad deeds returning to you-- think of it more as "being in the Summerlands" versus "not being in the Summerlands" rather than heaven versus hell).

Do Pagans believe in sin?
No, there is no "sin", but you can perform actions and deeds that are harmful, and you will have to take responsibility for those deeds (by the law of return or Karma).

Does Paganism have the concept of ultimate evil?
As with the gods, generally not. Nothing in nature is evil.

Is humankind inherently good or evil, according to Paganism?
Most Pagans would say humankind is neutral. Humans aren't born to be good or bad, but learn to be one way or the other. One of my favorite sayings is "Babies are born with perfect love and perfect trust". As we grow older, that's when we learn (and make the decision) to either perform good deeds or bad deeds.

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