Guilt. i know what it is, but is it right to ever feel guilty?

Question

it says in the bible guilt is a feeling from the devil. im no religious expert, but i believe that before i'd believe that feeling guilty is what God wants you to do

Answer 1

forget religion, you would feel guilt anyway whether religion is there to tell you you've done wrong or not.

Answer 2

Guilt benefits not. Whenever I feel guilt creeping in, I like to stop and take an honest look at things from a personal stance (without being influenced by popular opinion). Guilt is an emotion that alerts me when I am not being true to myself. If I continue in such a situation, the feeling of unease increases and produces anger which eventually leads to guilt. I find that whenever I take ownership of my actions/reactions (however unpopular) I never suffer guilt because I believe I have acted without malice and to the best of my ability. I will happily admit to looking after No.1 (me) if I feel a situation requires it. Pretending to do otherwise inevitably leads to guilt. It is indeed true that the truth sets us free.

Answer 3

We feel guilty when we have done something that we truly regret.  Guilt can sometimes change our lives by not wanting to repeat what has made us feel guilty in the first place.  So , in a way it can be a good thing.  Sometimes guilt happens when we blame ourselves for something that has happened to others; but in reality, we had no control in its outcome (like trying to save someone's life but failed).  Sometimes we can be our worst enemy and judge ourselves too harshly creating a sense of guilt or regret.  In my opinion, God or the devil does not instill the sense of guilt, people do.

Answer 4

Absolutely you should sometimes feel guilty. If you didn't, you would have no conscience, or don't care about it. Even we atheists feel guilty. What you should not feel is UNEARNED guilt.

"The virtue of Pride can best be described by the term: “moral ambitiousness.” It means that one must earn the right to hold oneself as one’s own highest value by achieving one’s own moral perfection—which one achieves by never accepting any code of irrational virtues impossible to practice and by never failing to practice the virtues one knows to be rational—by never accepting an unearned guilt and never earning any, or, if one has earned it, never leaving it uncorrected—by never resigning oneself passively to any flaws in one’s character—by never placing any concern, wish, fear or mood of the moment above the reality of one’s own self-esteem. And, above all, it means one’s rejection of the role of a sacrificial animal, the rejection of any doctrine that preaches self-immolation as a moral virtue or duty."

“The Objectivist Ethics,” The Virtue of Selfishness; Ayn Rand

Here is how that works:

"Christ, in terms of the Christian philosophy, is the human ideal. He personifies that which men should strive to emulate. Yet, according to the Christian mythology, he died on the cross not for his own sins but for the sins of the nonideal people. In other words, a man of perfect virtue was sacrificed for men who are vicious and who are expected or supposed to accept that sacrifice. If I were a Christian, nothing could make me more indignant than that: the notion of sacrificing the ideal to the nonideal, or virtue to vice. And it is in the name of that symbol that men are asked to sacrifice themselves for their inferiors. That is precisely how the symbolism is used."

“Playboy’s Interview with Ayn Rand,” March 1964.

Answer 5

You can't only use one source to guide your life.  Consider this:  "Guilt" is a feeling that concerns what has happened in the past,  which you can not change.  "Worry" concerns what will happen in the future which you can not control.  I believe you should avoid both emotions since there is nothing you can do about the events that cause them.  You should learn from mistakes in the past and vow to do better and not repeat them.  And you should plan for the future the best way you know how.  Be Happy, Life is Short!

Answer 6

there is nothing such as "right" or "wrong". it is just words made up by humans.