The good ones do bad things, and bad ones know how to appear good…so we cannot tell with any certainty who is who… That is why we are told not to judge the character, the heart and soul of each other… We lack the insight and ability to see through the facade everyone puts on when in the presence of other people… So that being the case, the answer in a practical, useful sense is No.

Personally I’ve found the best default belief to be that we are born with a weak, a damaged and vulnerable nature…not an evil one. Assume everyone to be good…perhaps way down deep inside where the sun don’t shine…but maybe seduced, brainwashed or just lost and in the middle of doing some horrible things something is stopping them from feeling guilty about… But there is always hope for them…and everyone. No one but God has the right to declare them irredeemable…and truly, permanently Bad… It’s a view which allows me to actually love my enemies rather than just pay the principle lip service.