Are children born inherently evil?

You're sounding like St.Augustine... so I'll answer your question with John Locke's philosophy...tabula rasa. We are born as blank slates, we dont even know what is the concept of right and wrong. We gain this concept as we grow older, we are taught by our surroundings and our peers. All newborns have a chance to be good, its the rest of the world that corrupts them. If left to their own devices, I dont believe kids would stray towards the wrong path in life; some would, just as some wouldnt. Its a question of luck, cirstance, coincidence.