Transcript KS3 Religious Studies Suffering

KS3 Religious Studies
Suffering
KS3 Religious Studies
Suffering
Icons key:
For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation
Flash activity. These activities are not editable.
Extension activities
of 66
11 of
Web addresses
Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page
Accompanying worksheet
© Boardworks Ltd 2008
Kinds of suffering
The world is full of human pain and suffering, both physical and
emotional. Sometimes we suffer because we do not get what
we need or if we have to endure something against our will.
Make a list of all the examples of suffering you can think of:
Earthquakes
September 11th
2 of 6
© Boardworks Ltd 2008
Causes of suffering
Suffering comes in many forms: earthquakes, self-inflicted
harm and medical problems are all different forms of suffering
with various different causes.
However, most suffering can be said to be caused by
one of two things:
Human action
3 of 6
The natural world
© Boardworks Ltd 2008
Causes of suffering
All suffering is a result of either human action or the natural
world. Categorize your examples of suffering according to
their cause.
Human causes
September 11th
4 of 6
Natural causes
Earthquakes
© Boardworks Ltd 2008
The problem of evil
The fact that suffering
exists can be a problem for
believers who are faced
with the question:
Why would a benevolent
God allow suffering in a
world he created?
Philosophers call this question
‘The Problem of Evil’.
70,000 people died in this
earthquake in Peru.
5 of 6
© Boardworks Ltd 2008
Epicurus
In around 300 BCE, the thinker Epicurus put the problem
as follows:
‘Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then
He is not omnipotent. Is He able but not willing?
Then He is malevolent. Then whence evil?’
This problem may arise as it seems to clash with the belief
that God is all-powerful and loving, which is a belief held by
the three major world faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Even though there is evil in the world, do you think it is
possible that God is still both willing and able to prevent it?
6 of 6
© Boardworks Ltd 2008