Transcript Document
Good and Evil Unit Revision Notes The Problem of Evil Anyone who believes in a loving God, a God who is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (allknowing) and omnipresent (everywhere at once), has to confront an important and challenging question: How can such a God allow evil and suffering to take place in the world that he created? Some people become atheists (don’t believe in God) or agnostics (not sure whether God exists) when confronted with evil and suffering Two Types of Evil: 1. Moral Evil e.g. murder – Evil caused by human actions: ignorance, selfishness, cruelty, dishonesty, sinfulness. Suffering caused by this type of evil can be seen as a result of humans abusing the free will that God created them with. 2. Natural Evil e.g. an earthquake – Evil that does not have any obvious cause. Such evil seems to strike good and bad people alike, with the poorest people often suffering the most. How can God allow this? Satan Some Christians see Satan or the devil as the cause of evil in the world. According to Christian tradition Satan was an angel who rebelled against God, was expelled from heaven and now tries to lead people away from God. References to Satan/The Devil can be found in the Bible in: Genesis 3 – The story of Adam and Eve. The serpent who led them astray is understood to have been the Devil in disguise The Book of Job – The story of a good man Job, tested by the Devil to see if he would give up his faith when everything in his life went disastrously wrong Matthew Chapter 4 – Jesus is tested by the Devil Christian Responses To The Problem of Evil Christians, along with members of other religions, are able to accept the presence of evil in the world while not losing faith in the existence of a loving all powerful God. This type of argument is known as a theodicy. Christian responses to the problem of evil include: 1. Suffering is a necessary part of life in a world where we have freewill. We can in fact be made stronger and better people by undergoing some suffering in our lives 2. Christians believe in heaven. The pain and suffering we experience in this life will seem unimportant when compared to the joys of the afterlife. More Christian Responses To The Problem of Evil 3. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered great pain and an early death after unjust treatment from his enemies, but was brought back from the dead. Light and hope can come from suffering and death. 4. Suffering is caused by sin. Evil can be traced directly or indirectly to human beings behaving sinfully. 5. If human beings used their free will more wisely the world would experience less evil and suffering. 6. Evil and suffering in the world are an opportunity for us to act in service to others, helping to put right some of the problems we see. How do Christians explain the presence of Evil? Moral vs. Natural Evil: Evil created by humans (i.e. rape and murder) vs. evil that occurs naturally in the world (tornados) Theodicies these explain how God exist as well as evil and suffering existing in the world Irenaeus – evil enables us to exercise our free will and develop as human beings by learning from our suffering Hick – evil and suffering bring out the best in people and they are necessary if humans are to develop qualities of love, courage, selflessness, generosity and compassion. Moltmann – God shares in the suffering of the world so he supports people in their moments of pain Augustine – humans caused all the suffering in the world through the fall. However suffering will end as the death of J starts the process of the coming of heaven on earth. Others: Suffering in this world minuscule compared to glory of heaven. Jesus suffered but shows how to cope with suffering! Objections: should suffering be a test or learning experience? Why doesn’t God just tell us the answer? What about severely disabled people or babies who cannot make any sense of their suffering in order to benefit from the experience? How Do Christians Discover The Right Way To Behave? 1. Through the Bible. Most Christians believe that The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is studied so that Christians can learn God’s will. They pray that God, through the Holy Spirit, will help them to understand. Examples of the guidance found in the Bible include: - The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 - The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 - The Golden Rule, Matthew 7.12 How Do Christians Discover The Right Way To Behave? 2. Through following the example of Jesus - For Christians Jesus, the Son of God, is the supreme guide. - He taught people about God and how to enter God’s Kingdom - He showed how to accept God’s will, even if this resulted in personal suffering - He showed how the poor,diseased and outcast should be treated, often through parables (stories) How Do Christians Discover The Right Way To Behave? 3. Through following their conscience Some have seen the conscience, a voice inside us telling us when something is wrong, as the voice of god within us, guiding our actions. When we go against our conscience we often feel guilty about what we have done. Good and Evil – Sample Question: a) What is meant by evil? (1) b) Give two examples of human suffering (2) c) What is the difference between natural and moral evil? (3) d) How might Christians explain the problem of evil in the world? (6) e) ‘It is God who makes people suffer’ (12)