Good and Evil

Good and Evil

1. The Fall/The Orginal Sin

   • The Orginal sin was where Eve picked the fruit of the tree forbidden by God.
   • The Fall was the event where Adams and Eve were driven out the garden of Eden
   • Beliefs: Christans believe that humans would have been immortal but they lost their immortality when they ate the fruit.
   • Beliefs: Roamn Catholic church believe that the orginal sin is where humans are born with a lack of holiness about them, this is different from the actual sins people commit themselves.

2. The Problem of Evil

   • Moral Evil: the deeds or behaviour of people which are seen to be cruel and uncaring, e.g. 20th century holocaust
   • Natural Evil: is where natural events such as volcanoes, floods and hurricanes, which many harm or kill people but do not appear to be caused by human beings, e.g. 2004 boxing day Asian tsunami.
     • Arguments; soma people argue that these are caused indirectly by humans, through climate change and enviromental destruction. Christans believe natural evil can be caused by the devil.
       • Victims who've lived good lives question as to why God would allow them to suffer like this?

3. Responses to the problem of Evil

   • Some people argue that God wouldn't allow evil and suffering in the world. If so then; God doesn't exist, God is not all powerful and God is actually responsible for everything, so responsible for evil as well as good
     • The existence of pain and suffering is that Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden
   • Examples; Irenaeus, said that we need to suffer and needed to be made to chose between good and evil, otherwise they would be like obedient automatons, and god wants people to choose to worship him. However does this apply to the suffering of babies? St Augustine, believed that evil was a lack of good. Evil happens when people do not choose good and to live according to the standards which God has set.
   • in the story of the Old Testament, Job is a good man who worships god. A future called the 'Adversary' asks Gods permission to test Job to see how devoted he is to God. God is confident, Job loses his wife, his children, his animals, all his wealth and his health but does not lose his faith and is finally rewarded by God.

4. Coping with Suffering

   • At the time of the New Testament many people believed that illness and suffering were punishments for sins, and were being punished for the original sin of Adam and Eve
   • Christainty teaches that God took human form and came to earth as Jesus, and Jesus gave his life by dying on the cross and because he was innocent of any sin and chose to die for others, the sins were forgiven.
     • Because of Jesus christians believe that God shared in Human suffering.
   • When suffering, many pray to God either alone or as a community, Christans appreciate that God does not always answer in the way they would like him to, but God choose the best for them.
   • Example; of faith taking away the suffering of sin is found in Matthews gospel when Jesus heals a paralytic; 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven'

5. Reasons for moral behaviour

   • Jesus gave up his life willingly and was innocent of any sin.
   • Christians follow in the example of jesus life. Many people often say that they know what to do because they are following their conscience (God)