good and evil

• evil- the absence of good and to seek our own selfish desires at the expense of the good of others, which often results in suffering
• free will- the decision making part of a persons mind. a will is free if the person is able to make choices without being controlled by other forces
• suffering- pain which harms human beings.
• moral evil- suffering caused by humans
• natural evil- suffering not caused by humans
• Free will is a gift from god. When humans choose the wrong thing it causes suffering. We have abused our gift
• Adam and Eve

  They decided to eat the forbidden fruit and go against God's wishes. This event is usually called the fall
• In the Enchiridion, St Augustine gives 3 answers to the problem of evil:

  1. Evil is a privation of good
  2. evil helps us appreciate good
  3. god can bring greater good out of suffering
• 'For what is that which we call evil but the absence of good'

  ST Augustine, Enchiridion

  PRIVATION
• 'only enhances our admiration for the good'

  ST Augustine, Enchiridion

  APPRECIATING GOOD
• 'he can bring good out of evil'

  ST Augustine, Enchiridion

  GOD CAN BRING GOOD OUT OF SUFFERING
• goodness- the quality of being like god. seeking the well-being of others selflessley
• DAVID HUME- inconsitent triad

  
  

  evil exists, god is omnibenevolent, god is omnipotent

  not all of these can be true at the same time

  Hume concluded that either God does not exist or he is not worthy of worship
• MACKIE

  rejected christian ideas to the problem of evil

  • evil is neccesary as an opposition of good, to help us appreciate the world
  • evil helps us to become better people
  • evil is a consequence of free will: could god not make humans who were just good?
• ST IRENAEUS AND JOHN HICK

  humans were made imago dei, but are not perfect. they need to grow to become perfect. suffering is the best way for humans to develop
• JEWISH BELIEF ON THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

  • they do not believe that people are born evil or good (do not share christian concept of original sin)
  • they believe they are bron with the inclination to good or evil
• 'the beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the creator'

  CCC 341
• John 3:16 - for god so loved the world, he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but may have eternal life
• Catholics believe that suffering helps us grow close to jesus
• BOOK OF JOB: god tells job he will not understand why god does and doesnt do certain things

  • this teaches catholics to trust god and the suffering has a greater good
• Isaiah 53 describes how the acceptance of suffering by a 'suffering servant' brought about salvation
• catholics believe that suffering is a mystery and god uses it to bring about the greater good
• the doctrine of the trinity is set out in the nicene creed. the trinity works as one, but each has a special role.

  • the father is the creator of heaven and earth
  • the son is the saviour of the world
  • the spirit is and invisible supernatural power who guides and inspires us
• TRINITY SOURCES

  • pentecost
  • jesus' baptism
  • sign of the cross
  • st augustine ' DE TRINITATE' (describes the trinity as the lover, the love, and beloved)
• nicene creed

  • a way of reminding christians about catholic beliefs
  • said together- a sign of unity
• Incarnation means 'made flesh'. The Christian belieft that God became man in the person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine
• The most common way Christians express belief of the incarnation is when the call Jesus the 'Son of God'
• 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us'

  John's Gospel

  Incarnation
• In the Kenosis hymn, in Phillipians, St Paul also shows how Jesus 'emptied himself' of his divine nature to become humann
• Kenosis is a greek word which means emptying. It refers to the idea that Jesus gave up some of his divine attributes when he became human. (Links to scarificial nature of Christ)
• ' emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men'

  KENOSIS HYMN

  St Paul to the Phillipians
• Incarnation and the problem of evil


  A belief in the incarnation is very important to Christians as it gives them a way of being able to continue in the way of goodness, even through suffering. It gives them hope for salvation.

  It means that God can identify with Humans. It is a demonstration of God's immense love for us, they believe that since Jesus suffered, he is with us in our suffering
• SALVIFICI DOLORIS


  means 'the saving power of suffering'

  it says that the problem of evil is not easy to understand

  the only way to get an idea of it is to understand the depth of God's love for humans, through Jesus' willingness to die on the cross.
• 'In order to understand the why of suffering, we must look to the divine love' JP2 -Salvifici Doloris
• Natural law

  the moral law of right and wrong which are universal and not dependent on human law. discoverable by every human being and is the same in all places at all times
• conscience


  the human reason making moral decisions. the knowledge we have of what is right and wrong and the god given compulsion to do what is right and avoid evil
• natural law was put forward by st thomas aquinas. it says that all human beings have some common purposes:

  • preserving life,
  • procreation,
  • seeking truth,
  • living in society,
  • and worshipping god

  because of these common purposes, humans must have some universal laws they must obey such as agains murder, theft and lying
• The Catechism states that conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognises the moral quality of a particular act or omission (CCC1776)
• the ability to discover natural law is what catholics call conscience
• Catholics must make sure their conscience is informed by the teachings of the Church and the bible