good and evil

• conscience - Human reason making moral decisions. Knowledge of what's right and wrong.
• Evil - absence of good and impulse to seek our own desires at the expense of the good of others which often result in suffering.
• Free-will - decision making part of a person's mind is called will. Will is free if a person is able to choose right from wrong without being controlled by other forces.
• Goodness- quality of being like God, seeking the well-being of others selflessly.
• Incarnation- "Made flesh" Christian belief that God became man in person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine
• Natural law- moral laws of right and wrong which are universal and not dependant on human laws.
• Privation- loss or absence of a quality or something that is normally present. Evil is the privation of good
• Suffering- pain or loss which harms human beings. Some suffering caused by other human beings some is not
• Trinity in Nicene Creed -

  -God the Father created Heaven and Earth 'Maker of heaven and earth'

  -God the Son, Jesus, saviour of the world 'Only begotten son of God'

  -God the holy spirit invisible spiritual power who guides, helps and inspires humans 'Holy Spirit, Lord ,giver of life'
• Rc belief on Trinity -

  -Only one God, God exists as 3 persons - Father, son and holy spirit

  -Each of these 3 persons is distinct from other 2

  -Each of these 3 persons is fully God

  -But there are not 3 Gods.
• Jewish attitudes to trinity-

  -Jesus historical figure but not God

  -Agree with rc's there is one God, stated in Shema and 10 commandments

  - Do not accept Jesus as son of God or idea of trinity

  -Believe God has different attributes e.g. law giver, judge but are characteristics of 1 God
• Historical development doctrine of trinity -

  • 'Trinity' does not explicitly appear in Bible
  • Without doctrine of trinity not possible for Christians to believe Jesus is God
  • God is trinity of love, exists for all eternity
• Augustine's idea God as trinity of love -

  • Say's trinity of father, son and holy spirit is like this Trinity of love, lover and loved
• Goodness of God-

  • God is cause of goodness in others
  • God's goodness is unchanging
  • God is supreme good
  • All things made by God good e.g. his creation 'saw that it was good'
  • World God created is 'good'
• Jewish attitudes goodness of God-

  • Monotheists, believe God is the only God and omnipotent, they do not believe in the devil
  • God is source of all life referred to in Torah as sole creator, judge and is merciful. He will protect and care for all he has created
  • Goodness of God shown by creation + giving of Torah
• Rc attitudes to origin and evil -

  Moral and natural evil:

  • Evil + suffering exist because of human free will
  • Free will gift from God- humans can use gift to do good or bad
  • good choices= goodness in world bad choices= evil and suffering
  • Original sin:
  • Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit against God's wishes (first original sin)
  • Result of this pain and suffering introduced
  • All humans have original sin, tendency to go against God
  • Reminder we all share responsibility for evil and suffering in world
• St Augustine origin of evil-

  • He wrote a book called enchiridion saying
  • Existence of evil helps people to appreciate good in the world 'we enjoy and value the good more when we compare it with evil'
  • Evil is just the absence of good things
  • God allows suffering because he is omnipotent and good. He allows evil to bring greater good out of suffering
• John Hick Christian problem of evil-

  • God deliberately made an imperfect world to allow humans to grow and learn
  • God values human freedom, wants us to learn for ourselves how to be good and loving
  • Through suffering we can 'grow in God's likeness'
  • Suffering is painful but leads to healthier soul
• Jewish attitudes nature and origin of evil-

  • Do not believe people are born evil (dont believe in original sin)
  • Evil and suffering are consequence of human wrong choices yetzer ha ra (bad) yetzer ha tov (good)
  • Evil comes about due to human choices
  • Torah teaches God gives humans choice - Yom kippur gives humans chance to atone
• Kenosis hymn St Paul -

  • Kenosis meaning 'emptying'
  • Hymn of praise to Jesus for 'he emptied himself' of his divinity
  • St Paul says Christians should be more like Jesus, even though he was God willingly put aside his equality with God to become a human
  • St Paul said 'he made himself nothing' by becoming human
• Pope St John Paul II Salvifici Doloris-

  • Calls Jesus 'saving power of suffering'
  • Pope says if we try to bear our suffering patiently and offer to God in prayer, God will use it to bring about good for others
  • If Christians do this its like an act of sacrifice, just like Jesus did
• Jewish attitudes towards incarnation-

  • Jesus historical figure not God
  • Do not accept Jesus was God as this challenges their basic belief that God is one
  • This belief stated in Shema and 10 commandments
• Incarnation and problem of evil-

  • Jesus becoming flesh and experiencing suffering helps Rc's when they face suffering
  • Christians should not ask why they suffer but how they can suffer and not lose faith
• Teaching of Jesus beatitudes-

  • Gave clear teachings on how people should live their lives
  • Sermon on the mount begins with list of blessings (beatitudes) e.g blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
  • Beatitudes teach us how we should behave
• Natural law -

  • Basic concept of natural law is there is a moral law that every human being understands and should live by
  • NL is key part of RC moral teaching, idea all humans share same human nature
  • NL put forward by Aquinas says all humans have some purposes in common, preserving life, reproduction, educating children, living in ordered society and worshipping God
  • Rcs see NL as proof the fact that universe is created and ruled by God who is good
• Conscience as source of moral authority-

  • Ability to discover natural law is what Rcs call conscience
  • Rcs have an obligation to follow their conscience 'voice of God'
  • Minds ability to know difference between right and wrong and make decisions about what is right
  • 'internal impulse' to do what is right and avoid what is wrong
  • Rcs believe conscience is unique to humans and its existence is another proof of God's goodness (imago dei)
• RC ambivalence (mixed feelings) towards suffering-

  • Suffering is a mystery: unable to understand reason why God chooses to allow suffering
  • Suffering can be sign of love: love impossible without suffering. Loving another person means you will doing anything for them (sacrifice)
  • Suffering can be proof of commitment: Jesus says to his disciples to be committed we must experience suffering
  • Suffering is a blessing
• Isaiah 53 suffering servant-

  • Helps Rcs understand suffering of Jesus' suffering
  • Suffering servant is an unattractive person, rejected by own people, cruely punished by them
  • Experiences suffering others deserve so they will not experience it
  • Accepts their suffering, somehow brings about salvation for others
  • This is why Rcs have mixed feelings about suffering
• Jewish attitudes towards suffering-

  • Do not read Isiah 53 as a reference to Jesus they see it as a metaphorical description of the suffering of israel
  • Would also have ambivalence towards suffering
  • Suffering comes from 2 different sources human made and natural. God gave free will to people to do good or evil, they believe some suffering can come from God as a test or a punishment
• What is pilgrimage?

  • Special journey to a holy place e.g Lourdes
• RC attitude towards pilgrimage-

  • Helps strengthen faith
  • Way of thanking God
  • Seek emotional, physical or spiritual healing
  • Come closer to God giving him time and attention
  • Feel supported by others
  • Sick people feel at peace with illness and able to cope with problems they face
• Pilgrimage as response to human suffering-

  • Help people learn how to value God in their lives find a way to bear sufferings of life without being defeated
  • Lourdes: spring water is central part of pilgrimage, many sick and disabled bathe in waters to seek physical and spiritual healing
  • Pilgrims will visit grotto site of 18 apparitions to pray and offer petitions
  • Pilgrims will celebrate mass daily and carry out Sacrament of Reconciliation
  • Young people work with sick and disabled, it is meaningful supporting those suffering teaches them patience and grace
• Jewish attitudes towards pilgrimage-

  • Not an obligation, however in practice going on a pilgrimage is important feature of life of many Jews
  • Torah refers to traditional importance of all Jews going to Jerusalem for festivals
  • Some it is important to visit Israel
  • Some important to visit graves of significant teachers and rabbis
• Rosary-

  • Old form of popular piety
  • Name given to a prayer and to beads that are used in the praying of the prayer
  • Consists of 3 prayers; Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
• Rosary sorrowful mysteries-

  • Jesus is crucified and dies: when Jesus is nailed to the cross, after 6 hours, dies
  • Jesus made to carry his cross: Jesus carried his own cross to Golgotha, place of crucifixion
  • Crowning of thorns: Soldiers mock Jesus, twisting thorns into a crown, charged with claiming to be king of jews
• Statues for and against -

  • Against (Christians)
  • Goes against commandments forbids making of any idol as an object of worship, worshipping false Gods
  • Prayers to anything or anyone other than God breaking first commandment '..you shall have no other Gods before me'
  • For (RC's)
  • Don't pray to them they are reminder of God and Jesus
  • Help them focus on prayer
  • Reminds them of saints, Jesus we love
• RC's importance of sculptures and statues-

  • Another sign of reality of incarnation
  • Express deeper commitment to incarnational view of the world
  • Crucifix incarnational image, Jesus' death reminds them of salvation
• Michelangelo's Pieta-

  • Folds in garment: symbol of open womb. Reminds us Mary carried Jesus in her womb, invites us to share her pain and sorrow
  • Face of Mary: Remains peaceful even though she is holding her dead son
  • Left hand of Mary: Open palm, at peace after witnessing her son's death
• Jewish attitudes towards suffering-

  • Do not use statues as focus for prayer
  • Goes against 10 commandments 'You shall have no other God's before me' Only God alone should be worshipped
  • Synagogues do not have any representation of God as he is above huma understanding