Good and Evil

• Natural and Moral


  • Natural - Suffering through natural disasters
  • Moral - Suffering as a result of humanity
• Morality


  Considering whether an action is right or wrong
• Forgiveness


  The act of reconciliation, to wipe the slate clean, to not hold a grudge
• Pacifism


  Non violence
• Free Will


  Belief that humans were created with the ability to make free choices
• Conscience


  A source of authority, God's voice acting as a guiding
• Justice


  Fairness and equality
• Suffering


  The result of evil, hardship and challenges which humans must overcome
• Morality


  • People draw on a variety of sources of authority to help them make a decision
  • Catholics follow an absolute morality-this means there is a right course of action to take in a moral dilemma, which is true in all situations regardless of culture, religious tradition, time or age
• Christians do not believe that people are evil but that people can be tempted to do wrong and break the law
• Christians are taught to "love the sinner, hate the sin" which means they should forgive and show mercy to people who have done wrong but admitted their mistakes and sought atonement
• Types of Evil


  • Moral Evil - The fault of humans choosing to go against God's will and as a consequence causing suffering - crime, war
  • Natural Evil - Suffering which has been caused through natural causes and not through the fault of mankind, e.g. flooding, earthquakes
• Reasons for Crime


  • Poverty (not having enough money or food)
  • Upbringing (where people are not taught right from wrong)
  • Addiction (some people commit crimes to feed an addiction)
  • Greed (committing crimes out of a desire for things they cannot afford)
  • Hatred or out of opposition to unjust law (breaking the law to oppose hateful or unjust laws)
• Aims of Punishment


  • Deterrence - Using punishment as a message to others considering committing crime
  • Reformation - Helping criminals change their behaviour for the better
  • Retribution - Society getting its own back on the offender
• Forgiveness


  To show mercy and pardon someone for what they have done wrong, but showing someone forgiveness does not mean they should be justly punished for their crimes
• Jesus: 'Father forgive them, for they know not what they do'
• Forgiveness


  • Leads Christians to support reformation as an aim of punishment as it allows the criminal to be forgiven and to ask for forgiveness
  • Used as an argument against the death penalty
• Forgiveness (Jewish teaching)


  • It's a mitzvah (important)
  • Humans have been given free will, they are responsible for their own actions
  • Can only be accepted from the victim
  • The Torah preaches a message of forgiveness
• Do not hate your brother in your heart


  Leviticus 19:17
• Christian attitudes to punishment


  • Believe prisoners should be treated well when in prison as even though they have done wrong they do not believe in evil people as much as evil actions
  • Campaign for better prison conditions out of mercy
  • Most Christians do not support using physical pain as a form of punishment as it is harmful and negative
• Death penalty


  • The state killing criminals who have committed the worst crimes
  • Not used in the UK since 1969 but is still a common punishment elsewhere in the world
• Jewish teaching on death penalty


  • Many Jews believe it is acceptable but should be the last resort
  • People who are unlikely to reform and who are a threat to society should be given the death penalty
  • The Torah says it should be used for some crimes
  • The Torah suggests punishment should be proportionate
• Community service


  Where criminals work to repay their community as a punishment, allowing them to make up for what they have done without harming the offender
• Christian teaching on death penalty


  • Some argue it is a just punishment for murder as the Bible says both 'you shall not kill' and 'an eye for an eye'
  • It deters criminals from committing the worst crimes and keeps people safe
  • Other Christians argue it goes against sanctity of life and the aim of reformation as a dead criminal cannot be reformed, forgiven or shown mercy
• Protests


  The right to gather together and protest is a fundamental democratic freedom
• Protests in the UK


  • Law allows for peaceful public protest
  • Protests can turn violent and become a riot
• Christians protest


  They protest unjust laws or for other forms of justice but would rarely advocate the use of violence in protest
• Camillo Torres: '"The Catholic who is not a revolutionary is committing a mortal sin"'
• Terrorism


  • Examples include suicide bombing, mass shootings or using vehicles to injure pedestrians
  • The aim is to make society aware of a cause or issue and to make people frightened to go about their business
• Christians don't promote political violence and believe terrorism is wrong as it targets innocent people
• Holy War


  • A war which is fought for religious reasons, often with the backing of religious leaders
  • An example is the Crusades fought from the 11th-14th Century by Christians, backed by the Pope
• Religion can still be a cause for war today such as in Northern Ireland where Protestant and Catholic Christians fought a civil war between 1968-98
• Just Cause


  • Fought in self-defence or to protect others
• Last Resort


  • Only going to war if all other methods have been tried first
• Just War Theory


  • A Christian moral theory for working out if a war meets internationally accepted criteria for fairness
  • Conditions that must be met for a war to be just: Just Intention - fought to promote good and defeat wrongdoing
• Pacifism


  The idea that all forms of violence are wrong
• Pacifists


  • Quakers
  • Conscientious objectors (those who don't go to war for moral reasons)
  • Those who assist in medical tasks like ambulance driving
• Christians


  Try to follow Jesus' teaching that "blessed are the peacemakers"
• How Christians respond to war


  1. Show mercy and agape to victims of war

  2. Provide assistance through charity or welcoming them into their churches

  3. Help victims in their own country or refugees such as people fleeing from Syria or Yemen
• Christians' response to war


  An example of 'love your neighbour' in action