Good and evil

Key words

Suffering- pain or loss which harm human beings. Some suffering is caused by other human beings (often called moral evil): some is not (often called natural evil).

Privation- the loss or absence of a quality or something that is normally present. Evil is a privation of good.

Natural law- the moral laws of right and wrong which are universal and not dependent on human laws. The belief in natural law is the belief that the moral law is discoverable by every human being and is the same for all human beings in all places at all times.

Incarnation- 'made flesh' the Christian belief that God became man in the person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine

Goodness- the quality of being like God: seeking the well-being of others selflessy

Free will- the decision-making part of a person's mind is called the will. A will is free if a person is able to choose right from wrong without being controlled by other forces.

Evil- the absence of good and the impulse to seek our own desires at the expense of the good of others which often results in suffering

Conscience- human reason making moral decisions. The knowledge we have of what is right and wrong and the
God-given compulsion within all human beings to do what is right and to avoid what is evil.

Popular devotion in Catholic communities

The rosary

Allows Catholics to reflect on events in Jesus' and Mary's life called mysteries

The sorrowful mysteries

Jesus is crucified and dies on the cross- this is when Jesus is nailed to the cross and, after six hours, dies on the cross

Jesus is made to carry the cross- this is when Jesus carried his own cross to Golgotha, the place of his crucifixion

The crowning with thorns- this is when the soldiers mocked Jesus, twisting thorns into a crown because he had been charged with claiming to be the King of the Jews

The scourging at the pillar- this is when Pilate had Jesus whipped in an attempt to satisfy those who wanted Jesus to be crucified. It didn't do any good and Pilate condemned Jesus to death.

The agony in the Garden- This is when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he died. He prayed to be spared the suffering he knew he was to come but in the end he accepted God's will out of obedience and love.

The joyful mysteries

The finding of Jesus in the temple

The presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple

The birth of Jesus

Mary's visit to Elizabeth

The Annunciation

A form of meditation

Each bead represents a prayer, arranged in a sequence of one 'Our Father', ten 'Hail Marys' and one 'Glory be'

Said as an individual or group

A series of beads used by Catholics to help them concentrate during prayers

Pilgrimage

Lourdes

Young people volunteer as helpers for the sick and disabled

Thousands of pilgrims go to pray at the grotto

The spring is believed to have healing qualities

Founded by a young girl called Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 after having had visions of Mary

One of the most popular shrines in the world

Meaning and significance

Pilgrimage as a response to human suffering

Allows people to accept and cope with the problems they face

Helps sick people feel at rest or even cured

Reasons for going on a pilgrimage

Pilgrims pray together and feel supported by each other

A group pilgrimage may help an individual to feel part of the church community

To come closer to God by giving him time and attention

To do a penitential act as a reflection of sorrow for sin

To seek physical, spiritual or emotional healing

As a way of thanking God

To pray for the sick

To pray for something special

To share the experience and their faith with other believers

To help strengthen their faith

Sculpture and statuary

Michelangelo's Pietà

Christ is presented to be in a peaceful sleep and his wounds are barely visible

Christ is shown as sacred

Mary as the immaculate conception

Presented as a mother

Mary is at peace

Mary is depicted as youthful and peaceful instead of as a broken-hearted and older woman

Statue of Mary holding the body of her son after his crucifiction

Pietà is Latin for holiness

Catholic tradition and worship

Reminders of God and Jesus

They are symbols of prayers

Can be a focus for prayer and worship

Common sculpture and statuary in Catholic churches

Statue of the saint after whom the church is named

Statue of Mary

Crucifix

Jesus and moral authority

Alternate sources of moral authority

Virtues and suffering

Virtues challenge our instinctive selfishness

Virtues are moral practices

Catholics believe that living a good life and following one's conscience is something that requires practice

Conscience

Catholics have an obligation to follow their conscience

The ability to discover natural law

St Thomas Aquinas defined conscience as 'the mind of human beings making moral decision'

Natural law

All humans have similar moral desires

Worshipping God

Living in society

Seeking the truth

Procreation

Preserving life

Put forward by St Thomas Aquinas

The Sermon on the Mount

Summary

Prayer, fasting- don't pray and fast for show

Giving to the needy- give in secret

Love your neighbour, hate your enemies- love your enemies, pray for those that persecute you

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth- turn the other cheek

Do not break oaths- do not make an oath

Divorce is allowable- no divorce except for sexual immorality

Do not commit adultery- do not look lustfully at a woman. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Do not murder- don't be angry. Settle arguments quickly

Love your enemy

Jesus changes the law of Moses so that we love everyone

The Beatitudes

Those that are closest to God are often those that God doesn't recognise or value

List of blessings on the Sermon of the Mount

Jesus' examples of moral behaviour

He showed forgiveness to those that crucified

He healed the sick

Jesus told his dsciples to love

The Golden Rule

Incarnation

Incarnation and the problem of evil

Salvifici doloris

The saving power of suffering

Written by John Paul II

Christians should follow Jesus' example

Jesus' suffering allows humans to believe in God in the face of human suffering

Scriptural origins of the incarnation

Kenosis hymn (Philippians 2:5-8)

'And the Word became flesh' (John 1:14)

'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1-3)

Meaning and significance

Gives Jesus the title of 'Son of God'

God became flesh

The Trinity

St Augustine uses the Metaphor of lover, lover and beloved

Historical development

Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:9-11)

"Baptise them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19)

Doesn't appear explicitly in the Bible

Jewish beliefs

Attributes such as 'judge' and 'creator' are characteristics of just one person

Reject the Trinity

There is only one God

The Nicene Creed

God the Holy Spirit is an invisible spiritual power who guides, helps and inspires human beings

God the Son is the saviour of the world

God the Father created heaven and earth

The importance of the Trinity for Catholics

Most prayers are said to or in the name of the Trinity

The sign of the cross is trinitarian

Christian beliefs about God as a Trinity

All three persons of the Trinity is God

Each person of the Trinity is distinct from the other two

God exists as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

There is only one God

The meaning of suffering and Catholic ambivalence

Jewish beliefs about suffering

Result of free will

Don't believe in original sin

Suffering is humanmade and natural

Christ's death and Isaiah 53

God uses suffering to bring about good

Suffering brings us closer to understanding Jesus

The acceptance of suffering can bring about salvation

In the book of Job, God tells him that we cannot understand suffering because God is too complex

Catechism of the Catholic Church 341

All of creation is good

Types of evil

Natural evil- this is suffering which is not to do with human actions, but with the way the world is. Examples are floods, volcanoes, cancer, disease and earthquakes

Moral evil- this is suffering which is a result of human action. Examples are theft, burglary, terrorism, assault, rape and murder

Non-Christian views on the nature and origin of evil

St Irenaeus and John Hick

Through incorrect choices people can learn to make the correct choices

Suffering and evil is the best way for humans to develop

John Hick developed the ideas of St Irenaeus

John Mackie

Rejected most Christian responses to evil

Evil is a consequence of free will- why wouldn't God make us want to be good

Evil helps us to become better people- Mackie argues that God should have made us perfect if that was his plan

Evil is necessary as an opposite of good- Mackie argues that there is too much and too extreme suffering

David Hume

God is non-existent or unworthy of worship

The inconsistent triad

All of them cannot be true at the same time

God is omnibenevolent,
God is omnipotent,
Evil exists

The problem of God is too big for God to exist

Catholic perspectives

St Augustine

God doesn't permit or cause evil because it doesn't exist- it is a privation of good

God's omnipotence and omnibenevolence means he can bring good out of suffering

The existence of evil helps people to appreciate the good in the world

St Augustine, Enchiridion 3,11

Responses to the existence of evil

Original sin

It gives us a tendency to go against God

Sin and suffering is a result of Adam and Eve's actions

Free will

Our actions would have no consequences without suffering, so having free will would be meaningless

How we use free will is not God's fault

Humans should have the right to chose between good and evil