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 PietÃ
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