THE PROBLEMS WITH EVIL AND SUFFERING

DEFINITIONS Suffering: When people have to face and live with unpleasant events or conditions. Responsibility: The idea that we are in charge of our own actions. Natural suffering: Suffering caused by nature. Man made suffering: Suffering caused by humans e.g. through war. Free will: Having the ability to choose or determine one’s own actions. Just: Fair or right. Unjust: Unfair or not right. Impersonal force: The idea that evil is a power outside of people that draws them to evil. Evil: The opposite of good. A force or the personification of a negative power that is seen as destructive and against God. Personal being: Evil is an evil spirit or devil rather than an impersonal force. Psychological phenomenon: It is something arising from the mind of a person.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3 (Jews believe that God uses suffering to discipline his people and to bring people back to him)

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us, And lead us not into temptation. Luke 11:4 (Christians say that people must forgive others so that God can forgive them)

THE INCONSISTENT TRIAD One of the major problems of Evil and Suffering existing is down to God’s own nature. Religions believe that God is omnipotent (all- powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnibenevolent (all-caring). These three beliefs lead to a bit of a problem: God is all- knowing Does God not know of the suffering? God is all- powerful Can God not stop the suffering? God is all- caring How can he be all-caring with evil around?

BECAUSE GOD IS ALL THREE OF THESE THINGS, HOW CAN EVIL OR SUFFERING EXIST?

EVIL HAS MANY DIFFERENT FORMS, SAY BELIEVERS Some religious believers say Evil manifests itself as a force: An uncontrollable drive or urge that makes others perform evil actions. Other believers say Evil is a being: A being such as the devil could be behind evil, as in most religious texts the devil is omnipresent also. Another explanation is that evil is inherent to humans: Most people today would say that evil is psychological; that evil is all in our heads.

RELIGIOUS RESPONSES TO EVIL Christian Response: Many Christians believe that only God knows the answer to this problem. They follow the example of Jesus who showed that God wants us to fight against evil and suffering, praying for those who suffer and giving practical help wherever possible. Christians believe that God created humans in his image. Therefore, this means he created them with free will and its their decision whether to do good or evil. Humans have used their free will to do evil things and this has brought suffering into the world. So evil and suffering is the fault of humans not God (our own moral decisions).

CHRISTIAN BELIEFS ON EVIL What is Evil? – Evil is generally divided into categories related to natural evil such as natural disasters, diseases or birth defects and moral evil or human action that results in pain and suffering for others, such as genocide, war, and cruelty etc. However, many Christians hold that moral evil stems from rebellion against God, which leads to injustice, aggression, violence. Adam and Eve – Because of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin – Christians believe that humans are born with sin, despite not have doing anything yet. And due to this ‘sin’ human beings are separated from God and in need of God to provide a way to salvation or in other words a “key to heaven” and forgiveness.

Jewish Response: The Tenakh (Scripture) teaches that it can be a punishment from God from sins. It also teaches us that suffering can be seen as a test from god – many Rabbis have taught that God gave humans freedom and this life is a test to see whether they will follow Gods command (under free will). If they pass the test, after death, they will be in paradise with no suffering. The Tenakh also teaches that suffering can be a way of bring people to God, for example when there is a disaster (death/accident) people turn to Religion/God because there is no higher being or place to turn to. JEWISH RESPONSE TO EVIL

JEWISH BELIEFS ON EVIL In Judaism, all the evil in the world is either: Made by man and permitted by God because the evil is not worse than reducing all of humankind to mindless automata (robots: under control) Judaism does not believe there is a separate creator of evil, because that would be dualism. When (G-d) created the world he emitted spiritual energies, we call them forces. Some of these forces were assigned by G-d to the domain of goodness, and other forces were assigned to evil this is to say that there is a spiritual force that originated with G-d that entices man to evil. The force itself is performing its duty, but the evil its advocated us forbidden to us. The reason G-d send these forces to entice us, is because he wants to give us (humans) the chance to say no (morality), because without such opportunities and without the option to do evil- free choice is meaningless. Meaning of (G-d)

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