1. Suffering & Evil
A religious response

2. Outline: Evil vs. suffering Causes of suffering
The meaning of suffering
Responses to suffering
God’s role in suffering and evil
Natural vs. Moral evil

3. What is suffering?
Dukkha the first “noble truth” of Buddhism: to live is to experience suffering (video)
Evil is…
that which makes life difficult
That which impacts negatively on our life
That which threatens our happiness & survival
“Evil” is external – that which is done to us
“Suffering” is internal – our response to what happens to us
Why do the innocent suffer? Roberta Hestenes

4. Explaining evil: the cause
Karmic justice
Punishment for Sin
Satan/the Devil
Human free will
Evil is not real (it’s merely the absence of good, an illusion, a mistake in human thinking, with no real substance of it’s own)

5. More explanations: no absolutes
Relativity of good and bad:
Cosmic balance
Personal, limited perspective
A blessing in disguise? (a Taoist Story)
Which explanation makes the most sense to you?

6. Theodicy: the problem of evil
There is evil in this world and innocent people suffer
God is supposed to be all good, all knowing, all powerful
Why would an all good, all knowing, all powerful God allow evil and suffering in this world that God supposedly created?
= such a god must not exist

7. An intellectual response to Tragedy
Rabbi Harold Kushner: When Bad Things Happen to Good People
How does Kushner answer the theodicy problem?
What role does God have in Kushner’s “theology of tragedy”?
What kind of God does rabbi Kushner believe in:
Not all knowing?
Not all good?
Not all powerful?
Does Kushner’s approach to the problem satisfy you? Why or why not?

8. Explaining evil: the meaning
A test of faith (The story of Job)
A lesson
Personal growth
Recompense: those who suffer in the present will be compensated/ rewarded in the future (e.g. in heaven)
Which explanation makes the most sense to you?

9. Religions respond to tragedy: a practical response
Hurricane Katrina (video)
Can nature be evil? (natural evil)
Is a hurricane or tornado evil? A flood? An earthquake? A volcanic eruption?
Is disease an “evil”?
These things make our life difficult, they impact negatively on our happiness and our survival. They cause us to suffer.
Do you blame God (“why me?”) or rely on God to get through it?

10. Moral Evil
Or is “evil” just something that a person can do to another person?
Is it “evil” for a lion to kill a gazelle?
Is it “evil” for a human to kill a deer? A cow? Another human? (always?)
Is war an “evil”? (always?)
Is there an “axis of evil”? (demonizing the enemy)
Can a person be innately evil or is evil an acquired trait? If a person is insanely evil, can they still be held responsible?
Does it matter why we do what we do? (intention behind the act)