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Key terms | Key themes | Key Quotes | Sample Questions | Extra Revision Materials

Key Terms

* Moral Evil

* Natural Evil

* Physical Evil

* Metaphysical Evil

* Irenaen Theodicy

* Augustinian

   Theodicy

* Suffering Christ

* Atonement

* Benevolent

* Malevolent

* Grace

* Forgiveness

*All-Loving *Omniscient *Omnipresent *Immutable

Different beliefs about God and Satan:

Christians either reject God and are rejected from going to heaven, or they accept Him.  Christians believe that God is the source of everything good and rules over heaven; the devil (Satan) is the epitome of everything bad, is the cause of everything bad that happens on earth and rules over hell.

Christian responses to the problem of evil:

The classical arguments of Ireneaus (Irenaean Theodicy) and Augustine (Augustinian Theodicy).  Ireneaus argued that God did not make a perfect world and that suffereing was always included. This means that when we suffer we then learn how to respond to the suffering and grow to be better people. Augustine argued that God did make a perfect world but Adam and Eve destroyed that when they disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge.

How a Christian can find out about evil and deal with it or how they should respond to it:

Reading the Bible, praying, speaking to a Priest/Minister, asking other Christians, meeting with other Christians to pray and read the Bible, sermons in church (etc).

Following a moral code: 

How do Christians do this and what do they follow?  They follow the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 – see www.biblegateway.com again), The Beatitudes (Matthew 5), and the example of Jesus Christ in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

• 'God saw all that he had made, and it was very good' (Gen 1:31)
• 'I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven' (Luke 10:18)
• 'For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive' (1 Corinthians 15:22)
• ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’ (Mark 15:34)
• ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27)
• 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16)
• 'Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you' (Eph 4:32)
• 'You have heard that it was said 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth'... But i tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.' (Matt 8:38)

a) What is meant by evil? (1 mark)

b) Give 2 examples of human suffering. (2 marks)

c) What is the difference between natural and moral evil? (3 marks)

d) How might Christians explain the problem of evil in the world? (6 marks)

e) 'It is God who makes people suffer'. Discuss this statement. YOu should include different,

    supported points of view and a personal viewpoint. You must refer to Christianity in your

    answer. (12 marks)