Topic 5 - Good and Evil

Read the summary of the content below and then follow the links to further revision materials at the bottom of the page.

--For definitions, put key terms into google advanced search--

Key Terms

*Moral Evil *Natural Evil *Physical Evil *Metaphysical Evil *Irenaean Theodicy *Augustinian Theodicy

*Benevolent *Malevolent *All-Loving *Omniscient *Omnipresent *Immutable

You will need to know about the following four areas:

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). To find out what the Bible says and get some useful quotes, go to http://www.biblegateway.com/and type in various keywords.
How a Christian can find out about evil and deal with it or how they should respond to it: – i.e. 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).

Sample Question:

Describe Christian beliefs about the reasons for there being evil in the world (8 marks)
Explain how a Christian might find out the right way for him or her to behave (7 marks)
‘People should try to be happy – there is no point in trying to be good.’ Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.

Other Revision Materials