1.3 Selfishness, greed, ignorance and sin Flashcards
Religious Teachings on Greed
Greed is the worship oof material things and doing this turns us away from focusing on God. “If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not In them”- John 1
Religious teaching on Greed (temptation)
Greed is a temptation that we must battle. Jesus was tempted by greed when he was offered vast power.This experience shows us that greed is a satanic impulse
Non-religious teachings about greed
Adam smiths notion of free market capitalism shows that greed can cause greater good. If someone tries to increase their wealth (greed) through working it creates greater effects for the world around us. E.g Doctors raced to find a covid vaccine because there was a large sum attached to it. This meant howe=ver the vaccine was found in astonishing time.
Religious teaching on selfishness (St Augustine)
Believed that pride was the root of all sin. Pride is a form of selfishness/self-importance so being selfish is being sinful
Non-religious teachings on Selfishness
Psychological egoism is the view we are selfish by nature. This is because our ancestors had to be selfish to find a lover and reproduce. This means only selfish people reproduced and those selfish jeans are passed on. This makes selfishness hard-wired into our genes
Non-religious teaching on Selfishness
The same point about free market capitalism form Adam Smith
Religious teaching on ignorance
In Buddhism avidya (ignorance) is the root of suffering. This is because when one is ignorant they see what is impermanent and permanent, what is painful and pleasureable and due to this ignorant people suffer
Non-religious teachings on ignorance
Socrates said that no-one knowingly does wrong because doing wrong harms one self. This means that people who do wrong do so because they have misjudged the import of their action
Religious teaching on Sin
Original Sin is a doctrine that everyone is born sinful and have a built in urge to do bad things and disobey God. This is because we are all present in Adam (all his offspring) and because he was sinful (apple..) we are all intrinsically sinful.
Religious teaching on Sin (How Original sin affects)
Original sin affects individuals by separating them from God and bringing dissatisfaction to people lives. Original Sin can explain things such as war, cruelty and over all the presence of sin in humanity
How to be relieved from Sin
Some Christians believe that human beings can’t cure themselves from original Sin apart from the grace of God. They do this by accepting God’s love, believing Jesus died on the cross and getting baptised
