Christian Beliefs: Nature of Evil

Question 1

Define OMNIBENEVOLENT

Answer 1

‘All loving’ or ‘all good’. God is the source of all love and is perfectly good.

Question 2

Define IMMANENT

Answer 2

‘Near’ or ‘God is within all’

Question 3

Define OMNIPRESENT

Answer 3

‘Present everywhere’ - God exists everywhere at the same time.

Question 4

Define TRANSCENDENT

Answer 4

‘Beyond human experience’ and ‘God above all’

Question 5

Define OMNIPOTENT

Answer 5

‘All powerful’ nothing is beyond God’s control.

Question 6

Define OMNISCIENT

Answer 6

‘All knowing’ - there are no secrets from God.

Question 7

What are the three part of the TRINITY?

Answer 7

Father, Son and the Holy Spirit

Question 8

What are the three branches of Christianity?

Answer 8

Orthodox
Roman Catholic
Protestant

Question 9

Christianity is MONOTHEISTIC. What does that mean?

Answer 9

A belief in ONE God.

Question 10

Give examples of how Christians see God’s omnipotence.

Answer 10

1. The creation of the universe;
2. The wonders of the universe;
3. The miracles performed by Jesus;
4. Nothing can defeat God’s power.

Question 11

What does the Bible say about God’s omnipotence?

Answer 11

“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” Joshua 4:23-24

Question 12

What word means self-giving, self-sacrificial and fatherly love?

Answer 12

Agape

Question 13

What do Christians see as the example of God’s omnibenevolence?

Answer 13

Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins is the extreme example of God’s love.

Question 14

How is God’s omnibenevolence shown in the Bible?

Answer 14

Jesus’ teachings is about the love of God such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

Question 15

What is the story of the Prodigal Son?

Answer 15

A man with two sons, one claims his inheritance and leave to waste is all. He returns to ask for a job on his father’s farm and is welcomed home. His father forgave him (Luke 15:11-32)

Question 16

What does the Bible say about God’s omnibenevolence?

Answer 16

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life” John 3:16

Question 17

What does Just mean?

Answer 17

Fair

Question 18

Why is it important for Christians to believe God is Just?

Answer 18

Believing in Judgement Day or the afterlife and that God is just, means that you believe these things will be addressed and made fair.

The Bible contains rules for life such as the Ten Commandments which believers are expected to obey.

Jesus taught that God would judge all the people according to how they had cared, or not cared, for those in need etc.

Question 19

What the Bible says about God being just:

Answer 19

“For I the Lord love justice” Isaiah 61:8

Question 20

God is:

Answer 20

All-loving
All-knowing
All-powerful
Just

(a bit like mum)

Question 21

If God is all loving and all powerful, why do people suffer?

Answer 21

Suffering is something we all encounter. Humans experience pain, illness, loss and death. It is a problem for many people.

The problem Christians have is how to reconcile their idea of God with the reality of suffering and evil. They have to be able to make sense of God allowing this evil and suffering to continue to happen.

Question 22

What is the story of Genesis 3 - The Fall?

Answer 22

It is the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. God said not to eat the fruit from the middle of the garden but a serpent came and Eve saw the fruit and it looked tasty so she tried it and gave some to Adam. They realised they were both naked and tried to hide their nakedness. When God found out, he punished the serpent and he made childbirth very painful for women and he made man have to work hard and grow his own food until the day he dies.

Question 23

What does the existence of evil do?

Answer 23

According to Mackie, it undermines all we know about God. If God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, then suffering and evil do not exist. Therefore, either God is NOT all loving or all-powerful, or he does not exist.

Question 24

Explain the inconsistent triad.

Answer 24

1. If God is All-loving, why do we experience evil and suffering? Does he love us?
2. If God is All-Powerful, why doesn’t he stop suffering and evil?
3. Does evil exist? Because if it does, how can there be God?

Question 25

How do Christians solve the problem of evil and suffering?

Answer 25

1. Suffering is punishment for wrong doing;
2. Suffering is a test of faith;
3. Suffering is a form of education for our souls;
4. Suffering is needed as a balance - to appreciate the good, we need the bad.
5. The freewill defence God is all powerful and all loving, but he wanted humans to be free so he put the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden. We chose to be disobedient due to greed and selfishness. This is why the world is a mess.