Evil and Suffering

Question 1

What is omnipotent?

Answer 1

God is all powerful - God has unlimited power and can do anything

Question 2

What is omniscient?

Answer 2

God is all knowing - God has infinite knowledge, he knows everything, even in the future

Question 3

What is omnibenevolence?

Answer 3

God is all knowing - God is perfectly good and all loving

Question 4

What is omnipresence?

Answer 4

God is everywhere at the same time

Question 5

What is Immanence?

Answer 5

God is within all - God is present in all living things

Question 6

What is Transcendence?

Answer 6

God is above all - God is independent of the inverse and physical existence

Question 7

What comes into the world as a result of ‘The Fall’?

Answer 7

Evil came into the world as a result of ‘the fall’. Also pain and suffering was introduced so man had to work and childbirth is very painful and death because God said that they won’t live forever anymore. Knowledge and sin also came into the world.

Question 8

Why would evil and suffering come into the world as a result of knowledge?

Answer 8

Evil and suffering came into the world due to knowledge as they were afraid, they felt embarassed as they were naked, they realised that they did something wrong. However Adam and Eve gained more power due to this.

Question 9

What were the reactions of Adam and Eve after eating the apple?

Answer 9

The first reactions of Adam and Eve after they ate the apple was that their eyes opened so then they realised that they were naked. Then they sewed some fig leaves to cover themselves. Adam and Eve also became knowledgeable.

Question 10

How do reactions of Adam and Eve impact on evil and suffering?

Answer 10

Because of Adam and Eve the ground is now cursed and they have to grow their food and eat from the ground. Childbirth will be very painful. People wear clothes now. People won’t liver forever anymore.

Question 11

What is free will?

Answer 11

Freedom to choose what is right of wrong

Question 12

What is determinism?

Answer 12

Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions.

Question 13

What is evil/human suffering?

Answer 13

• Actions done by humans that cause suffering
• It is preventable as people could stop causing evil e.g murder, wars, racism

Question 14

What is natural suffering?

Answer 14

• A feeling of pain, misery or distress as a result of an uncaused, natural event
• e.g earthquake, tsunami, tornado

Question 15

What are the 7 stages of grief?

Answer 15

• shock
• denial
• anger
• bargaining
• depression
• acceptance and hope
• processing

Question 16

What is a miracle?

Answer 16

A miracle is an extraordinary event that goes against nature, cannot be explained by science and that Christians believe is caused by God.

Question 17

What are the 4 different types of miracles?

Answer 17

• Healing miracles (curing of physical impairments and illnesses)
• Exorcisms (casting out demons and unclean spirits)
• Nature miracles (calming storms, feeding multitudes.)
• Restoration miracles (raising the dead, restoring to life)

Question 18

What is an example of one of Jesus’ miracles?

Answer 18

When Jesus walked on water and made the storm disappear and made the sea calm again

Question 19

What is the story of Job?

Answer 19

The Bible tells the story of a man called Job who is described as a good man who loves God.
Satan
challenges God, saying that Job is only good because he has a happy life. God allows Satan to put Job’s faith to the test by causing him to suffer.

First, Job loses his livestock, his servants and all his children. He is devastated, but he remains faithful and praises God. Then he suffers horrible weeping sores all over his body. Job’s wife tells him to reject God and to accept that he is dying, but Job refuses.

Eventually, God appears to Job. He asks impossible questions that show Job how little he can understand about God’s ultimate plan. Job is humbled by this encounter, and at last appreciates that God’s unlimited power cannot be fully understood by human beings.

Job never learns why he suffered, but God restores his health and gives him twice as much property as before, more children and a very long and prosperous life.

Question 20

What sufferings did Jesus go through?

Answer 20

Jesus’ sufferings were more than just physical. He experienced the full range of human suffering, to the greatest extent:
- He was betrayed:
- He was taken captive
- He was deserted
- He was falsely accused by those in the crowd
- He was spat upon and beat up
- He was falsely accused by those in authority
- He was rejected
- He was scourged
- He was mocked
- He was derided
- He died
But he did all of them willingly

Question 21

What are Christians solutions to the problem of evil?

Answer 21

God gave humans
free will
. Therefore, although he exists, he cannot interfere in any suffering humans experience as a result of their own choices.
Suffering is not God’s fault.
Sin
entered the perfect world God created when the first humans,
Adam and Eve
, used their free will to turn away from God. The story of their disobedience is told in
Genesis
3.
Experiencing bad things is all part of God’s plan and humans should respond positively.
According to many Christians, balance is essential – humans need evil to appreciate good.
God is fair, so good people will be rewarded in
Heaven
, even if they suffer during their lives on Earth.