Evil And Suffering

Question 1

Give one example of natural suffering

Answer 1

Suffering from a disease e.g cancer

Question 2

Give one example of a moral evil

Answer 2

Murder, man’s inhumanity to man

Question 3

Name one scholar who disbelieves in an all powerful loving god

Answer 3

Stephen Fry

Question 4

Provide a definition of free will

Answer 4

Free will is mans ability to make choices

Question 5

List any five reasons why suffering may be part of faith - religion (5)

Answer 5

A test of human faith
Punishment for human sin
Suffering can achieve great things (builds faith)
Free will (mans choice)
Without suffering people don’t know true joy

Question 6

How can Satan be linked to Jesus ?

Answer 6

40 days of temptation in the desert:

• offered to turn stones to bread
• jump off the highest point of the temple and angels will save him (test of faith)
• worship Satan, gain all the nations

Question 7

Suggest the origins of evil, according to one religious tradition you have studied (5)

Answer 7

• Within Christianity the origins of evil came from Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God.
• In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are the forbidden fruit and God punished them for their actions.
• The punishment was to endure suffering in life.
• Some Christians believe that all people inherited the tendency to sin from Adam and Eve, this is called original sin.
• According to this belief, all humans are born with a tendency towards evil and the ability to cause suffering

Question 8

Is the devil the source of evil in the world today ? (3)

Answer 8

Christianity - Genesis 3 outlines the fall of lucifer who wanted to be god-like however fell from heaven to become Satan. Christians believe that he is the source of all evil, the opposer of god, and the devil can tempt people to do wrong
Islam - They believe that there is a real presence of evil in devil form known as Iblis. He exists by whispering into human hearts to tempt them to do wrong
Hinduism - They believe in karma and the consequences of free will and thus no such devil exists to be the source of all evil

Question 9

How existence of evil challenges the nature of and existence of god (5)

Answer 9

• Religions such as Christianity claim that god made everything. Did he also make evil?
• Religion teaches that god is good, so why does god allow evil to exist
• If god is omnipotent and created the world, why does He not stop evil and suffering. Is he not powerful enough?
• If god is all powerful, does that mean he doesn’t love us enough to stop evil and suffering
• If evil exists, does god really exist

Question 10

Which Greek philosopher claimed that the existence of god proved there is no god ? (4)

Answer 10

Epicurus

• He claimed if god cannot stop evil then he isn’t omnipotent
• If god can prevent evil but does not, then god is not good
• Human experience is that evil does exist. Therefore god must not exist
• This relates to the inconsistent triad

Question 11

What does Islam say about the origin of evil ?(5)

Answer 11

• Qur’an teaches that evil originates from the refusal of Shaytan (Satan) to bow down to Adam when ordered to by Allah. He is also called Iblis
• Iblis was cast out of heaven by Allah for his disobedience
• He vowed that in revenge he would spend eternity trying to tempt humans to do evil
• Allah told Iblis that he was to be cursed until the Day of Judgement

Question 12

What does Islam teach about evil and suffering ? (5)

Answer 12

• Islam teaches that Muslims should know without being informed what actions are evil and will contribute to the suffering of others and what actions are good. This inner sense of right and wrong is called fitrah
• Muslims believe all humans are born with this instinct to live according to the laws of Allah
• Muslims have free will and must choose between right using the guidance of Allah and wrong, following the temptations of Iblis
• Suffering can be caused by the selfishness and evil of humans, leading to bad decisions
• Muslims can overcome suffering in their own lives and ease suffering of others by following Allah’s path set out in the Qur’an and Sunnah

Question 13

How do Muslims respond to evil and suffering (6)

Answer 13

• Muslims believe this life is a test from Allah to endure suffering in preparation for Paradise
• in the Qur’an Allah states he will forgive those who sincerely repent
• Muslims believe when they see people who are suffering they should treat them with mercy
• It is Allah’s way of educating them
• Retribution for a wrong they have committed
• For some Muslims, the test of suffering is perceived as a blessing