Good and Evil Flashcards
What is natural evil?
Natural occurrences that cause lots of pain but are not the direct result of human actions.
What is moral evil?
Committed by people against other people.
What are the three attributes of God and what do they mean?
Omniscient: All knowing
Omnipotent: All powerful
Omnibenevolent: All loving/ good
What is the inconsistent triad?
An argument against the existence of God: if God is omniscient and omnibenevolent, he should want and be able to stop suffering. But suffering exists, so one of the 3 factors must be incorrect.
What was the story of original sin/ the fall?
In Genesis 2:15-17 and 3 God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, or else they’ll die. The serpent (Satan) tells Eve that God didn’t say they would die. Eve eats from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve gives the fruit to Adam and he eats from it. Adam and Eve realise they are naked and are ashamed so they cover themselves up. God realises that Adam and Eve have disobeyed him and asks who is responsible. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent. God curses the serpent, Eve and Adam, making life harder for them. Christians call this ‘The Fall’ because Adam and Eve fell from grace to sin. Many Christians call Adam and Eve’s disobedience ‘Original Sin’, which brought sin into the world and why we are born sinful today. This was an ‘inevitable possibility’ because God gave us free will.
What do some Christians believe about the Devil?
Some Christians believe there is evil in the world because of the Devil.
He is the enemy of God and rules in Hell and tries to make humanity turn from goodness.
The Devil was created good but was jealous of God and decided to fight against him.
Some Christians say that suffering in the world, or people choosing to do wrong, is because of the Devil.
Not all Christians believe in the Devil, just that it is a symbolic way of explaining evil.
What is the story of Job?
Job was a rich and happy man who believed in God. God was very proud of Job, but Satan was only righteous because he was blessed. God let Satan do anything he wanted to him as long as he did not touch Job himself. Satan made Job lose everything, but Job did not lose faith. God then let Satan harm Job, and he gave him horrible skin sores. His wife tells him to curse God and die, and Job’s friends come to console him, but quickly start to blame him for his problems. Job becomes disheartened and starts to question God and why he lets suffering exist. God then comes down in a whirlwind and puts Job in his place. Afterwards, God rewards Job for his endurance and doubles his previous possessions, and Job goes on to live a happy life.
What is a conscience?
A conscience is an inner feeling of the rightness or wrongness of an action. You can get a conscience from your parents, teachers, friends, religion or the media.
What is Kant’s moral argument?
- Humans have morals
- God is the best or only explanation for these morals
- Therefore, God exists
What is absolute morality?
The idea that an action is either right or wrong, regardless of the circumstances
What is relative morality?
Someone with relative morals will consider the situation before they make a decision
What is a moral decision?
A moral decision is one that affects others in a way that society thinks is right or wrong.
What is utilitarianism?
‘The greatest good for the greatest number.’
What is situation ethics?
An idea proposed by Joseph Fletcher in the 1960s that says moral laws are flexible depending on the circumstances. He says that the right thing to do is the most loving thing, and he uses the term agape, which means selfless love.
What was the Milgram Experiment?
An experiment ran that made teachers give electric shocks of increasing voltage to students that gave incorrect answers to questions to test how people react to authority. Over half of the participants went up to delivering a lethal voltage.
