Good and Evil

Question 1

What is the Catholic response to evil?

Answer 1

Free will and original sin

Question 2

How does the Catholic belief of free will link to the problem of evil?

Answer 2

1. Free will is a gift from God
2. God created humans with ability to choose between good and evil
3. When humans choose wrong it causes suffering
4. Humans are to blame - they abused the gift

Question 3

How does original sin link to the problem of evil for catholics?

Answer 3

1. Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit going against God’s wishes
2. First original sin - sometimes known as the fall
3. Natural suffering introduced into perfect world
4. Since then, all humans have tendency to go against God
5. Original sin is a reminder that we all share some responsibility for evil and suffering

Question 4

What are st Augustine’s three answers to the question of suffering?

Answer 4

1. Says the existence of evil helps people appreciate the good in the world
2. Says that evil is just the absence of good things - called privation
3. Says God allows suffering because he is omnipotent. Allows evil because he is always able to bring a greater good out of suffering

Question 5

What is the inconsistent triad?

Answer 5

Evil exists - God is omnipotent - God is omnibenevolent

Question 6

What two categories is evil divided into?

Answer 6

Moral evil and natural evil

Question 7

What is moral evil?

Answer 7

Suffering which is a result of human action, e.g. theft, burglary, terrorism etc.

Question 8

What is natural evil?

Answer 8

Suffering not to do with human actions but with the way the world works, e.g. floods, volcanoes, disease etc.

Question 9

What is the Catholic attitude towards suffering?

Answer 9

Ambivalent (mixed feelings)

Question 10

Which parts of the Bible do Catholic views about suffering stem from?

Answer 10

1. In the book of Job, God tells Job he doesn’t understand his suffering, therefore we must trust that God knows best

Question 11

What is nicene creed?

Answer 11

Doctrine of the trinity is set out in the Nicene Creed:

1. God the father created heaven and earth
2. God the son is the saviour of the world
3. God the Holy Spirit is an invisible spiritual power who guides, helps and inspires human beings

Question 12

Give a quote to support the doctrine of the trinity

Answer 12

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit”

Question 13

What is Augustine’s metaphorical explanation for the trinity?

Answer 13

Used the idea that ‘God is love’

1. Love needs three things: person doing the loving, person being loved and the love itself
2. Trinity of father, son and Holy Spirit are same as trinity of love, lover and beloved

Question 14

What is the incarnation?

Answer 14

When Jesus became a human being because God became visible ‘in the flesh’

Question 15

Why is the incarnation important to Christians?

Answer 15

1. It means the God can identify with humans

2. Demonstration of gods immense love - willing to take on human form and sacrifice himself

Question 16

What is Salvifici doloris?

Answer 16

1. Written by pope JP 2
2. Says that the problem of evil is not easy to understand
3. Christians should offer up their own suffering for the sake of others
4. If Christians can do this, it’s an act of love resembling Jesus’ sacrifice
5. If we try and bear our own suffering patiently, God will be able to use it to bring about the good in others

Question 17

Give examples of Jesus’ moral behaviour

Answer 17

1. Golden rule (Matthew 7:12)
2. Jesus healed the sick (cleanses a leper)
3. Jesus showed forgiveness to those who crucified him (Luke 23:33-35)

Question 18

What is natural law?

Answer 18

The idea that there is a discoverable moral law which applies to all humans. It says that all humans have some purposes in common: preserving life, procreation, seeking the truth, living in society and worshipping God

Question 19

What does the crucifix remind Catholics of?

Answer 19

The incarnation, but also of the suffering of Jesus, which for Catholics is a reminder of God’s love for them

Question 20

What are the candles called in prayer?

Answer 20

Votive candles

Question 21

Why are there statues in the Church?

Answer 21

So Catholics have reminders of God and Jesus and these help them to focus their prayer on what really matters

Question 22

Why would some Christians go against having religious statues?

Answer 22

It goes against the second commandment that forbids the making of any image as an object of worship

Question 23

What does Michelangelo’s Pietà statue help?

Answer 23

Catholics to represent on the meaning of suffering - it is a statue of Mary holding Jesus (dead)

Question 24

What images/meanings does Michelangelo’s Pietà have?

Answer 24

1. Mary seems at peace with what has happened to her son
2. Mary’s left hand opened, sign of acceptance for what has happened
3. Mary’s figure larger than Jesus and cradles him - mother figure
4. Wounds of Jesus hardly visible

Question 25

What reasons are there for going on a pilgrimage?

Answer 25

1. To help strengthen faith
2. To pray for the sick
3. To come closer to God
4. To seek physical, spiritual or emotional healing

Question 26

What happened/happens in Lourdes?

Answer 26

1. One of the most popular shrines, in South-West France
2. In 1858 Bernadette had visions of Mary
3. Mary told Bernadette to dig for a spring, spring believes to have healing qualities and pilgrims bathe there

Question 27

What is popular piety?

Answer 27

A form of devotion

Question 28

What is the rosary?

Answer 28

A series of beads used by Catholics to help them concentrate during prayers

Question 29

What sequence is the rosary arranged in?

Answer 29

One ‘Our Father’, ten ‘Hail Marys’ and one ‘Glory Be

Question 30

What is a sequence of beads called in the rosary?

Answer 30

A decade

Question 31

What are the five sorrowful mysteries?

Answer 31

The agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, Jesus is made to carry his cross and Jesus is crucified and dies on the cross

Question 32

What happened in ‘the agony of the garden’?

Answer 32

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he died. He prayed to be spared of the suffering to come but in the end accepted God’s will and obedience out of love

Question 33

What happened in the ‘scourging at the pillar’?

Answer 33

When Pilate had Jesus whipped in an attempt to satisfy those who wanted Jesus crucified, it didn’t do any good and Pilate condemned Jesus to death

Question 34

What happened at the ‘crowning with thorns’?

Answer 34

When the soldiers mocked Jesus, twisting thorns into a crown because he had been charged with claiming to be the King of the Jews

Question 35

What happened in ‘Jesus is made to carry his cross’?

Answer 35

When Jesus carried his own cross to Golgotha, the place of his crucifixion

Question 36

What happened in ‘Jesus is crucified and dies on the cross’?

Answer 36

When Jesus is nailed to the cross and, after six hours, dies on the cross

Question 37

What is the definition for conscience?

Answer 37

Human reason making moral decisions. The knowledge we have of what is right and wrong and the God-given compulsion within all human beings to do what is right and avoid what is evil

Question 38

What is the definition for evil?

Answer 38

The absence of good and the impulse to seek our own desires at the expense of the food of others which often results in suffering

Question 39

What is the definition for free will?

Answer 39

The decision-making part of a person’s mind is called the will. A will is free if a person is able to choose right from wrong without being controlled by other forces

Question 40

What is the definition for goodness?

Answer 40

The quality of being like God: seeking the well-being of others selflessly

Question 41

What is the definition for incarnation?

Answer 41

‘Made flesh’ The Christian belief that God became man in the person of a Jesus, fully human and fully divine

Question 42

What is the definition for natural law?

Answer 42

The moral laws of right and wrong which are universal and not dependant on human laws. The belief in natural law is the belief that the moral law is discoverable by every human being and is the same for all human beings in all places at all times

Question 43

What is the definition for privation?

Answer 43

The loss or absence of a quality or something that is normally present. Evil is a privation of good

Question 44

What is the definition of suffering?

Answer 44

Pain or loss which harms human beings. Some suffering is caused by other human beings (often called moral evil); some is not (often called natural evil)