Good and Evil Key Concepts

Question 1

Evil

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Suffering

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Privation

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Goodness

Answer 4

The quality of being like God
Seeking the well-being of others selflessly

Question 5

Free-will

Answer 5

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 6

Conscience

Answer 6

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 to avoid what is evil.

Question 7

Natural Law

Answer 7

The moral laws of right and wrong which are universal.
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 8

Incarnation

Answer 8

“Made flesh”
The Christian belief that God became man in the person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine.