Jewish Attitudes towards good, evil and suffering.

Question 1

Explain two features of moral and natural evil. (4)

Answer 1

• One feature of moral evil is that it is caused by humans misusing their free will. This is because when faced with a moral decision it is always possible to do the right thing.
• A second feature is that natural evil is suffering that is not caused by humans. This is because whilst floods, hurricanes and earthquakes aren’t caused by humans they still cause massive amounts of suffering.

Question 2

Explain two non-religious attitudes to the problem of evil and suffering. (4)

Answer 2

• One attitude is that they can’t believe that a good God would create a world with so much natural evil. This means that they find it easier to believe that natural evil is a result of the earth evolving by accident due to the Big Bang.
• A second attitude is that non-religious people can’t believe that God is omni-potent. This is because if He really was, He could remove all evil and suffering in the world.

Question 3

Explain two Jewish responses to the problem of evil and suffering. (4)

Answer 3

• One response is that the Tenakh teaches that there is no point worrying about why because humans can’t understand God’s reasons for doing things. This is because they believe that God must have a reason for evil and suffering but humans can’t understand it as they aren’t God as said in the Book of Job.
• A second response is that the book of Psalms in the Tenakh shows that suffering is intended to be a part of life. This is important because the other side of suffering is joy.