SECTION 2 JUDAISM- TOPIC 2.2.3 JEWISH ATTITUDES TO GOOD EVIL AND SUFFERING

Question 1

The nature of good actions

Answer 1

-To obey a mitzvah is to perform a good action
-The Torah makes clear that good actions will be rewarded by God

Question 2

The nature of evil actions

Answer 2

-ones which go against the mitzvot
-The punishment for evil actions will come after death

Question 3

Types of evil actions?

Answer 3

-Moral evil is evil that is caused by humans misusing their free will

-Natural evil is suffering that has not been caused by humans.

Question 4

Non-religious attitudes to evil and suffering

Answer 4

-If God is omnipotent (all-powerful), he must be able to remove evil and suffering from the world

-If God is omnibenevolent (all-good), he must want to remove evil and suffering from the world because they cause so much unhappiness.

-As there is evil and suffering in the world, either God is not omnipotent, or God is not omnibenevolent, or God does not exist.

Question 5

The Jewish answer to why people suffer

Answer 5

-The Tenakh teaches that there is no point in worrying about the problem because humans cannot understand God’s reasons for doing things.
PARABLE OF JOb

-The Book of Psalms in the Tenakh shows that suffering is intended to be a part of life.

-that suffering is a test of an individual’s spirit
and commitment to God.

-Jews suffered during the Shoah to bring
the world back to God.

-free-will -humans have a genuine choice between good and evil.