Theme 2 - Good and Evil Flashcards
Conscience
Human reasoning making moral decisions. The knowledge that we have of what is right and wrong the God-given compulsion within all humans to do what is right and to avoid all evil
Evil
The absence of good and the impulse to seek our own desires at the expense if the good of others which often results in suffering
Free Will
The decision-making part if a person’s mind is called the will. A will is free if a person is able to choose right or wrong without being controlled by other forces
Goodness
The quality of being like God: seeking the well-being of others selflessly
Incarnation
‘Made flesh’
The Christian belief that God became man in the person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine
Natural law
Moral laws is right and wrong which are universal and not dependant on human laws.
Moral law is discoverable by evert human and is the same for all
Privation
The loss or absence if a quality or something that is usually present
Evil is a privation of good
Suffering
Pain or loss which causes human pain.
It is either natural or moral
What is moral evil?
Evil caused by human’s choice with free will
What is natural evil?
Evil caused by natural events that humans cannot control
What is the problem of evil for Catholics?
Catholics believe in an all loving God and a God who allows evil is not such
What is the inconsistent triad?
hume’s theory that God cannot be omnipotent and omnibenevolent if evil exists
How are the different types of evil solved?
Moral - laws in the judicial system
Natural- scientific work
What is St Augustine’s response to the problem of evil?
The existence of free will is why God allows evil.
What is Mackie’s response to the problem of evil?
There is far more and far worse suffering than is needed to contrast with the good in the world.
Rejects the argument that suffering helps us become better people.
Rejects the idea that evil is a result of free will
