Christian Teachings about Good, Evil & Suffering (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B)

Christian teachings about good and evil actions

Christianity and freewill

• Many Christians would use the Biblical story of creation as an explanation for why human being commit crimes and cause suffering

  • The Bible teaches that God made a perfect world for humans

  • God gave humans the gift of free will to make their own decisions

  • The first humans Adam and Eve were permitted to do anything they wanted in the Garden of Eden, apart from eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge 

  • Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent and tempted her to convince Adam to eat from the tree so that they could have knowledge of God

  • Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge and God was furious with them

  • He banished them from the Garden, causing them to live in a difficult world in which death occurred, crops sometimes did not grow and childbirth was painful 

  • The worst punishment for Adam and Eve was their separation from God  

  • As the world was separate from God, natural evil (death from natural disasters) occurred

  • Moral evil (murder, rape etc.) also became more prevalent as it was hard for humans to use their free will to make good moral choices 

• Some Christians, such as Creationist Christians, interpret the Genesis account of the Original Sin literally and believe that all evil and suffering is either sin or punishment for sin

• Most Christians, including Roman Catholics, feel that the story is symbolic, and they believe that it is there to help us to understand that evil and suffering occur because of human free will

• As God is different to us, he is separate from us, and therefore it is difficult for us to make good moral choices

Good and evil actions in Christianity

• Christians believe that when they die, they will be rewarded or punished for their actions in life

• Christianity teaches that the soul lives on after death (immortality of the soul) and that the body will brought back to life (resurrected) for Judgement Day

  • They believe in resurrection because it is written in the bible and Jesus himself was resurrected after his crucifixion

• Christians believe that God will judge your deeds, and you will go to either heaven or hell

  • Heaven is depicted as a paradise where you will spend eternity with God

  • Hell is depicted as a place of torment and pain where there is an absence of God

• The belief in an afterlife affects their way that Christian live their own lives and also influences how they might treat other people

  • Christians are less likely to commit crime and cause harm to others

  • Christians may believe that those who do harm to others will receive justice in the after life

Non-religious attitudes to suffering

Atheism and suffering

• Non-religious attitudes to suffering can vary widely depending on many different factors

• Religious views interpret suffering through the lens of one particular religious view but non-religious views do not

• While religions often seek to interpret suffering as part of a divine plan or spiritual growth, non-religious world-views tend to focus more on understanding suffering through natural, psychological, and social lenses

  • Atheists may emphasise the need for practical efforts to reduce suffering wherever possible

• In non-religious world-views, suffering is typically seen as a part of life that can be understood, and those who suffer can be helped through human action, empathy, and rational approaches

Humanism and suffering

• Humanists believe that suffering is a result of natural or social causes, and that the situation can be improved through human intervention, compassion, and improvements to society

• Humanism is an ethical approach that focuses on human dignity, autonomy, and the capacity for reason

• For humanists, suffering is often seen as a natural part of life, but it is something that human beings can work to improve through compassion, social justice, and scientific progress

• Suffering is not seen as something that has a purpose, but rather as something that can be improved by focusing upon the conditions that cause it, whether through healthcare, education, social equity, or emotional support

Divergent Christian views on suffering

Christian responses to suffering

• Many Christians believe that there are two main ways to respond to evil and suffering in the world

• Christians believe that prayer can help them to deal with suffering

  • Christians may pray to God to remove the causes of evil or for Christians to help Christians to deal with the difficulties of evil and suffering

  • If a person has committed a moral evil, such as stealing, Christianity teaches that it is not people's place to judge, but that God should be trusted to punish the person for their action

• Christians may also respond to suffering by helping those who are suffering

  • Their faith teaches Christians that they should follow Jesus' example in life

  • This means that they should help those who are suffering, through their actions

  • There are teachings which make it clear how Christians should respond to suffering and evil

    • In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus returns to reward all those who have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited those in prison, and cared for the sick, and teaches Christians to care for those who are suffering

    • Jesus' message here is that by ignoring a sick or hungry person, a Christian would be ignoring Jesus himself

  • Christians are also taught in the words of the Lord's Prayer to forgive others just as they have been forgiven

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• Many Christians also campaign and act to minimise the effects of natural evil, for example, the impact of earthquakes on those with poor quality housing

• Christians may also seek to understand and believe there to be a purpose to suffering

  • Christians believe that God has given mankind, free will or the opportunity to make choices and by giving mankind these choices, God has accepted that sometimes mankind will make the wrong choices

  • Some Christians may believe that suffering was brought into the world because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Genesis account of creation

  • Some Christians believe that suffering is necessary and is part of God’s plan, and people who suffer will be rewarded with eternal paradise

    • The Biblical story of Job tells of someone who suffers greatly and had his faith tested but ultimately kept his faith in God