It is also believed that God is compassionate and understands the suffering of his people. In becoming a person in the form of Jesus, he became involved with the pain humans experienced. The evil brought into the world through sin caused the punishment of death. Through Jesus, God took on this punishment and suffered death on the cross. This is because it is believed that humanity was made ‘in the image of God.’ (Gensis 1:27.)
According to Christians, the price for sin is paid and the example is the victory of death in the resurrection (i.e. the Passion). Evil can be conquered and hope will be given to those who suffer for eternal life:
‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gates of Heaven and let us in.’ Words of a hymn sung at Easter.
Christianity also teaches that God is loving and forgiving. Although everyone has done wrong, they will be forgiven if they are truly sorry because of their faith in Christ.
To distinguish the difference between good and evil, Christians believe that God gave us a conscience. Whether we choose to go with our consciences, it is up to us as we have the free will to do so. He knows if we will obey or disobey him but it still comes down to God wanting us to have a free will to choose our own path to follow in life. It is as if God is trying to teach us a lesson about what is good and what is evil before we reach Heaven.
The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus is important to modern day Christians, as it gives a message of support from God. Though suffering is not pleasant, good can come of it. If we look at the example of Christ, he had to suffer but rose from death. Jesus experienced physical suffering when he made his way to Golgotha or ‘The Place of the Skull’ (Mark 15:22). Several Christians argue that Mark wrote so much about suffering as he wanted to emphasise what it meant to follow Christ, furthermore, by becoming a Christian, you will probably have to suffer for what you believe. Those who suffer hideous and torturous deaths similar to Jesus will also share in his resurrection.
Jesus also stated that for a person to follow him, they must carry their cross, “…he must take up his cross, and come with me…” (Mark 8:34). The modern day Christians’ cross us everything which causes a burden to them, e.g. Sin, a troublesome situation and worry of something or someone.
Some Christians believe that this is God’s answer to human suffering, not to automatically wipe out all that is wrong with the world, but to take on suffering himself. He made himself weak, vulnerable at the mercy of other humans; all this, just to safeguard human freedom, to offer us the chance to either accept him, or crucify him. By suffering eternally, he made our sufferings temporary so that one-day we would be free; ‘God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain.’ (Revelation 21.4 – end of the world.)
Christians today still believe that Jesus died to overcome the sin, which separates men and women from God. They would say that no matter how hard we try, we cannot really be as good and we ought to be. If the world were judged tomorrow in a kind of cosmic law court, none of us would do very well. But according to Christianity, God did not want this to happen, the love and obedience of Jesus had in dying can still somehow make up for everything that men and women do wrong. The idea that Jesus’ death puts everything right between God and the world I regarded as ‘the Atonement.’ Down the centuries, Christians have come to agree, on the way in which, most of the big ideas of Christianity function. For instance, they quite quickly realised that the idea that Jesus showed what God was like, meant that he was a ‘God-made man;’ ‘Who fears to suffer cannot belong to Him who suffered.’ (Tertullian 3rd Century CE.)
Overall, Christians believe that evil is a mystery and only God can understand good and evil; ‘God sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy.’ (Ecclesistates 3.4 Old Testament – futility of life.)
B) Explain how followers of the religion you are studying may be influenced by these beliefs.
Christians are faced with everyday situations that question their moral values. Their belief in Christianity can help them to overcome these obstacles in life.
Most of the time, Christians would listen to their conscience as they believe that this is a gift that God has given them.
Pray
Act out Christ in their life
Ten commandments
bible
C) ‘If God really loved humanity we would never have to suffer.’ Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to the religion which you are studying in your answer.
The Problem of Evil is a philosophical challenge for many people, including Christians. The presence of evil, pain and suffering in our world is the most persistent argument raised against theism. The following are several of the main responses to the presence of evil in the world and its impact on the existence of the God of the Bible.
Athiests (Those who disbelieve or deny the existence of a God) would agree with this statement by referring to the Problem of Evil:
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If God is all powerful, He must be able to abolish evil. Therefore, he is not omnipotent.
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If He is perfectly loving, He must wish to abolish evil.
- But evil exists, and the problem is if you affirm these two facts, you cannot affirm the third.
There are two more arguments that support this. The first case is the following:
- God is the author of the universe and everything
- Evil is something.
- Therefore God is the author of evil.
Here is the second:
- God made everything perfect.
- Imperfection cannot derive from perfection.
- Therefore, perfect humans cannot be the origin of evil.
- Therefore, God must be the origin.
Finally, here is the concluding attack against Christian beliefs about the basis of evil:
- If God is all good, He would prohibit evil.
- If God is omnipotent, He could destroy evil.
- But evil is not destroyed and still exists today.
- Hence, there is no such being as God.
Although God created the fact of freedom, humans perform the act of freedom. Also, God made evil possible; but free will humans make evil actual. The ability to do something does not necessitate doing it. God is able to control everything, yet he allows free will for a reason. If it is for a reason, then it does not mean that he is not all-powerful or loving. The Agnostic belief reduces this to a moral judgment that absence of all evil is more desirable than freedom. Secular Humanists prefer freedom in society even if it sometimes results in evil, and I somehow agree with them. I think most Atheists and Agnostics resist the idea of governmental attempts to eliminate evil by the use of control. For instance, many people are able to do something about the situation in the Third World by giving money to charity for example, yet they decide not to.
I do not think there is much point in not working to keep ourselves happy throughout our lives. Is there anything to achieve in life, if we are already happy and there is no suffering? I also believe that it is more rewarding to achieve something if we work hard for it. If God does exist, I believe he does love humanity. Again, what is the point in creating a world of humans who always do the right thing? No one would learn anything and no one would accomplish a goal, as most of the time we are achieving something to make ourselves happy (even if it is by making others happy). I also believe that free will is of moral value. Consequently, a world with free will is better than one without it. I also believe that free will is of moral value. Consequently, a world with free will is better than one without it.
To argue these particular statements, I agree with the following Christian point of view; Christians believe that God gave humans the right to choose and make our own decisions in life. I think it is true that the continued existence of evil in society enables people to distinguish the difference between good and evil, and also learn from their mistakes. When people commit a sin, others are able to know what is good and learn from this particular experience. If there is no evil, are people able to fully appreciate what is good? It also strengthens the relationship between themselves and God also, and a community can fortify their union. It is common knowledge that people learn from other experiences.
In addition, if God did not love humanity, then he would not bring people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Theresa into the world to make the world a better place. From these people, humanity is inspired to do the same and change the world.
Suffering definitely makes the majority of us stronger and more independent people, and we become more realistic and familiar with what can go wrong and what would work in life. Saying that, it is easier for me to say, as I am not one of the millions of people suffering in the Third World. When it comes to this situation, it is hard for me to comprehend the fact that these people have suffered for years although they have worked physically and mentally harder each day, than any of us have throughout our whole lives. Yet, they still desperately struggle to feed their families. Sometimes, evil is brought upon those who
I think it is easy to blame God for this because society has been taught that God created the universe and humans. But if God did not create the universe, then we are still unable to justify what is actually evil so it does not really matter who is to blame. Just because there is suffering in the world, it does not mean that God doesn’t love humans. Every good thing always eliminates every evil that it knows about and can eliminate. Whether it eradicates evil fully or not, we are still doing good and I feel people do not recognise this enough. People focus more on evil, such as the child killers in the case of toddler James Bulger. The media spent much time magnifying the situation of the killers, but did not stop to think about the emotional disturbance and unsettlement that James’ family were experiencing. I feel that this is why their family has had no justification within the Legal system. I cannot grasp why they lived a more luxurious life in prison than that of the Bulger family. Furthermore, why millions of pounds of our tax money was spent on keeping them in unnecessary luxury.
Finally, my remaining point of view is with an optimistic Eschatological (focusing on how the future will ultimately be the true standard by which the present will be judged) value:
- If God is all-powerful, then He can defeat evil.
- If God is all loving and good, He will defeat evil.
- Therefore, evil will be defeated (it is all God’s plan.)
Essentially I do not think that someone should be blamed whatever our different beliefs, but whatever is wrong we should try and put right; ‘Your pain has a purpose. I can’t tell you what that purpose is – that is something you will discover in your own walk with God.’ (John Haggai 20th Century.)
