Evil and suffering - The nature of God and Jesus in Christianity - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - Eduqas - BBC Bitesize (2024)

FAQs

Why God allows evil and suffering in Christianity? ›

Evil and suffering in this life is a preparation for Heaven close HeavenA place, or a state of mind, associated with God and the afterlife.. Evil and suffering give people a chance to become better people and improve their souls. Christianity teaches that God will reward them in Heaven.

Many Christians believe that evil and suffering is not God's fault. According to Genesis 1, God created humans in His image, which means He created them with free will. To be free, means to be free to do either good or evil. As well as this, Christians feel evil and suffering may be part of God's plan.

This suggests that, because evil and suffering clearly exist in the world, either God does not exist or he cannot be omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient. Some religious people find that when they experience evil and suffering, it can present a challenge to their faith. They may reject religion as a result.

Response 1 Christians believe that God wants them to help people who are suffering. They can do this by praying for those who are suffering, or by helping those who are suffering – for example through a Christian charity. Response 2 Christians believe that evil and suffering are not God's fault.

Praying - Christians should pray either that God will remove the causes of evil or that He should help Christians to bear evil and suffering. If a person has committed a moral evil, eg murder, a Christian would not believe it was their place to judge.

The church believes God is goodness itself and wills and creates only good, even working for the good of those who love him. God could have created a world without the possibility of evil, but he willed to create the world in a "state of journeying" to its consummation (the time when evil will no longer exist).

According to the problem of evil, if God was truly omnipotent, He would be able to prevent all evil. If He was truly omnibenevolent, He would want to prevent evil, and being omniscient, He would know how to.

Evil is a cause of human suffering. There are two types of evil: moral evil – the acts of humans which are considered to be morally wrong, eg murder and theft. natural evil – natural disasters, eg earthquakes or tsunamis, which humans have no control over.

It has often been claimed that the existence of evil provides a conclusive disproof of the existence of God. For, the atheist argues, if God exists, then being omniscient, he knows under what circ*mstances evil will occur, if he does not act; and being omnipotent, he is able to prevent its occurrence.

What does the Catholic Church teach about evil and suffering? ›

Catholicism teaches that love can arise from evil and suffering, and that love is an important part of human life. The Catholic Church sees human suffering as a chance to follow the example of Christ and believe that it is a part of God's plan.

God allows suffering because it is a byproduct of sin. Sin happens because God gave us free will, even though he opposes sin and helps us overcome it when we are willing. God gave us free will because he loves us.

He was betrayed: “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). He was taken captive: “Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him” (Matthew 26:50). He was deserted: “Then all the disciples left him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; Arabic: طريق الآلام; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus took, forced by the Roman soldiers, on the way to his crucifixion.

Suffering as a Tool of Sanctification

Suffering causes our focus to turn inward, to face those parts of ourselves we might otherwise ignore. God can use suffering then to develop us into better people: the people who can love and enjoy Him forever (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).

Because He knows this and loves us, He doesn't usually interfere with the consequences of our choices. If He forced us to make the right decisions, it would be impossible for us to grow and reach our divine potential. It would be impossible to live by faith in Him and His plan for our happiness.

The promise of the gospel is not a life free of pain. We are promised the presence of God regardless of what we face. We can be sure that God is with us in our suffering. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.”

To oppress people arouses God to action; He will not hold back His righteous response. His ways are above our ways, so nothing escapes the focus of His eyes. In His timing, in His holy plan and purpose, God will judge those who oppress the needy and the poor. At times, God provides a part of that justice here and now.

The theodicy argues that humans have an evil nature in as much as it is deprived of its original goodness, form, order, and measure due to the inherited original sin of Adam and Eve, but still ultimately remains good due to existence coming from God, for if a nature was completely evil (deprived of the good), it would ...