Christian Beliefs in Good and Evil

2271 Words5 Pages

Christian Beliefs in Good and Evil

Religious Education

A.) Describe what Christians may believe about the power of good

and the power of evil

B.) Explain how Christians may be influenced by these beliefs

C.) ‘If God really loved humanity we would never have to suffer.’

Do you agree?

A.) Describe what Christians may believe about the power of good

and the power of evil

The Christian God is believed to be both loving and omnipotent.

Christianity teaches that as well as a power of good there is also a

power of evil - traditionally this is said to be Satan (or Lucifer),

one of the archangels who disobeyed God and was sent to hell (Luke

10:18). Christians believe that the power of evil, almost like a

force, can persuade people to do the wrong thing. They also believe

that it is up to the individual person to make the right choice and to

follow God’s teachings, as God will judge us on how we lived our

lives, and whether or not we lived good lives. The Old Testament

teachings on the power of good and evil are based predominantly on the

story of Adam and Eve. The teachings in the Old Testament of good and

evil are in two chapters mainly; ‘Genesis’ and ‘Job’.

Christians believe that the first ever sin was committed in the Garden

of Eden. It is written in the creation story in Genesis that Adam and

Eve disobeyed a direct command from God, thus committing the first

sin. God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good

and evil.” (Genesis 3:22). God created Adam and Eve innocent but with

the ability to choose right or wrong. In doing so, they could respond

to His love and trust Him or...

... middle of paper ...

..., gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,

temperance” (Gal. 5:22-23). God is describing His spirit as

longsuffering, and some people believe that because God has suffered,

we must suffer ourselves in order to develop our characters.

To conclude, I do not agree with the statement. I believe that God

loves humanity and that the suffering which occurs in the world, no

matter how horrible or ghastly, is required by God for some reason

unbeknownst to me. I, like Job, have come to accept that if I cannot

understand God, I must retain my faith in Him at all times and carry

on obeying His teachings.

Bibliography

To aid me whilst writing my essay, I used the following…

“Discovery; Philosophy and Ethics”- Jon Mayled

“Christianity; A new approach”- Kevin O’Donnell

“Christianity”- Joe Jenkins

The Bible

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