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The Nature of God and the Problem of Evil

The Nature of God and the Problem of Evil. Learning Objectives To understand the keywords To understand how the problem of evil could lead to an disbelief in God. Keywords Moral Evil Natural evil Omnipotent Omniscient Benevolent. Moral Evil Or Natural Evil. Suffering. Suffering.

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The Nature of God and the Problem of Evil

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  1. The Nature of God and the Problem of Evil Learning Objectives To understand the keywords To understand how the problem of evil could lead to an disbelief in God. Keywords Moral Evil Natural evil Omnipotent Omniscient Benevolent

  2. Moral Evil Or Natural Evil

  3. Suffering

  4. Suffering

  5. Suffering

  6. Suffering

  7. Suffering What are the causes of suffering?

  8. Where does evil come from? • The Devil • A force • A psychological phenomenon

  9. 1. Christians and Muslims believe that there is a force of evil that goes against everything God represents.

  10. Belial • The Dragon • Leviathan • Ruler of this world • Unclean spirit He is called… • Satan • Shaytaan • Devil • Prince of Darkness • The Deceiver • Iblees • Beelzebub • Lucifer • Prince of Hell • The evil one • Old Nick • The enemy • Antichrist

  11. Satan is totally opposed to God and everything that God stands for.He is jealous of humans and wishes to destroy us using our own weaknesses and sin. He convinces us that our own way is better than God’s. Satan can take on any form.

  12. Lucifer to Satan (Christianity) God created angels with free will. Lucifer was his most perfect angel but was jealous of human and ambitious. He began a rebellion in heaven and turned many angels against God.

  13. Lucifer transformed himself into ‘Satan’ (the accuser)and launched a war in heaven.   By accusation, lies and deception, he intended to bring God down and destroy Him

  14. In his anger, God cast Satan out of heaven where he fell like lightning to rule over this world. Christians believe that here, Satan tempts people to sin then overwhelms them with shame and discouragement.

  15. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” The Bible says that Christ was tempted by the devil in His mission to save the world – Christians believe this story shows that we can all come under the devil’s spell.

  16. From Harith to Shaytaan (Islam) Allah created man and jinn to worship Him. Harith was the most pious Jinn. He was so pious he would stay with the angels. Muslims believe he was not an angel. Allah ordered Harith to prostrate before Adam. Harith refused and was chased from the company of the angels. Allah created Shaytaan to test man. Those who pass the test are promised eternal paradise.

  17. Summing up • Christians and Muslims believe in a powerful, evil being called the devil. • The devil causes evil in our world and is the constant enemy of God and mankind. • Muslims believe that the devil was never an angel and Christians believe he was.

  18. Blaming the devil Hansie Cronje was the captain of the South African cricket team. In 2000 he was accused of match fixing. During his trial, he said he had been tempted by the devil: 'In a moment of stupidity and weakness I allowed Satan and the world to dictate terms to me. The moment I took my eyes off Jesus my whole world turned dark.' On the 1st of June 2002 he tragically died in a plane accident. If you were the judge in the case how would you react to the person blaming the devil for a crime he committed? Show you have considered different opinions.

  19. 2. Evil is a force Many people believe that evil is a spiritual force. Humans can use their spiritual power for good or for evil. We can choose which force to follow.

  20. 3. Evil is a psychological phenomenon This idea is that some people have an imbalance in their mind from birth. These can be inherited or simply triggered through events in childhood.

  21. When a person is so mentally unbalanced that they perform evil deeds, we must look at the root causes of their problem. We will nearly always find that they themselves have been the victims of evil or abuse.

  22. The Christian Idea of God Omnipotent Omniscient Benevolent

  23. The Christian Response • Practically help people • Freewill • Test • Reasons beyond our understanding

  24. The Problem of Evil Posters Use a double page in your books to design a poster You must include the following The Nature of God What is the problem of evil and suffering The Christian response to evil and suffering

  25. Free Will Since evil is 'done' by human beings, it is up to each of them to eliminate evil. Evil acts are committed by choice. We are free to choose not to do evil. God gave human beings the 'gift' of free will. Human beings choose to use this gift for good or for evil.

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