Issues of Good and Evil

Morality

• Morality – what is right and wrong

• Absolute morality – a person always follows the rules with no exceptions

• Relative morality – a person holds a moral principle which they are prepared to adapt to the situation

• How do people make moral decisions?

• People get their idea of what is right and wrong from parents, society, the law, God, religious leaders, religious scriptures, their conscience, reason and logic, past experiences and non-religious beliefs and values.

Evil and suffering in Christianity

• Sin is an act against God’s will

• evil and suffering are explained by free will, e.g. Adam and Eve were punished for their sin, they chose to go against God and eat the forbidden fruit

• conscience – a faculty inside of us which decides between right or wrong, it is informed by its knowledge of God and God’s laws in the Bible; it can make us feel guilt

• Irenaeus said humans were created in the image of God but they will grow to be like children of God

• One way in which humans learn is by making mistakes

• John Hick argued that God allows evil and suffering in the world in order to develop humans into virtuous (good) creatures capable of following his will; experiencing suffering makes humans more compassionate

Evil and Suffering in Hinduism

• Suffering happens because of the sum of all the bad karma from a person’s previous lives.

• People can strive to break free from suffering in this world and reach moksha by living a spiritual life (through yoga, meditation or worship) and by being virtuous (of good character) and selfless.

Causes of Crime

• Social reasons: peer pressure

• Environmental reasons: home background, poverty, lack of education

• Psychological reasons: human nature, greed jealousy; or deep-rooted problems, such as sociopaths

• Drug addiction: being under the influence or addicts stealing to fund habit

Christian attitudes to Crime and Punishment

• Ten Commandments – You shall not steal, You shall not murder, You shall not take the name of God in vain… Many of the commandments have shaped state laws.

• St. Paul said follow the state law as God has given permission for it to exist

• governments are God’s tools on earth, to keep order and justice

• Jesus said ‘love your neighbour’

• punishments must be fair and offenders should be treated humanely

• punishment must include to opportunity to reform

Christianity and Justice

• Justice is fairness: where everyone has equal provisions and opportunity.

• Christians believe in a God of justice.

• The Old Testament says: ‘let justice roll on like a river; righteousness like a never-failing stream.’ (Amos)

• God judges who goes to Heaven who goes to Hell

Christianity and Forgiveness

• repentance means saying sorry to God for your sins

• Forgiveness – to grant a pardon for a wrongdoing

• God is a God of love who is merciful and forgives sinners who repent

• The Lord’s Prayer teaches, ‘forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’

• Jesus also taught, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.’

• In Matthew, Jesus says that if you forgive others then God will forgive you.

• Jesus said ‘forgive seventy times seven,’ meaning forgiveness should be limitless

Hindu attitudes to Crime and Punishment

• dharma is law and order and our duty which includes respecting all others

• karma is our actions, good and bad and the effects they have

• paapa is antisocial action which must be avoided as it brings bad karma, and a lower reincarnation ultimately

• punishment which follows the aims of retribution, protection and reformation

Hinduism and Justice

Hindus believe that the rulers (the Kshatriya class) have a responsibility to make sure justice is carried out.

Aims of Punishment

• Protection: protecting the public from law-breakers by removing criminals

• Retribution: paying someone back, a punishment that fits the crime, ‘an eye for an eye’

• Deterrence: severe punishment to put the offender and others off committing the crime

• Reformation: aim to change the criminal’s ways and teach them to be responsible

• Vindication: punishment reminds people of the importance of the law and to make people respect it

• Reparation: being made to make up for what you have done

Prison reform

• Prison reform: campaign to improve conditions in prisons

• John Howard, a Christian campaigned in the 18th C. for clean running water, separate cells for men and women, access to doctors for prisoners and a greater numbers of prison officers for the safety and support of prisoners

• help the prisoners to deal with fear, loneliness, guilt and concerns about family and children.

• they help them re-enter the community when released or to start work

• they will also meet with the family of offenders

• they do not have to be religious, e.g. the Humanist Society provides chaplains too

Capital Punishment

Capital punishment - the death penalty

• US, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia all have it

• 110 countries have abolished it

• various methods in the world today include lethal injections, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, firing squad

Arguments for capital punishment

• murderers should pay ‘a life for a life’

• it is a severe punishment which puts people off the crime

• it gives justice to the victims and their families

• life sentences do not mean life

• it is the most fitting punishment for some terrible crimes e.g. terrorism

Arguments against capital punishment

• two wrongs do not make a right, it is uncivilised

• it does not deter, look at the number of murders in the US, and murder is often done on the spur of the moment

• it is a contradiction to condemn murder and take the life of the murderer

• executing terrorists makes them martyrs

• execution (and death row) are inhumane

Amnesty International - a human rights organisation which campaigns against execution

Christian attitudes to Capital Punishment

• capital punishment does not give the criminal chance to ask for forgiveness and to reform

• Jesus believe in non-retaliation, he was against ‘an eye for an eye’; he said ‘turn the other cheek’

• ‘never pay back evil for evil.’ (St. Paul)

• but some Christians ignore this and quote the Old Testament which says ‘an eye for an eye’, it allowed the death penalty for murder and even adultery

Hindu attitudes to Capital Punishment

• the scripture the Laws of Manu allows the death penalty for murder, even theft and adultery

• however, ahimsa is the Hindu principle that you must cause no harm to anything living

• harming creates bad karma for the person who does it

• Gandhi taught ‘an eye for an eye and soon the whole world will be blind'

• criminals will be reincarnated according to their karma