GCSE Religious Studies: Good and Evil Concepts
GCSE Religious Studies: Good and Evil Concepts
Name:
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Key Concepts in
Philosophy and Ethics:
Good & Evil
1. Good and Evil: Good things are approved of and can be called ‘moral’ or ‘acceptable’.
Bad things are disapproved of and can be considered ‘immoral’ or unacceptable. For
Christians, the Bible states what is considered ‘good’ and ‘evil’ in God’s eyes, e.g.
murder.
2. Forgiveness: To let go of the suffering someone has caused you and to move on.
Jesus said to ‘forgive seventy times seven’, because we expect forgiveness ourselves.
3. Free Will: The ability to make free choices in life. Christians believe that they have the
free will to choose whether to follow God’s laws.
4. Justice: When people get equal rights and opportunities. Jesus supported and
promoted justice in his teachings. For example, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
5. Morality: A system of values, telling us what is right and wrong. The Bible guides
Christians to understand moral behaviour and act in accordance with
God’s expectations.
6. Punishment: Making someone suffer pain or loss for a wrongdoing. For example, ‘at
the end of time, God will be the final judge.’
7. Sin: An immoral act that goes against one of God’s laws. Christians believe that sins
need to be atoned for and reconciliation must happen in order to gain God’s forgiveness
for the sins we have committed during our lives.
8. Suffering: Experiencing pain, distress or hardship. Christians believe that suffering can
be a test from God or a way of sharing in the suffering of Jesus’.
Suffering Forgiveness
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Morality
Morality
What makes an act ‘wrong’?
Morality is concerned with what is right and wrong. We begin learning from
the moment we are born. At first we learn from the people who bring us up
but as we grow, so do our influences. The way we learn about the correct way
to behave in our own society, and the habits, customs, language and manners
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of our society is called socialisation. We also slowly learn what is right and what is wrong, what is good and
what is bad.
Christians believe that all humans were given a conscience by God. A conscience is an inner voice which
tells your right from wrong and it is believed that this comes into play each time we are faced with a
decision.
Aristotle, a philosopher, came up with a list of virtues that we need to gain through education in order to
have a happy life.
Aristotle believes in absolute morality - it is always good to be honest, kind, courageous etc. Other modern
virtue ethicists say that values change, and different societies hold up believe that different virtues are
desirable.
For example, today in Britain, strong, intelligent women are considered virtuous. However, a hundred
years ago, women were considered virtuous if they were seen and not heard, or if they obeyed their
husband.
Some of the ways we begin to discover what is right and wrong are:
By consequence – if you do this, such and such a thing will happen
By example – watching how others behave
By experience – if you do something yourself you find out what happens
By emotions – the reactions of others e.g. making someone happy/sad/angry
By following rules – the law or the Ten Commandments
For Christians, morality is influenced by scripture (the Bible), religious leaders, the official teaching of their
religion and personal conscience. There are two types of morality that affect
the decisions people make - absolute morality and relative morality.
Absolute morality
If you believe in absolute morality you believe that actions are
always right or wrong, regardless of circumstance, culture,
religious tradition, time or age.
How would a follower of this sort of morality respond to the
commandment 'Do not kill'? They would try to make sure that
they were not involved in any killing, which would affect their
views on issues such as war, abortion and euthanasia. An
absolutist would say that these actions are wrong in all
circumstances.
Relative morality
If you believe in relative morality you believe that what is
considered ‘moral’ will vary from situation to situation.
How would a follower of this sort of morality respond to
the commandment 'Do not kill'? They would agree that
killing is wrong, but would look at a range of other issues as
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well and say that sometimes killing might be necessary in a particular situation, such as abortion, if
continuing the pregnancy would result in the birth of a very disabled child, or if the mother had been
raped.
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Crime
The Seven Deadly Sins Crime vs Sin
Religions agree on the 7 deadly sins:
1. Pride Some sins are not considered crimes in our
2. Greed society, e.g. adultery or working on a Sunday
3. Lust (these are both against Ten
4. Envy Commandments)
5. Gluttony
6. Wrath Unlike crime, which can lead to punishment,
7. Sloth sin can lead to personal suffering, offending
God or excommunication (being cut off from
Questions About Crime the Church) or even exclusion from heaven
What is Crime?
Any offence that is punishable by law
TASK 4: Complete the post-its using the information about crime and sin!
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Crime in 21 Britain
st Cause of Crime
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◦Retribution: This is revenge or ‘getting even’ with the person who has committed the crime. For some victims
of crime, this is the only way they feel that justice can be done.
◦Deterrence: To deter or put people off doing the crime. Historically, this was the main purpose of the death
penalty. For a deterrent to work, the criminals who are caught need to be made an example of in order to warn
others in society not to commit crime.
◦Reformation: This attempts to address the cause of crime by rehabilitating or reforming offenders so that they
can understand why their action was an offence. Reform can take the shape of therapy, counselling, education
or training.
TASK 5: Explain which of the aims of punishment would be the most effective, in
your opinion. You must explain why.
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Justice
Restorative Justice: A system of justice
that enables criminals to make amends for
their behaviour by meeting with their victim
and apologising.
What is Justice?
•Fairness, fair trial and punishment that fits the
crime
•Maintaining justice is a key feature of a moral
society
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•Justice cannot be achieved without some form of punishment. However the punishment must address the cause of the
crime and reflect the severity of the crime, e.g. a murderer shouldn’t be given a fine and person who stole some sweets
shouldn’t go to prison for life
•They believe that it is important to recognise and address the causes of criminal
behaviour, such as poverty, unemployment and poor social conditions as a means of
restoring social justice and preventing crime.
•Punishment should enable a person to reform - to change their ways and to be of value to
the community
•“Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
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Most people, regardless of faith, believe that humans should be given a second chance if
they are genuinely sorry for what they have done, going by the principle to ‘treat others as
you would like to be treated.’
TASK 6: Create a Newspaper article for ‘Justice’ magazine, explaining the justice
system, prisons and the treatment of prisoners. You could include interviews or
comments from people in prison or who work in a prison.
Justice magazine
Picture
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rehabilitation and seeing to their spiritual needs
Prisoners need someone who is not a prison officer or warden for support due to their complex
emotions regarding fear, loneliness, guilt or family concerns
Chaplains also help prisoners to re-enter the community, working with parole officers and other
volunteers
Families of inmates also have
access to prison chaplains
Family members can be the victims
of the inmates’ crimes and require
the care of the chaplain just as much
as the inmate
Chaplains do not have to be
religious. 32% of prison chaplains
are not religious
This is especially important as often prisoners are unable to attend funerals of loved
ones or benefit from the type of community support offered to those who have suffered
the loss of family or friends.
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Capital Punishment / The Death Penalty
The death penalty, also known as
Capital Punishment, has been a
type of punishment for thousands of
years for the worst criminal
behaviours.
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Christian Attitudes to the Death Penalty
Liberal Christians Quakers (Liberal Christians)
Only God has the right to take a life
Execution goes against the sanctity of life The Quakers have campaigned against the
All life is precious and only God should end it death penalty since 1818
“Thou shalt not kill,” is a clear commandment
Jesus taught us to be compassionate and All human life should be respected and
forgiving everyone is a reflection of God/contains a little
Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery of God
and also pleases with God for his executioners
to be forgiven when he was on the cross Punishments should always be used to reform
“Father forgive them, for they know not what
they do.” Some of the first prison reformers were
Christians favour reform over execution. Many Quakers who worked to maintain the dignity
work as Chaplains in prisons. and humanity of prisoners
Jesus taught ‘turn the other cheek’, to love our
enemies and to forgive. Execution makes these “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful
impossible. to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it
is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at
peace with everyone.”
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Humanist Attitudes to the Death
Penalty
1. Capital punishment is generally
opposed by humanists because they
think premeditated killing is wrong,
even when carried out by the state
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Arguments Against the Death Penalty
Capital Punishment
Two stances:
Capital punishment is OK Capital punishment is not OK
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Humanist Attitudes to Forgiveness
Forgiveness can also be evidenced through Jesus’ actions and Bible stories:
Jesus’ Actions:
Jesus visited Zacchaeus, despite his cheating and greed. This enabled Zacchaeus to make amends
and reform.
Jesus forgve the adulterous woman, saying that ‘he who has not
sinned can throw the first stone’.
Bible Stories:
The Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches about forgiveness. A son
demands his inheritance from his father, abandons his family and
wastes his money. Later, poor and hungry, he returns to his father
who forgives his son and welcomes him back.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant tells us that we must
forgive others, ‘Seventy times seven’, in order to be forgiven. So,
Christians believe they should forgive a limitless number of times
because they will be forgiven by God for their many sins.
“If you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
(Matthew 6:15)
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How do Christians get forgiveness?
For Roman Catholics, forgiveness is supported through confession and atonement, e.g. prayers.
RCs believe that Christ started the sacrament of penance and they believe that God’s forgiveness is
granted through a priest’s pardon after confession
Evangelical Christians believe that forgiveness is granted by God and reliant upon faith. Here,
confession is not accepted as a route to forgiveness.
Gee Walker
◦Mother of Anthony Walker who was murdered during a racially
motivated attack in Liverpool in 2005.
◦“I have to forgive them. I cannot hate. Hate is what killed Anthony.”
Desmond Tutu
◦A civil rights activist during apartheid in an African church
◦“When you forgive…it sets you free.”
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Christian attitudes to forgiveness
How do Christians get forgiveness?
Suffering
Christians view suffering in the following ways:
1. Suffering can be seen to be a test
2. Suffering is a punishment for sin and Roman Catholics believe that it is a result of original sin
3. Suffering is a part of God’s plan – we might not understand it but we should know that God will
never allow us to suffer beyond our ability to cope with it
4. Suffering enables Christians to appreciate what is good in the world and allows them to grow
close to Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross for the sins of humanity
5. Stories from the Bible, e.g. Job, teach Christians that anyone can suffer and that persevering
with
suffering can strengthen faith in God
Humanists view suffering as:
1. A result of choice that humans have over their lives. Humans must take some responsibility in
how their lives work out.
2. Some evils, e.g. war, famine and poverty are caused or made worse by human greed and
foolishness
3. Some evils, e.g. earthquakes, floods, etc, may have natural causes or happen by chance, just
because the world is the way it is
4. Often, those who suffer most are not to blame
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5. Humanists see the idea of ‘Original Sin’ as unjust and cruel. How can a new-born baby be
sinful?
6. Not all humans are innately flawed and ‘sinful’ – it is up to humans to fight evil and suffering in
the world
TASK 11: You are an Agony Aunt, responding to the letter sent to you from Mr X.
Write back to him, giving thorough, detailed and relevant advice.
Dear Mr X,
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Yours sincerely,
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None of these are very satisfactory conclusions, however Christians have their own solutions to
the Problem of Evil and Suffering:
1. Free will was given to humans by God, therefore humans have to choose to do ‘good’ and
avoid ‘evil’
2. RC: as a result of original sin, humans find it easier to do wrong, but with the help of God they
can choose to do good. Those who sin can atone and gain forgiveness for their sin through prayer
and, for Roman Catholics, confession and penance.
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TASK 12: Complete the chart below stating the arguments for and against the
existence of a good God.
Arguments for the existence of a Arguments against the existence of a
good God good God
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What is ‘Good’?
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God created people with free will and, because we are not robots, we choose good or evil. Choosing evil
causes suffering to happen.
Some believe that evil exists because it is necessary for people to develop or complete their moral souls.
This is called a ‘soul-making’ theory. We need to learn about morality and develop the proper virtues,
which we cannot do without the existence of suffering and evil.
St Irenaeus: Believed that humans were not created perfect, but that they require growth to become
spiritually perfect and moral. God allows evil to
exist to enable spiritual growth.
Hick argued that since we cannot rationalise the suffering in the world, we mustn’t be able to understand
God’s plan or reasons.
Hick believes that humans were born at a great distance from God. Therefore the process of soul-
making involves the struggle to find religious faith.
Roman Catholics: Original Sin is the cause of sin. Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God caused evil to
enter the world. Since then, people have been born with the ability to commit acts of evil. Every baby is
born with ‘original sin’.
Life as a test?
The story of Job tells Christians that we should not question why we suffer, but accept that we do. “God
works in mysterious ways,” and he has reasons for letting evil and
suffering happen, but humans will never be able to understand the
mind of God.
God chooses the suffering for us and God has a greater purpose.
Christians are reassured with the knowledge that God is
compassionate and understanding and will never give humans
more suffering than they are truly able to cope with.
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TASK 12: Create a leaflet to explain what is ‘good’, what is ‘evil’ and the Christian
responses or attitudes to ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Focus on the information and not on the
images!
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