Chapter 3

Good and Evil

Vocabulary

•sin – to turn away from God; a free and willful turning away from God’s law and love.

•sin of commission - sin through our thoughts, words, or deeds

•sin of omission - failing to do something we should do

•covenant – a sacred agreement between two parties that sets up a relationship or bond between them. The Scriptural covenant is between God and his people.

•obedience – loving response to God. Comes from the Latin meaning “to listen to.” Obedience means listening to God & freely acting to do his will

•disobedience – turning away from God’s will and friendship; not listening to God and acting in a way contrary to his will

•original sin – the human condition of weakness & tendency to sin that resulted from the first humans’ choice to disobey God. Only Jesus and Mary are free from original sin.

•contrition – the deep sorrow we feel when we sin; sincere sorrow for sin, strong dislike for sin, and the pledge not to sin again.

•imperfect contrition – sorrow for sins motivated by fear of God’s justice & punishment

•perfect contrition – sorrow for sins motivated by love of God and sorrow over offending him

Notes

Introduction• Everyone has bad days from

time to time, often from things we can’t control

• What matters is how we react to these things

• Sometimes we choose to do wrong instead of right

• God gives us the free will to choose right or wrong (good or evil)

Intro. (ctd.)•When we choose to do wrong,

we turn away from God & our true selves

•Why do we choose to do wrong?

The Beginning of Evil

•Sin has been part of human life since first humans’ free decision to turn away from God

•Book of Genesis helps us understand where evil comes from

•Evil does not come from God – God is all good

The First Sin•No problems in God’s garden

until serpent came•Serpent told woman that if

she ate the fruit of the tree, she would know what God knows

•Tree = knowledge of good & evil

The First Sin (ctd.)•God said not to eat its fruit;

woman did anyway & shared with husband

•When God found out, man & woman didn’t take responsibility

•Broke their relationship with God•Now hard work, pain, need,

death, sin & its consequences

The First Sin (ctd.)•Story = allegory, details not to be taken literally

•Teaches us about relationship with God, tendency to sin

One Sin after Another•Once sin came, never left

•Cain & Abel = Adam & Eve’s sons

•Cain = farmer; Abel = shepherd

•Both made offerings; only Abel’s were pleasing to God

•God warned Cain against sin; Cain didn’t listen, killed Abel

One Sin after Another (ctd.)

•God didn’t kill Cain but made him wander earth, marked him so none would kill him

•Sin multiplied as people multiplied

•People free to choose right but chose wrong – upset God

•God washed away everything on earth except Noah & family (rewarded for faithfulness)

One Sin after Another (ctd.)

• Ark = large floating container or boat

• After flood, covenant – God would never again destroy world by flood

• Rainbow = symbol of God’s promise to care for all living things

• God always with us, willing to forgive sins

God’s Friendship Never Ends

• First sin, act of disobedience, broke special connection with God

• Sin = part of human condition• Not satisfied; wanting more,

better; selfishness; planning without God original sin

• Original holiness lost, BUT GOD HAS NEVER TURNED AWAY FROM US

God’s Friendship Never Ends (ctd.)

•God still has plan for us•God will forgive, but we must

repent, ask forgiveness Sacrament of Reconciliation

•Reconciliation God’s mercy & forgiveness

•Baptism cleanses us of original sin

Making an Examination of Conscience

• Helps discover bad habits• Should be done regularly, before

Reconciliation• What have I done wrong, when

have I gone against teachings of Church?

• Result – see yourself clearly, honestly; keep from sin; remind of God’s call to love & friendship

Making an Examination of Conscience (ctd.)

•Consider relationship with God AND others (even those you don’t know)

•Story of Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32)

Turning Back to God•Contrition takes us back to God

• Individual experience, but can be expressed outwardly

•Biblical times – tearing clothes (sin tears us from God), wearing ashes (sign of mourning)

•Ashes during Lenten Season show repentance