FEEDBACK:

Theist AtheistAgnostic• Upbringing• They are ill/dying• Near death

experience• Miracle• Media influence• Guilty• Retribution• Guidance• Hope• To give life

meaning

• Upbringing• Death of a loved

one• Evil in the world• No proof• Media influence• Bad life• Peer pressure• Not cool• Science• Rebellion

• No proof either way

• Good arguments for and against

• For every good thing that happens

something bad happens too.

• They don’t care either way

Why believe that?

Look at the pictures on the sheet in front of you. What would the title of the sheet

be, and why?

Key words Write your own definition of

the following words in your book.

Evil

Suffering

Anything wrong or bad; an act or force that causes suffering or harm.

To feel pain; to be hurt or harmed in some way.

Now correct your definitions with green pen if they are different!

OBJECTIVE:

To use case studies to define the different types of evil and to

understand the problem this causes

for theists.

OUTCOMES…Grade C – Will be able to explain the difference between moral and natural evil using examples.

Grade B - Will be able to explain how God must have certain characteristics in order to logically be God.

Grade A – Will be able to explain how the existence of evil causes a problem for theists.

Your GOALS for the end of

this lesson are…

There are TWO types of Evil…

Write a definition of each in your book

MORAL NATURAL

Moral Evil Natural Evil

Copy the following table into your books

MORAL EVIL… This is EVIL and

SUFFERING caused by human beings and the choices we make.

This type of EVIL can be prevented or stopped.

EXAMPLES: Think of many examples as you can in 2 minutes and put them in your table.

NATURAL EVIL… This type of EVIL and

SUFFERING is caused by nature and natural disasters.

This type of EVIL cannot be prevented and very rarely stopped.

EXAMPLES: Think of many examples as you can in 2 minutes and put them in your table.

Are there any examples that you can think of that may fall into both the moral and natural EVIL categories?

OUTCOMES…Grade C – Will be able to explain the difference between moral and natural evil using examples.

Grade B - Will be able to explain how God must have certain characteristics in order to logically be God.

Grade A – Will be able to explain how the existence of evil causes a problem for theists.

Your GOALS for the end of

this lesson are…

Christian beliefs about God…

Look at the pictures on the next slide. They are clues

about what religious people believe God is like.

Can you work out the three Christian beliefs about

God….?

The bottom line is….why should God care about the suffering that goes on in the world?

To understand why evil and suffering is such a deal breaker to many people, you have to understand what God has to be in order, logically, to be God!

Three Christian beliefs about God

Omniscient – all knowing (scientists think they know everything) Omnipotent – all powerful Omni benevolent – all good / all loving (‘love’ backwards)

Key words with ‘easy cheats’ Write

down the definitions

and the cheats

OUTCOMES…Grade C – Will be able to explain the difference between moral and natural evil using examples.

Grade B - Will be able to explain how God must have certain characteristics in order to logically be God.

Grade A – Will be able to explain how the existence of evil causes a problem for theists.

Your GOALS for the end of

this lesson are…

Suffering raises lots of questions...

Can you think of a question a person may raise if the witness or experience some kind of suffering?

Why did this

happen?

Who’s fault is it?

Could it have been

prevented?These question lead many people to question the existence of God.

Many ATHEISTS believe that evil and suffering proves that God cannot exist.

Fill in p9 of your booklet – ‘Evil and Suffering- The problem for THEISTS’ by completing the unfinished sentences in some of the boxes.

TASK… What problem?

God is believed to be OMNI-BENEVOLENT, OMNIPOTENT and OMNISCIENT.

If God is OMNI-BENEVOLENT he would...LOVE us and not want us to feel pain through

evil and suffering.

If God is OMNISCIENT he would...

KNOW that people were suffering in the

world.

If God is OMNIPOTENT he would...

BE ABLE to remove or prevent evil and

suffering.

Therefore God and Evil... CANNOT EXIST AT THE

SAME TIME

Evil and Suffering DOES exists!

Therefore God... CANNOT EXIST

Complete page 8 of your REVISION WORKBOOK

Swap with a partner and mark each others work in GREEN PEN

The type of question (a,b,c,d) and the marks for each question (2,4,8,6) are in brackets at the side.

Please comment – giving a POSITIVE and a TARGET

Exam practice

OUTCOMES…Grade C – Will be able to explain the difference between moral and natural evil using examples.

Grade B - Will be able to explain how God must have certain characteristics in order to logically be God.

Grade A – Will be able to explain how the existence of evil causes a problem for theists.

Your GOALS for the end of

this lesson are…

• Imagine you are having a conversation with a THEIST...

• Take one of the questions that Homer asks on the next slide.

• What answers do you think a THEIST would give? Try to come up with a possible answer to at least ONE of Homer’s questions.

If God is OMNI-BENEVOLENT why

does he let innocent people suffer?

If God created the world, why did he

create a world full of evil and suffering?

How can you believe in God that allows

evil and suffering to happen?

God gave people FREE-WILL , the ability

to choose between right and wrong.

Sometimes people make the wrong

choice!Suffering is a sometimes

a PUNISHMENT from God for those who have

committed sin. Sometimes it is simply a

TEST of faith.

Sometimes Evil people are influenced

by the DEVIL, but sometimes evil and

suffering is all part of Gods great PLAN.