Ch 3-4 Flashcards
(32 cards)
Retributive Justice
the type of justice in which good people are rewarded and evil people are punished.
Theodicy
the problem of trying to reconcile God’s justice with the fact of unjust evil and suffering in the world.
How could a good God allow bad thing to happen to good people?
Explanation of suffering
God’s way of punishing us for our sins and wrongdoings.
Pain
Comes from the latin word Poena which at its root means punishment/penalty
original sin
tendency to choose evil over good.
Problems of why explanations of suffering are wrong
- God is seen as a judge. 2. This model does not adequately account for the suffering of innocent people.
Suffering is a test of faith
God is testing us to find out the quality of our faith.
Inadequate because— implies that God is cruel and sadistic, God is not omniscient, we are pawns between God and satan
Omniscient
the ability of God to know everything– the past, the present and future.
Suffering as a form of discipline
God sends us suffering to teach us a lesson, to help us grow.
Inadequate–
1. some can be a form of discipline but does not guarantee that we will be better.
2. If it is– being virtuous would mean we should seek out suffering for its own sake.
3. these acts reject God’s gift of health.
Masochism
likes pain inflicted on them
Sadism
likes inflicting pain on others
Suffering and Freedom
Consequence of human sin
Saint Augustine- “evil and suffering are the consequences of human freedom.”
- exists so we can be free and underlines God’s freedom.
Capital sins
pride, covetousness, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth.
Response one to death: Death is Final
we are not mortal and need to find purpose and meaning in our everyday lives.
Socrates (470-399 BCE)
- approached his death with calm, dignity and courage.
- role model for Ars Moriendi.. art of dying.
- “it is always better to die than to do evil.”
immortality
continued existence beyond death
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
German philosopher
- we all must die our own death, take possession of it, we are responsible for finding meaning and purpose in our lives.
- death gives us a sense of individuality and uniqueness.
- as soon as we are born, we are old enough to die.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
French philosopher.
-believed death is absured.
-soul is NOT immortal and there is no being after death.
- can not understand/control death.
- prevents our wholeness and deprives us of our full potential so we need to celebrate every day and find meaning.
Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
German Philosopher.
- fulfillment of human life.
- it is natural and belongs to cycle of nature– no control over death.
- life is a gift, death requires a leap of faith (understanding the nature of the material universe).
Response 2: Death as a way out
Death is a way to end their suffering.
Suicide
the intentional killing of oneself.
- SOME societies see it as an honorable way to die (Romans, Japanese, Polynesia)
Suicide in Old Testament
5th commandment- Thou shalt not kill. - * Saint Thomas Aquinas teaching:
- violates the instinct to love oneself and preserve one’s life.
- offense against society
- crime against God.
1st stereotype/fact on suicide
Stereotype: Only the very rich or the very poor commit suicide.
Truth: people of every economic and racial group commit suicide.
2nd stereotype/fact on suicide
Stereotype: Suicide tends to run in families. The desire to commit suicide is inherited.
Truth: While there is no known gene for suicide, people who have had a family member commit suicide are more likely to commit suicide themselves. The reasons may include the survivor’s feelings of guilt, similar problems facing members of the same family, and inherited chemical imbalances that lead to depression.
