The Role of Good and Evil in Western Traditions
All religions advise people to do-good deeds and refrain from doing evil. But what is the benefit of doing good? What is the value of morality? We often say "Good deeds bring about good rewards, and evil deeds hard retributions. What role does the concept of good and evil play in the Western traditions? Western traditions believe that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. We would not even be self aware, let alone aware of right and wrong, if God had not created within us His image, and therefore the ability to make moral distinctions. The truth is we have no reference point for all this discussion about morality except as God reveals it. For us to argue with the source of morality is for the clay to argue with the potter. Some philosophers say that for God to define what is right or wrong is arbitrary. God is not arbitrary; He is the source of all life and therefore the source of all truth. We have no basis to even understand the concept of being arbitrary except in reference to an unchanging God. If we recognize the nature of man, which is if man were not fallen, i.e., not corrupted by sin, we would have limitless potential to create from within ourselves a universal moral code. But, we are a fallen lot, every last one of us, and therefore incapable of fully knowing what is good (Rom. 3:23). We are even incapable of carrying out what we do know to be good (Rom. 7:18-21). So the question of right or wrong has everything to do with the origin of our belief, not just the substance of it. No matter how sincerely I believe I am right about some moral decision, the true test is in the origin of that belief. And God is the only universal and absolute origin to all morality (Casey, 1997).
The role of Maya in the Eastern traditions is God's technology that he employed in creation. Maya is the veil that prevents us from Self-realization. God gives this veil to us. He thus puts us under the lower prakriti. Because of maya, we do not see us all delivered from the One God, united in Him, but see ourselves in the resulting multiplicity as rootless individuals.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (Lewis, 1994, p. 91). Throughout history man has had to struggle with the problem of evil. It is one of the greatest problems of the world. Unquestionably, there is no greater challenge to man’s faith then the existence of evil and a suffering world. The problem can be stated simply: If God is an all-knowing and all-loving God, how can He allow evil? If God is so good, how can He allow such bad things to happen?Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people? These are fundamental questions that many Christians and non-Christians set out to answer.
Macbeth is a play, written by Shakespeare, about a soldier who is overtaken by ambition. The soldier, Macbeth, starts out as a loyal soldier who fights for Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes more and more evil, killing whoever is a threat to him. Evil overtakes good for Macbeth.
Everyday people make choices, whether they are good or bad. These choices are usually known as good or bad, already. What makes them good or bad? Are they good because morally we think they are, or is it something more? In the words of Socrates, “Is it pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods? (10a)” From reading Euthyphro, I found that there is not a clear answer, but rather it is more of an opinionated answer. To come up with an answer, one must really dive into their thoughts, and reason out why they think a certain way, just like Socrates did with Euthyphro. While I read, I could not help but think that not all gods agree on everything, and not all religions do, either. How are we to know which is right? For example, people are strictly forbidden to get tattoos in Islam, but in Hinduism they are allowed. How would we know which the gods loves? If we agreed that all gods loved the same things, like Euthyphro and Socrates do, we still have a problem on whether or not we agree or disagree with what the gods love or hate. The use of Euthyphro and my own thinking made me decide that the pious is pious for no other reason than it being
The entirety of Maya culture was based on the experience and knowledge accumulated by their ancestors. They were passive, modest, religious people who believed in the cyclical nature of their reality, events and phenomena (Bower 1986). The Maya can be deeply understood due to their elaborate calendar, numerical system, logographic glyphs, and detailed recording of dates and events on various media. Maya glyphs are known for depicting place names, political events and religious beliefs (Coe and Houston 2015). The cyclical pattern of birth, death and rebirth is associated with the underworld, Xibalba, whose inhabitants represent cause of death like disease, sacrifice, war, and games of defeat (Bassie 2002, Wilson 2006).
Religion motivates people to not stray from the path of virtue, but in return, their fear of God keeps those who believe from deviating from the morals set in place by the bible. This can be problematic. You see, people following God’s rules would not be doing so for the right reasons, instead they do it because they fear God’s wrath. This person would be unreliable in terms of morality, and would probably stray from God’s morals if they believed God would not offer a reward for their ‘good’ behavior.
In Beowulf the concept that good and evil are constantly contending is one of the most central themes to the epic. The poet makes it expressly evident that good and evil cannot exist without the other, for there would be no way of determining which was which. The religious undertone in Beowulf that God is intervening on the side of good is apparent in many of the battles fought, allowing Beowulf to prevail where someone evil could not have. Literature has questioned, for centuries, why God would have created a creature such as Satan to cause and teach evil, and what purpose He had for human life. Beowulf stretches itself to answer this question by showing that good cannot be known without a present evil.
My claim that we have evil in this world because of our libertarian freedom does not fully answer the notion of “the problem of evil”. Saying we have evil in this world is just like saying we have bad decisions in this world. Bad decisions just like evil do not have a form. Every decision that God makes is a good decision therefore God cannot do evil. Human beings initiated evil. In fact, the first human beings (Adam and Eve) gave ongoing birth to evil because everyone ultimately came from them. So everyone after Adam and Eve is inherently evil. This idea is evident in our lives because every human being has committed evil. The ultimate problem is not how an all-powerful God can exist while evil exist, the ultimate dilemma is how a holy God can accept human beings that are not holy. Stephen T. Davis in “Free Will and Evil” writes, “All the moral evil that exists in the world is due to the choices of free moral agents whom God created” (Davis). Davis argues that free will is the answer to the problem of evil. This is consistent with my view that evil exists because of our libertarian freedom. Unlike Hick, Davis is consistent with my answer for evil and he is also consistent with how evil is solved in regards to heaven and hell. Davis states, “I do believe hell exists, but I do not hold that it is a place where protesting people are led against their will to be tortured vengefully. I believe that the people who will end up separated from God freely choose hell and would be unhappy in God’s presence. Having lived their lives apart from God, they will choose eternally—to go on doing so. So it is not a bad thing that they do not spend eternity in the presence of God. People who will prove to be incorrigibly evil will never come to th...
Chase, Diane Z. and Arlen F. Chase. Changes in Maya Religious Worldview. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009. Print.
“…And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13) As it says in the Bible, we wish to be led astray from evil. However, evil is a very curious subject. For most intensive purposes, evil can be described as cruel, heinous, and unnecessary punishment. Evil is a relatively accepted concept in the world today, although it is not completely understood. Evil is supposedly all around us, and at all times. It is more often than not associated with a figure we deem Satan. Satan is said to be a fallen angel, at one point God’s favorite. Supposedly Satan tries to spite God by influencing our choices, and therefore our lives. However, this presents a problem: The Problem of Evil. This argues against the existence of God. Can God and evil coexist?
...uire that “vital good”, if religion is true. I think that this is why I can’t fully agree with Descartes philosophy because I’m not a religious person. The majority of the time, I need physical evidence to believe in something. I don’t really feed into the “I think, therefore I am” philosophy because I wouldn’t want my religion/ my beliefs to be everything that I am. I do consider that humans have free will and are more than able to find the truth in something, but only if they are looking for it and doing anything whatsoever that is required to get the result you want, regardless of the methods used. It does not matter whether these methods are legal or illegal, fair or foul, kind or cruel, truth or lies, democratic or dictatorial, good or evil; we see this on an everyday basis in people’s actions which coincides with James’ statement “the end justifies the means”.
The European and Mayan civilizations had inverse experiences during the Classical era, but they were similar in some aspects. While the Mayans were basking in their glorious success as a civilization, the Europeans stood in their shadow. However, after the Renaissance Era, it was as if the Mayans stood in the shadow of the European revival. These two societies have a definite inverse relationship, in that while one was succeeding, the other was squandering. For example, the forward thinking of the Mayans and their knowledge of arithmetic and science was overshadowed by the revolutionary ideas created by European scientists, the fact that the Mayans had created a complex, and accurate calendar wasn’t nearly as celebrated as a European man who got hit by an apple.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an author’s painting of the evil that resides in all of the human race. The tropical island setting presents an environment free from civil order introducing a battle ground for the war of good and evil. Showing different side of human nature one can ponder the question “What would I do?” Golding explains the good, bad and balance of human nature, revealing that in times of despair man can easily regress to a primitive state, leaving the strong willed to promote civil order, but often be extremely out numbered.
Understanding this concept could be difficult if one does not realize what it means to have good morals. Morality is the distinction of knowing between right and wrong, good and bad. This judgment happens in everyday activities and can be as small as a little white lie or as big as killing someone. Studies show different ways of one’s morality forming. One way, researchers believe, is from one’s religion and what one believes in. If one is a Christian then they would learn from what God says is right or wrong in The Bible. If one is Islamic, one would believe what Allah says is right and wrong and what is in The Qur’an. One might also learn what is right from wrong from...
Ethics serves as a vital crux of society. We learn them through our interactions with others as we progress through life. They provide a moral system for us to go by as we interact and participate among the populace. Ethics guides our decisions, define our temperament and influence our future. They establish a very basic form of order that streamlines the productivity of a society. Anywhere you look you can see the presence of ethics in various organizations and institutions. Whether it be political, lawful, medical, religious or social. At it 's very core ethic deals with protecting fundamental basic freedoms such as the right to live, avoid abusive treatment and right and right to security as well as basic human liberties such as the freedom of speech and freedom from persecution. In Badiou 's short essay on ethics “Ethics An Essay on the Understanding of Evil” he delves into his criticism of ethics and the meaning of evil.
Maya civilization was based mainly on agriculture and religion. Maya every day life revolved around an innumerable number of earth Gods. The most important God was chief, ruler of all Gods. The Mayans prayed to these God’s particularly about their crops. For example, they prayed to the Rain God to nourish their crops. They practiced their religion during ceremonies conducted by priests. They also practiced confession and even fasted before important ceremonies (Gann and Thompson 1931 118-138). The Mayans also b...