The selected aspect is Christianity view of good and evil. My choice for this aspect has been influenced by the fact that, many people suffer following direct confrontations with evil while some proper if they continue to do good. There are different conclusions about how world religions view good and evil. Since time immemorial, human beings have struggled to find the actual meanings of good and evil, but they have not arrived into a universal conclusion. The presence of evil and good has caused much debate among philosophers, scholars, and theologians. Christian beliefs, as well as those of other religions, act as sources of determining what is evil and what is good. This explains why it is important to look at how other religions view good and evil along Christianity views on the same (Valea, 2011).
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According to Christianity, God’s inherent character is the source of all goodness, while evil is failure to love and serve God, and to submit to his authority. Many Christians believe that all that God does is good because He cannot go against his intrinsic nature. In Christianity worldview, all things that God created are good. Therefore, since evil is bad, it was not created by God. One question that may arise from this statement is why God cannot stop evil yet He is all-good (Valea, 2011). The view of good and evil has a great significance across different religion including; Islam, hinduism, indigenous sacred ways, buddhism, judaism, sikhism, Shinto.
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Islamic view of good and evil is very simple and different from that of other religions. According to Islam, all bad and good things were created by God (Allah) who later made them known to man via successive revelations. Allah however gave man the power of choosing between the two paths, and taking full responsibility of individual choices. The two sources that enable Muslims to understand good and evil are noble Quran and Prophet Muhammad’s teachings. Therefore, Muslims believe that good and bad are viewed in practical actions. People are expected to follow that which they feel is good and relinquish what they know is bad (BBC, 2014).
According to Hinduism, each and every action I believed to have a consequence, as per the law of karma. God only do good to people, and does not impose evil and suffering on people. Good things only happen to those who have done good actions. In addition, Hindus believe that punishment and reward may not come in the current life, but may be seen in future rebirth. For instance, good deeds in the previous life may be rewarded through rebirth into a rich family. In Hinduism, evil and suffering are not unfair, and both good and evil occur because of a person’s behaviors in the previous life (Valea, 2011).
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People who believe in the indigenous sacred ways of life believe that evil is the source of suffering and death, and the fate of anyone who commits evil is death. From many cultures that believe in the indigenous sacred ways, a person can only live a sacred life by doing what is good. Good actions result into constant metamorphoses and renewal of life. However, rituals can help cleanse an evil person and make him or her sacred (Wright, 2009).
Buddhists understand that good and evil are inseparable and innate aspects of human life. Good and evil reside in personhood and it is therefore impossible to label an individual as either ‘evil doer’ or ‘good doer’. Every person can do the basest evil and the noblest good. According to Buddhism, good and evil are understood in terms of their actual impacts on people’s lives, not the human conduct. This religion associated evil deeds with selfishness, ignorance, and aversion while good deeds are associated with actions that lead to enlightenment and profound happiness (Valea, 2011).
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In Judaism teaching, God protects and takes care of his people because He is good. People who believe in Judaism understand that God created all things, including good and evil. Again, good and evil were created by God for a purpose. When God created human beings, He gave them an opportunity to choose whether to worship Him or not. This means that human beings are free to choose between good and evil. According to Judaism, people will be punished for their own sins but not those committed by others. Similarly, people will be rewarded for their good actions but not for the good things done by others (BBC, 2014).
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In Sikhism religion, people are expected to live according to the will of God. In addition, God gave people the free will to make choices which enables human beings to be able to differentiate between right and wrong or between good and evil. Good actions lead to good karma while evil actions lead to suffering. However, the suffering is not inflicted directly by God but God permits it as a way of testing a person’s faith and courage (BBC, 2014).
In Shinto, there is no moral code that defines good and evil. The Shinto religion sees good and evil as social constructs and believes that humanity defines morality. Additionally, human beings are considered to be fundamentally good, capable of doing only good actions. However, evil actions are influenced by evil spirits. Consequently, anyone who does good things is believed to be in harmony with the world (BBC, 2014).
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