DIVINE AND HUMAN RELATEDNESS: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES
GOOD AND EVIL
1. INTRODUCTION:
Good is complete, knowable and as the ideal. According to St. Augustine evil is the privation of goodness. A good person has a positive approach about the things he or she enjoys. Evil diminishes or distorts the creative atmosphere of the cosmos. Evil is a human invariant like eating, talking, and thinking, being sad or happy. Human beings flee from evil, try to expel it and try to put it out of sight. Human action which is against humanness is evil. God takes the initiative to avoid evil in the life of human persons.1
2. GOOD AND EVIL IN SOCIETY:
Good persons have spiritual and inner desire to do good to others. There are so many people who work for the betterment of the people. For ex. Missionaries of Charity. A person’s attitude decides his or her actions. There are natural evil and moral evil in the society. The natural evils are flood and other natural calamities like cyclones which cause damage to human persons. Moral evils are which affect human persons ethically for Ex. Prostitution, Euthanasia and so on. Human persons are forced to undergo certain sufferings. Ex. Bomb blasts.
3. CONTEXT:
3. ANALYSIS OF GOOD AND EVIL:
Good can mean what is intrinsically good, “good itself”,2 and not good merely because it produces something else like health. Intrinsic goods are things that we seek more for them than as a means toward anything else. For example, we enjoy a painting, a beautiful piece of music, a ball game, an enlightening talk and so on. It is possible to admire them for what they are, because there is something about them that attracts us and gives us the sense that we are in contact with genuinely real and valuable. Something can be good because the intellect is drawn to it as distinct object of knowledge. God fulfills the idea of God. Good God has a special relation to morality. God has everything he should have might have a type of goodness that we cannot classify as moral. The evil human persons inflict on each other and the evil that they suffer as inhabitants of this biological and physical world. Most of the human persons agree that hurt each other more than is necessary, without the good cause and without proper concern for others.
4. GOOD AND EVIL IN RELIGION:
Good rules over the world. God is the master of everything. Good deeds are well appreciated. Evil is the cause of human wants and needs. In the name of God people do evil activities. Some religious organizations overpower the religious practices. God becomes the centre for religious influences. It is because of fundamental behaviour people fight one another and piece does not prevail in the world. Evil can exist only if God wills or allows it. But if he wills or allows it, this means that he cannot prevent it, because he is not omnipotent, or that he does not want to prevent it, because he is not infinitely good. Every being is good. Therefore evil cannot be a being, it must be the absence of some being. Not every absence of being is evil. Evil is the absence of some good, some perfection in a being which should possess it; it is a privation. The evil whose occurrence shocks the human mind most is suffering. The appalling amount of suffering which occurred, for instance, in the Nazi concentration and extermination camps cannot, in some people’s minds, be reconciled with the existence of an almighty and infinitely good. Are pain and suffering, too a mere absence or privation? They are not. They are the repercussion, within a sensibility or consciousness, of some evil. For example when a child is slowly dying incurable pain from inseparable cancer, it sounds callous to speak of his or her pain and that of his or her distraught parents as of a mere privation; yet it is the consequence of privation and it would disappear if the absent good , the child’s health , were to be restored.
There is moral evil whenever there is a human person’s free will lacks its right orientation, refuses to heed the call of duty or moral obligation. Whenever a human person yields to greed, pride, ambition, hatred, cruelty, jealousy etc he or she performs a positive act which lacks an essential feature of all free acts, refers to human person’s ultimate end.
5. GOOD AND EVIL IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY:
ST.IREANAEUS:
St. Irenaeus distinguished two stages of the creation of the human race. I n the first stage human beings were brought to an existence as intelligent animals endowed with morality and spiritual development. They were not the perfect pre-fallen Adam and Eve of the Augustinian tradition, but immature creatures, at the beginning of a long process of growth. In the second stage of their creation, which is now taking place, they are gradually being transformed through their own free responses from human animals into “children of God.” Human freedom plays a vital role in the creation of human persons. Human goodness that has come about through the making of free and responsible choices, in situations of real difficulty and temptation, is intrinsically more valuable. There is an argument about good and evil that is God’s goodness and Human person’s knowledge. Human situation is a tension between the natural selfishness and morality and religion. There is a genuine freedom in relation to one’s maker. God’s purpose is not to construct a paradise. Human persons are created in the direst presence of God. Since God is good and loving, his creatures are also good.3
5.1. ST.AUGUSTINE:
Augustine’s response includes both philosophical and theological strands. The main philosophical position is the idea of the negative or privative nature of evil. Augustine holds firmly to the Hebrew-Christian conviction that the universe is good that is to say; it is the creation of a good God for a good purpose. There are, according to Augustine, higher and lower, greater and lesser goods in immense abundance and variety. Augustine based his arguments on the Bible; especially the accounts of the Creation and the Fall in Genesis. His influential theodicy rests upon two major assumptions. Evil did not come from God, since God’s creation was faultless and perfect. Evil having come from elsewhere, God is justified in allowing it to stay. For Augustine God is the ultimate and infinite in goodness and power. Hence there is no other equal and God is not the direct
5.2. JEAN PAUL SARTRE:
Sartrean existentialism is a philosophy that may be defined as “existence precedes essence.”For Sartre there is no God for human persons by nature, to fashion them according to a design, conception, or essence A human person simply happens to exist, happens to turn up, suddenly makes an appearance. There is no God to conceive a human person .Human person is what he or she thinks of himself or herself. Human persons are condemned to be free. In we are a freedom which chooses, but we do not choose to be free. Individual choices have far reaching consequences. Human person is responsible not only for himself but for others as well, because by his or her choices he or she chooses all men. Sartre points out that “Hell is other people.”Human person gives life worth with regard to good and evil. Values like good and evil are constantly in the making, as human persons are continuously in the making. There is no God to direct human persons. Hence human person, whose nature is freedom, completely undetermined, must make his or her own decisions. If they want to do good for others or evil, it is their own choice to decide. 4
6. GOOD AND EVIL IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIONS:
HINDUISM:
Dharma, a concept central to Hinduism, has many meanings including ‘duty’ righteousness and ‘ethics.’ There is a dharma common to all humanity that is evident in such virtues as non-violence, compassion and generosity. There is also a dharma specific to one’s caste and station in life, and another that leads to liberation from the cycle of life and death. Dharma means one’s own duty according to one’s caste, social class, or stage of life; a code of conduct which embraces, but is not limited to, regulations involving marriage, food and religious observance.
The word ‘dharma’ is derived from the word dhr, signifies duty. Dharma means ‘that which is established ‘steadfast decree.’ Spiritually considering dharma means ‘duty. The first verse of the Gita begins with the words dharma-khestra( a field of dharma)-(righteousness). Krishna, as the personal God, is the basis of righteousness itself and the ground of all morality according to the teaching in the Gita. Moreover, Krishna drew Arjuna’s attention to the purpose of his Avatara, which was to set up the law of righteousness (dharma) and to destroy the evil-doers. This dharma includes the establishment of justice and righteousness in one’s personal life.
A selfless person is an altruist. He or she is endowed with qualities like charity, sacrifice, compassion, truthfulness, honesty, self-discipline, tranquility, non- violence and pursuit of spiritual knowledge. These qualities lead to eventual liberation of the soul from bondage of birth and death. A selfish person is highly materialistic. He is boastful, arrogant, vainful, lustful, harsh, rebellious, malicious, deluded, and full of anger and hypocrisy. He lacks ethical values and faith in God. He or she is motivated only by desires. He or she believes in “eat, drink and make merry.”He or she accumulates wealth even by corrupt means. Such mean are born again and again in materialistic families and gradually they descend to the lowest state of life. They are gateways to hell and they lead to eventual destruction of a man possessed by them. These vices should be therefore curbed.
The Bhagavad Gita clearly presents Sri Krishna as the one who takes the side of the forces of dharma to fight against the powers of adharma. While dharmic forces promote wholeness and well-being in the universe, forces cause degeneration and destruction. The battle of Kurushetra is a battle for establishing the reign of dharma. The Lord Krishna says that Arjuna is only an instrument in the hand of God in destroying dharma. 5
6.1. JAINISM:
The escape of Jiva from matter is liberation according to Jain philosophy. There are three jewels in Jain philosophy. They are right faith, right knowledge, and right character. All these three jewels talk about the goodness of human persons. There is no pain, old age; fatigue and discomfort. There are right rules of life in Jainism. The principle of non-violence is one of the things which is followed by the Jains. They do not kill animals and so they respect the creatures.
6.2. BUDDHISM:
Peace is central to Buddhism. Righteousness and harmony should go hand in hand. Buddha's teaching on karma is vast.
1. Do not kill.
2. Do not steal.
3. Do not engage in sexual misconduct.
4. Do not lie.
5. Do not use intoxicants.
There are eight fold things in Buddhism. They are Right conception, right view, right speech, right effort, right mindfulness, right livelihood and right concentration. The important characteristics of the eight fold paths are that it is the middle of the moral life as well as middle way. The noble eight fold path is the moral life that serves as a bridge between the life of virtues and ultimate freedom. Buddhism teaches human persons are responsible for their lives. A human person can discover how to regulate his or her life experience and hi s or her behavior can actually shape their future life circumstances. Suffering need not always involve evil in Buddhism. Buddha himself suffered and suffering exists.
6.3. SIKHISM:
Self-control in itself is a great virtue, because the mind usually keeps brooding on evil. Control over organs of action- Karam Indries is really necessary. Truth occupies a place among the virtues recommend by the gurus. Truth- righteousness, honesty, justice, impartiality and fair play are one of the components of virtues. Contentment is another virtue. A contend minds is free from ambition, envy, greed and jealousy. Patience is another quality which a Sikh ought to cultivate. It gives courage to put up bravely with all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Another great virtue is service. It is service of all types of men, without distinction of caste and creed. Sweetness and humility are the essence of all goodness and virtue. Everything is created by God, even evil. But what we regard as evil has a special purpose to serve. Evil is neither Satan nor any demon. The purpose of evil is to test the character of human person. According to Guru Nanak “suffering the remedy and comfort is a disease.” Human person is liable to succumb to temptation. The greater the faith, the greater the evil to challenge it, Great men have faced evil and tyranny- whether in the form of a prosecutor or a traitor or one’s kith and kin in order to prove to evil than to good. Human persons are slow to take virtue but swift to succumb vice. Evil actions arise out of human person’s evil thinking, due to lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride. Evil actions take the form of lying, drinking, gambling, begging and back-biting. Egoism is the greatest evil because it creates a wall between human persons and the creator. Violence is a curse. 6
7. SEMATIC RELIGIONS:
7.1. JUDAISM:
In Judaism there is no fixed creed that all Jews must believe completely. The text of real Jewishness is not intellectual but ethical; it is not how one thinks, but how one lives within himself or herself and with others that counts. Righteousness is the first requirement. There are Ten Commandments in Judaism which help all people to do good to others. These commandments convey obedience and loyal to Yahweh and decent behaviour towards members of the community. Judaism advocates seeking good and not evil. Evil is not fulfilling God's will. God created evil inclination called Satan.
7.2. CHRISTIANITY:
God is love and He is good. Human persons do evil things and it is because of their mistake. Evil helps human persons to go away from God and others. God is kind and gentle and He does not punish human persons. He is a forgiving God. Human persons do evil because of their wickedness. God allows human persons free. The fall of the Adam and Eve shows that God allows freedom to human persons to enjoy but human persons do follow the right path.
8. CHALLENGES:
8.1. ATHEISM:
Good and evil lead to moral judgments. People become victims in the name of religion. God becomes the centre of attraction and some fundamentalists do atrocities in the name of religion. Human persons are judged not by their deeds but by their actions. Science is a reaction against the violence of religious fanaticism bred by the passions and dark vital nature of the so called religious men and women. Human persons sometimes do think about others for the sake of God and religion. In this bargain innocent people suffer and they lose their lives. Religion is a human person’s aspiration to transcendence. There is a God who is alienated by Marx. God is eliminated by human persons .Marx’s existence of God is entirely different from other people’s God. Marx is genuinely atheistic since he denies the real existence of a supremely perfect being distinct from the finite world. He is an atheistic not only because God is unreal to him but also because he thinks acceptance of God alienates a human person from him. It is because of unjust social structures people go away from God. Human persons do want the God who oppress otheres.
8.2. HUMAN FREEDOM:
God is both infinitely good and omnipotent. Free will is the possibility of doing either good or bad. Human freedom is the very basis of morality. Human person is free to choose his or her life .God is not responsible for moral evils. Ex. Prostitution and Rape. God does not encourage human persons to do evil or good. It is because of human freedom, human persons do such evil things. Human persons create wrong choices. Most of the time, we human persons blame God for our wrongdoings. God is not responsible for our freedom to act. Human persons create wrong choices. They are the masters of their lives. When a human person is controlled by external forces, he or she is independent. God gives freedom to choose the best possibility in order to do good.7 According to Antony Flow “a freedom which is hardly genuine, but rather subject to determinism. Flew contends that even though a human action is predictable, fore knowable, and explainable in terms of caused causes, it can still be free”. An action can be both freely chosen and fully determined by caused causes. God could have arranged things such that human persons are free but choose what is morally right arises from the Flews’ use of the difference between natural and heavenly status. Human goodness implies that human persons are still exposed to temptation capable of sin and yet be protected by God from sin. If this is possible, then all powerful God should be able to do it, and if he does not do it then he is not good.
8.3. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OTHER:
The other is the self revelation and the other belongs to me. There is a communication between God and the other. Good and evil cannot be ideal to human persons. Evil doers are not punished. In the name of religion human persons do many atrocities. E.g. Jihad and Crusades. Human persons blame God for their attitudes. Goodness is neglected because of the encouragement of the evil deeds. The amount of evil in the world is increasing day by day. People want to have peace and harmony in the world. Human persons are sometimes considered as objects.
8.4. SUFFERING WITH HUMANITY:
Evil is contrary to God's will. There are physical, all mental suffering and moral wickedness in human persons. Poverty, oppression, persecution, war and all injustice, indignity and inequality are in human persons. There are emotional and moral factors which seated both in the individual and in the social element. People suffer because of their evil attitudes and their inhuman behavior . Good and evil are part and parcel of humanity.
8.4. SOCIAL STRUCTURES:
Social structures pay a vital role in human lives. Caste system is one of the major things in society. There are good and evil things which happen in the lives of human persons. It is because of caste system human persons are divided into communities. Evil activities come in a way of hindrance to society. Human persons challenge one another in the name of caste and creed. The unjust social structure makes people understand that God is neglected. Divine element is questioned. Human persons fight one another in the name of caste. It is a challenge for human persons not to do evil. The poor are afflicted and they are oppressed in the name of caste. Human persons do not think that caste is a given label in the human society. Human persons are thrown into the world. It is not their fault to be born into this world. Evil activities happen in society because of social structures. God is not responsible for human persons’ act and unjust social orders. It is because of ethnicity, language, colour and creed people fight among themselves. There are so many ethnic clashes happening in our country. Human persons are not considered as real human beings. Goodness is neglected and evil is appreciated in this case. Human persons are mutilated and destroyed because of their ethnic background. There is a separation from the other. The other is seen as a rival in the society. Evil comes from different forms. Caste system is part of it.
8.5 LACK OF COUORGE:
Human persons lack courage with regard to goodness. People want to do good but their circumstances impel them to do evil activities.
9. RESPONSES:
The response is to make human persons responsible for their own actions. Human persons can be given freedom to act according their situations. God has given knowledge to human persons in order to behave in a right way. Human persons are communion beings. It is to be in communion with other human person and Divine, human persons can bring a change in the world. The I-Thou relationship should be maintained among human persons. Respect for individuals is to be maintained. Human persons are precious and each and every human person is important in the world and so we have to treat human persons not as objects but as subjects. In this way we can bring some progress in the world. We, human persons have to own up the responsibility that God is not responsible for our mistakes. We are responsible for ourselves. It is our freedom to choose .God should have created human persons with less freedom so that we could not betray torture, humiliate, rape and murder our fellow human persons. The possibility of waging war is one of these capacities that a good and omnipotent God should have withheld. We human persons have to own up the responsibility. God is our creator and he has given human persons responsibility to be good or bad. Each and every person has got freedom and responsibility to lead his or her life. We also need to accept our givenness. We are thrown into the world and so we are unique persons. We cannot change our identity as persons. Since we are rational beings, we have to make use of our reason and faith. We are images and likeness of God. Human persons have faith in God and God has given us reason to understand the situations of life. Our reason helps us to understand our faith too. Belief in the divine makes us aware that He has given us the reason to choose good and evil. We should allow God to for certain things not human persons.
10. CONCLUSION:
In the name of religions human persons do atrocities. Human relations are broken. God allows human persons to be one with others. Good is necessary for a society. God is good and He does not identify himself in evil activities. Human persons are to be blamed for their own evil attitudes. Evil is not necessary for a society. Human persons are torn into pieces because of disharmony in the world.
FOOTNOTES
1 Yardan, L. John, God and the challenge of Evil, The council for Research values and philosophy, 2001.
2 Hick, John, Philosophy of Religion, Pentice press, 1998.
3 Ibid p42.
4 Warnock,Mary, Existentialist Ethics, Macmillan,London,1967
5 Coogan,D. Micheal, Eastern Religions,Duncan Baird Publications,2005.
6 Singh,Avtar, Ethics of the Sikhs, Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala,1983.
7 Dr.Vatsyayan, Philosophy and Physcology of Religion, Kendar Nath Ram Nath publishers, Merut, 1975.
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