Many philosophers have constantly thought and tried to evaluate the question `what is good and what is evil?` In analyzing the concept of good and evil, one need to keep in mind some questions in order to come up with satisfactory answers. First, are good and evil definite or do they vary with situations? Secondly, are people innately good or evil or has the concept been given divine guidance? Finally, if good and evil are independent, do they have a creator? ( Islahi, 2001). Essentially, the concept is highly non-conclusive and the answers differ based on a person’s religion, cultural beliefs and laws.
Different religions have varying views on what is good or evil. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that God is good and perfect and, thus, He cannot be a creator of evil ( Valea, 2016) . As such, evil is any action, attitude or thoughts that contradict the character of God. In Baha’i faith, evil is perceived to be the opposite of good such that when good prevail, evil should be defeated ( Valea, 2016) . For Buddhist religion, evil and good are viewed as two antagonistic concepts which an individual can overcome through achieving ( Valea, 2016) . Other religious contexts view evil as supernatural force. In every religion, however, some of the elements that denote good is lack of self-centeredness, compassion, altruism and benevolence, and those that denote evil include: selfishness, being self-absorbed and narcissistic ( Islahi, 2001) . In my social and work experience, good and evil deeds have been defined by the occurring situations, laws and what is considered morally upright in the community.
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Understanding the concept of good and evil is very essential because it is an aspect that can underpin or improve the justice system of a country. For example, it is harmful to think that some individuals are innately good while others are naturally evil. In fact, the world has been made to perceive that bad people commit crimes and should be locked away or killed to prevent the evil ( Singer, 2004) . In religious context, it is by understanding the nature and origins of good and evil that can help believers prevent future evils from happening and live good lives ( Singer, 2004) . Moreover, by categorizing what is considered evil or good, followers are able to set limits on the various responses to evil deeds.
The concept of evil and good is significant for each religion in various ways. For Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Baha’i, evil is not real and is considered the absence of good ( Singer, 2004) . In this case, understanding and doing what is good will eliminate the evil. For Indian religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism, both good and evil exists. Evil is seen as what hampers happiness of life such as killing or lying. In light of this, there is a balance between good and evil and when the balance is offset, divine incarnations are performed to restore the balance ( Singer, 2004) . One has to commit to achieve good and offset evil and, hence, believers are mostly inclined to peruse what is good.
In my area, good and evil are based on actions and not on people. This area is dominated by Christian belief that view evil as doing contrary to God`s commandments. When a person who has been doing evil wants to be defeat evil, they go for confession of sins, where they are believed to have reconciled with God. People are not considered as good or evil because there is a belief that even a killer can be rehabilitated to change their evil actions.
Overall, the concept of good and evil varies from one religion to another but all religions agree that good is what contributes to wellness and happiness of human beings. Also, while Abrahamic religions believe on evil being unreal, Indian religions believe that these two are present and perfectly opposite of each other. The significance of understanding this concept based on different religious context is the prime solution of eliminating evils and knowing the limits when doing so.
References
Islahi, I. A. (2001). Good and Evil (1): Views Of The Philosophers. Retrieved from http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/good-and-evil-1-views-of-the-philosophers
Singer, M. G. (2004). The concept of evil. Philosophy , 79 (2), 185-214.
Valea, E. (2016). Comparative Religion - The problem of evil in world religions. Retrieved from https://www.comparativereligion.com/evil.html
