The discussion about good and evil in relation to capital punishment was particularly striking to me, because I did not before this course think about the perception of good and evil in relation to the Christian, Judaism, and Islam traditions. I had a one-dimensional view of good and evil, because of my Christian background and these different approaches made me think more critically about the nature of good and evil. For example, in Christianity the fall from good to evil is because of Adam and Eve’s original sin. Original sin is transmitted to the rest of humanity going forward so evil is a persisting reality. Sin is present and continues in human life. I have always been familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, but I have never looked at
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I have gained diverse knowledge on the nature of evil and especially, Satan or Iblis according to Islam. I always understood Satan as a tempter, but I was unaware that in the Islamic approach Satan or Iblis refused to revere to Adam out of his own arrogance, because he was an angel and Adam was made out of clay/dirt. Iblis did not bow down to Allah, because that would require Iblis to submit to Allah, which then diminishes his own self-love. It was surprising to learn that Iblis is fundamentally and merely destructive. Iblis is a failed creature, a once-glorious being now fallen into the uttermost darkness. Iblis is a catastrophe of a creature who now seeks desperately to drag others down into that catastrophe. It was striking also to learn about the mysticism approach, as I never would imagine Iblis as an agent that torments humanity in Allah’s plan to keep humanity in check. I always thought of good and evil as two diametrically opposed issues, but the Islamic approach has made me see the issue of good and evil from a different perspective, in which evil is possibly something that is needed, otherwise humans will act irrationally. The discussions in this Christian Ethics class and especially of good and evil were insightful discussions, as they have pushed me to not accept everything as it is and to think critically for myself and examine different religious approaches to what I believe as
I have gained diverse knowledge on the nature of evil and especially, Satan or Iblis according to Islam. I always understood Satan as a tempter, but I was unaware that in the Islamic approach Satan or Iblis refused to revere to Adam out of his own arrogance, because he was an angel and Adam was made out of clay/dirt. Iblis did not bow down to Allah, because that would require Iblis to submit to Allah, which then diminishes his own self-love. It was surprising to learn that Iblis is fundamentally and merely destructive. Iblis is a failed creature, a once-glorious being now fallen into the uttermost darkness. Iblis is a catastrophe of a creature who now seeks desperately to drag others down into that catastrophe. It was striking also to learn about the mysticism approach, as I never would imagine Iblis as an agent that torments humanity in Allah’s plan to keep humanity in check. I always thought of good and evil as two diametrically opposed issues, but the Islamic approach has made me see the issue of good and evil from a different perspective, in which evil is possibly something that is needed, otherwise humans will act irrationally. The discussions in this Christian Ethics class and especially of good and evil were insightful discussions, as they have pushed me to not accept everything as it is and to think critically for myself and examine different religious approaches to what I believe as