This document provides information about Christian and Muslim views on suffering. It includes examples of natural and moral suffering, explanations of where Christians and Muslims believe evil comes from, and statements about how they respond to the problem of evil and suffering. Learners are tasked with filling in cloze activities to explain the Christian and Muslim positions, discussing in pairs whether religious explanations for suffering are reasonable, and answering a question about whether suffering exists for a reason from the perspective of a religious believer.

1. Plenary: Can you?
Give two examples of
natural suffering?
Explain the difference
between moral and natural
evil?
Give two examples of moral
suffering?

2. DNA
• What do you learn from bad things?

3. Christians, Muslims and suffering
Learning intentions:
• To identify Christian and
Muslims response to
suffering
• To examine how these
religions try to explain
why people suffer.
Success criteria:
• To be able to explain
Christian and Muslim
beliefs about suffering
• To develop your own
opinion as to if their
explanations are
reasonable.

4. What is suffering?
What were the two kinds of suffering we looked at last lesson. can you
give examples for each of them?
The fact that people suffer is a problem for
many religious believers because they
need to be able to explain why God lets us
suffer.

5. Where does evil come from?
• With you partner label
your selves A and B.
• Person A you need to fill
in the Christian section
of the cloze activity.
Person B you fill in the
Muslim section of the
cloze activity.
• Now take it in turns to
explain to your partner
how to fill your section
of the handout.
• Make sure you listen to
them and get it filled in
as they are telling you
what to do.
From both the Christian and Muslim sections highlight/underline 2
pieces of information you think will be useful to answer a question about
where Christians or Muslims think Evil comes from.

6. What’s the problem?
• Watch this sort clip and use it to answer this
question:
Why might it be hard to believe in
God if there is suffering?
God and suffering

7. What’s the problem?
For many people you can’t have a God who is all loving and all powerful but
still allows us to suffer. So something has to give. The question is what?
God exists
God is all
knowing
God is all
powerful

8. Responding to evil
• Both Christians and
Muslims have ways of
explaining why evil is
allowed to exist
Task:
• You have been given a
set of statements
about how some
Christians and Muslims
explain evil.
• There are tasks at the
bottom of the sheet.
• Read the statements
and complete the tasks.

9. Think, pair, share
Religious believers give a good
explanation of why people suffer. Do you
agree or disagree and why?

10. Question.
‘suffering is there for a reason’
Give two reasons why a religious believer
might agree or disagree with this statement.
4 marks
Point Point
Evidence Evidence
Explanation Explanation

11. Plenary
1 question you still have
about evil and suffering.
2 key words from
today's lesson.
3 things you have learnt
today.