Christian teachings about good and evil
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe what Christians believe about right and wrong, and give examples of how they make moral decisions.
Key learning points
- Morality is about right and wrong and can be absolute or relative.
- Christians may follow rules (deontology) or focus on love and outcomes (teleology).
- Sin is a deliberate choice to go against God’s law, and intentions matter.
- Key sources of authority include the Bible, conscience, reason and Church tradition.
- Some Christians follow fixed rules from God, while others make decisions based on love or outcomes.
Keywords
Morality - refers to the rules or principles that guide people’s behaviour
Sin - deliberate immoral action, breaking a religious or moral law
Wrong - something that is not morally right or acceptable
Common misconception
All Christians follow the same fixed rules when making moral decisions.
Not all Christians take the same approach - some follow God’s commands directly from the Bible, others use their conscience, and some focus on love or outcomes depending on the situation.
Teacher tip
Use examples based on other issues studied in the themes and discuss how different Christians might apply different sources of moral authority when responding to them.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Forgiveness means letting go of resentment and the desire for .
Q2.What is restorative justice?
Q3.Jesus was asked by how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him.
Q4.Why did Jesus say to forgive seventy seven times?
Q5.How is forgiveness linked to salvation in Christianity?
Q6.True or false? All Christians forgive in the same way.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Christians believe that it is important to know the difference between right and .
Q2.In Christianity, a is a choice to go against God’s law.
Q3.In the Gospel of , Jesus teaches that intentions, like anger, can be judged like actions.
Q4.What does teleology focus on when making moral choices?
Q5.Why might Christians reach different moral decisions?
Q6.True or false? All Christians follow the same fixed rules.
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Christian teachings about good and evil, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Christian teachings about good and evil, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Issues of Good and Evil unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.