Question one.
Joad recalls his interest in religious matters when he got involved in discussions of the region back in the Oxford University where he was a student. Joad indicated that the debates about religion left him an agnostic Christian, who became suspicious of all dogmatic creeds. Other than the wake of world war two and return of Nazis, Joad did recall that obtrusiveness of evil was yet another reason for a renewed interest in religious matters.
Question two.
Joad meant evil to be cruelty, oppression, savagery, violence, egotism, aggrandizement and lust for power. In his view, evil was becoming powerful in his time and was deep-seated in men’s heart that no attainable explanation could be given to it.
Question three.
According to Joad, the usual explanations for evil were: First, explanation of evil regarding economic inequality and injustice. In this explanation, Joad's view was that evil was caused by adverse social conditions and that reforming such conditions could make man righteous. Secondly, an account of evil regarding early psychological maladjustment. In this explanation, crime was caused by severe mental conditions such as an imperfect poverty.
Question four.
According to Joad, the Christian doctrine of original sin was related to evil because have always taught that sin is endemic in the heart of man. In this view, Joad explained that sin was deeply rooted in the heart of man that only the doctrine of original sin could prove. Joad went ahead to state that the blunder of intellects of the nineteenth century could be traced back to the Christian doctrine of original sin.
Christian could overcome evil by First, by escaping from evil and finding the true way of life. Secondly, Christians could avoid harm by facing the evil with an intention of overcoming it.
Bibliography.
Joad, Cyril Edwin Mitchinson. "God and evil." (1943).
