The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity, regarding such matters as moral conduct, spiritual advancement and ultimate destiny. Indeed an emphasis on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where, it can be argued, we are shown how to "journey through suffering" (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the "Suffering Son of Man" (Mark 8:32), Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to strengthen the resolve of the early Christian community (Halpern 2002, Mayerfeld 2005), the underlying moral is not lost on a modern reader grappling with multifarious challenges regarding faith in the face of suffering. In his article "A Christian Response to Suffering", William Marravee (1987) describes suffering as an "experience over which we men and women continue to stumble and fall". The way we view God is crucial to the way we view suffering according to Marravee, who delineates the disparity between a view of God as an ‘outsider’ and the biblical image of God – where God is an ‘insider’ who suffers with us in our struggle. This essay seeks to explain the Christian view of suffering and the purpose suffering can have in our lives. Suffering is an individual's basic affective experience of pain or distress, often as a result of one’s physical, emotional or spiritual circumstance (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2006). Suffering can be classified as physical; for example pain caused by a dislocated knee, emotional; for example one’s grief over the death of a loved one, or spiritual; which is described as the state of being separated from the blissful nature of your divine self (soul). To suffer physically or emotionally is often unavoidable; however it can be argued that spiritual liberation... ... middle of paper ... ...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008. Marravee. W, 1987, “A Christian Response to Suffering”, Review for Religious, no. 46, pp. 256-260. Mayerfeld. J, 2005, Suffering and Moral Responsibility. New York: Oxford University Press. Pope John Paul II (1984), Apostolic Letter: SALVIFICI DOLORIS, [Online], Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Available at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jpapl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html [27 April 2008]. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (2006), Suffering [Online], Metaphysics Research Lab, Available at: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pleasure/ [3 May 2008]. Trip, D. (1999), “The Christian view of suffering” [Online], Exploring Christianity. Available from: http://www.christianity.co.nz/suffer4.htm [Accessed 18 April 2008].
Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19(1), 69-84. Heim, D. (1996). The 'Standard'. Phil Jackson, Seeker in Sneakers. Christian Century, 133(20), 654-656.
After reviewing the work of David Hume, the idea of a God existing in a world filled with so much pain and suffering is not so hard to understand. Humes’ work highlights some interesting points which allowed me to reach the conclusion that suffering is perhaps a part of God’s divine plan for humans. Our morals and values allow us to operate and live our daily lives in conjunction with a set of standards that help us to better understand our world around us and essentially allows us to better prepare for the potential life after life. For each and every day we get closer to our impending deaths and possibly closer to meeting the grand orchestrator of our universe.
In Cause of Suffering, everyone craves a lust for satisfaction, whether it is hunger, power, or entertainment. We never forget the thirst for attentiveness as it becomes repetitive until the thirst subsides for a while. For this reason,
Despite its prevalence, suffering is always seen an intrusion, a personal attack on its victims. However, without its presence, there would never be anyway to differentiate between happiness and sadness, nor good and evil. It is encoded into the daily lives people lead, and cannot be avoided, much like the prophecies described in Antigone. Upon finding out that he’d murdered his father and married his mother,
Marthaler, Berard L. “The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology”. 3rd ed. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2010. Print.
Alcorn, John. "Suffering In Hell." Pedagogy 13.1 (2013): 77-85. Academic Search Complete.Web. 11 June 2014.
In this essay I am going to briefly tell you what Judaism says about the concept of suffering and then I?m going to attempt explaining the two main explanations!
Literature often explores the questions raised in life: Who are we? What does it mean to die? What kind of world do we live in? Throughout this course, there seems to have been an underlying theme in most of the works that have been read, concerning human misery. It seems that most of those who experience tremendous suffering, actually allow it to happen to themselves. If one chooses to look at the losses in life, one may never find true happiness, but if one chooses to perceive those losses as an opportunity for growth, one may find the "perfect world" right here.
Wolpe experienced suffering in a different way. He suffered due to a battle with cancer. Suffering is one of the real things that Wolpe mentions that our lives pivot on. We cannot see suffering sometimes, but at the same time we cannot see God, but that does not mean God does not exist. Suffering exists even though we cannot see it.
Musser, Donald W. and Joseph L. Price, eds. A New Handbook of Christian Theology. Nashville: 1992
Walls, Andrew F. 1997. 'Christianity'. In A New Handbook Of Living Religions, 1st ed., 59-92. London: Penguin.
The human experience is what connects people to one another. What we experience defines who we are and who we become. It also defines how we interact with others. The amazing thing is that not only do the events that bring joy, peace and happiness connect us but also those that bring anxiety, fear and despair. This brings to light the fact that God somehow in his sovereignty uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These ideas are brought to light in Jerry Sittser’s book, A Grace Disguised which is his personal journey of loss and the insight and experience that was gained in the face of great tragedy. In his book, Sittser discusses various insights he has gained, such as how Christian’s view sorrow, how families recover when someone they love develops a mental disorder, and the Christian view on suffering and forgiveness. I believe that the author has written a book that has many universal truths that can be applied to anyone’s life and they have the ability to bring healing to many. His ideas can also aid professionals who work with the mentally ill in becoming more compassionate.
The question of suffering comes up much when talking about, or practicing any religion. Many ask why people suffer, and what causes suffering? The various religions try to answer these questions in their own way. Pico Iyer’s editorial, “The Value of Suffering” addresses the questions of suffering and how it is handled. This article could be compared to the Bhagavad-Gita which also addresses and explains suffering through different stories of the interactions of humans and different Gods. One can specifically look at “The Second Teaching” in the Bhagavad-Gita, which explains the interaction between a man named Arjuna and the god Krishna. In it Arjuna is suffering because he does not want to fight in a war and with people whom he should be worshiping. Krishna says to fight because the souls of the people will forever live on, and because he needs to fulfill his Dharma. With what is known about the Bhagavad-Gita and how Iyer thinks about the subject, Iyer would agree with how the Bhagavad-Gita address suffering.
It is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions of all time: if there are gods who have control over humans’ lives, why do they allow good followers to suffer? How can there be any justice in that kind of world? Philosophers and thinkers like Seneca and authors of the Bible have debated and written about these questions since ancient times. Perhaps because hardships affect every person, many people continue to debate the same topics today. Seneca writes extensively about the topic of suffering in his essay “On Providence,” which is contained in The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca. Likewise, Paul writes about how to face hardships in his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians, and the book of Job in the Old Testament contains more thoughts and wisdom on the subject. Although the reasons that they provide for why gods allow humans to suffer differ, Seneca and writers in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible agree that in all cases hardships are beneficial to those who suffer.
Brooks, David (2014, April 8). What Suffering Does? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/opinion/brooks-what-suffering-does.html?ref=psychologyandpsychologists&_r=0