Why Are the Good Allowed to Suffer? From Seneca's On Providence and The Bible

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.

Seneca believes that gods allow people to endure hardships because the hardships are fated. He writes, “Fate directs us…events do not, as we suppose, happen but arrive by appointment” (“On Providence,” 41). Moreover, these fated events are not limited to only large events. He also writes, “Even those phenomena which seem irregular and anarchic…do not happen without a plan, though their coming may be unexpected” (“On Providence,” 28). Because every event is fated, the “duty of the good man” is “to offer himself to Fate” and accept the hardships that fall upon him (“On Providence,” 42). Because all events are fated and humans do not really make choices, hardships do not occur as punishments for things done previously; they will happen regard...

... middle of paper ...

..., the gods would not have made suicide as easy to accomplish if they did not condone its usage in some hard situations. This is clearly different from today’s Christian view on suicide, which is largely negative.

While Seneca and writers in the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible disagree about the reasons why higher beings allow humans to suffer, they all agree that suffering and hardships are always beneficial and advantageous to those who face them. In his writings in the New Testament, Paul echoes Seneca’s belief that “disaster is virtue’s opportunity” (“On Providence,” 37). According to the writers, suffering is, in fact, a necessary part of living a good life. If we do not know what suffering is, how can we know when we are happy? Without hardships, life becomes an emotionless string of connected events; in other words, it becomes purposeless.