...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Pain and Suffering A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. JIM ZABLOSKI SEMI 500- B15 LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY Donald Clark LYNCHBURG, VA February 3, 2015 Contents Title Page……………………………………………………….1 Table of Contents………………………………………………2 Introduction…………………………………………………….3 History and Beliefs……………………………………………..4 The Logical Consistency and Moral Judgment of God………..5 Conclusion……………………………………………………...9 Bibliography……………………………………………………11 Introduction One of the most frequently asked questions in today’s society is “why do bad things happen to good people?” Why does God allow suffering and evil things to happen? These questions are central to a Christian’s faith. These questions have not gone unexplored in the cannon of Christian philosophy. Job, Augustine, C.S. Lewis, and others have all considered and contributed to an ongoing dialogue surrounding these issues. For some, the stories of personal sufferings, persecution, and martyrdom provide them a rallying point and as well as constant reminders of the pain Christ faced at the cross and what it took to pay the price for sin; while others suggest that suffering are character-building endeavors. One thing is sure: suffering is an important and ever present element of the Christian faith. Pain and suffering are controversial subjects encompassing all aspects of their meaning from whether God allows it?1 Does God bring it about? Who and what are the intended recipients...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Suffering and Pain in the Christian Life Submitted to Dr. Albert Letting, In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of SEMI 500 B22 Introduction to Seminary Studies by Philip Mion January 22, 2015 Outline……………………………………………………………………………iii Introduction………………………………………………………………………1 C . S . Lewis’ Influential Experiences with Pain and Suffering………………2 The Weight of Pain and Suffering………………………………..……….2 C. S. Lewis’ Theological Foundations on Why God is God?………………….4 Divine Goodness…………………………………………………………6 Human Pain………………………………………………………………8 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Pain and Suffering: A Catalyst for Faith Submitted to Dr. Donald Clark, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the completion of this course. SEMI 500-B25 LUO Introduction to Seminary Studies by Randy Boyd September 28, 2014 Contents Introduction 1 Part 1. How Can Pain and Suffering be Necessary? 2 Chapter 1. Where pain comes from. 2 Chapter 2. Why pain and suffering are necessary. 3 Part 2. How Can We Respond to Pain and Suffering? 4 Chapter 3. Walking Through Pain and Suffering. 5 Chapter 4. Avoiding Pain and Suffering 6 Part 3. How Can Pain and Suffering Build Faith? 7 Chapter 5. Satan Uses Pain and Suffering to Create Doubt. 8 Chapter 6. God Uses Pain and Suffering to Build Faith. 8 Conclusion ...
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...UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Pain and Suffering in the Christian Experience Submitted to Dr. Andrea H. Adams in partial fulfillment of the requirement for completion of SEMI 500-B27 LUO Introduction to Seminary Studies by Tami Carroll February 22, 2015 Table of Contents Introduction 2 What Causes Humans to Suffer? 2 Pain is Inevitable 2 Humans Seek Personal Pleasure 3 Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? 4 Free Will 4 God’s Authentic Love 5 The Purpose for Suffering 6 Draws Man to God 6 Repentance 7 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 10 Pain and Suffering in the Christian Experience There are numerous schools of thought in regards to why humans suffer. Christians question why a loving God allows bad things happen to His people. They wonder how sufferings in the life of a Christian can possibly build faith. These ideas will be explored through the life and works of theologian and scholar, C. S. Lewis. Answers will be sought through the examination of Lewis’s personal experiences, his theological studies and his fictional writings. This paper will prove that human pain and suffering is essential in the Christian experience by examining the reasons human suffer, why God does not intervene to prevent suffering, and how pain and suffering might build faith and draw people closer...
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...To have a good live according to Singer’s view is to have a wide perspective in life. To do so it allows one to focus on the main objectives in order to achieve a happy life by reducing the pain and suffering in the world. All of this is possible since humans have the power to reason compared to any living organisms in the world. Since humans have the brain, it gives them the capabilities to reason and survive through the toughest situation one might encounter. Being able to put yourself in different perspectives in the world is due to the fact that humans have the power to reason. Reasoning is some of the powerful tools humans have but it all comes down to how one might use this skill to benefit the world or oneself. Henry mentions that pain and suffering is noticeable in every corner in the world. Being able to differentiate the pleasures and the suffering is a challenging task, but to fully understand that pain and suffering is fixable is important. The story talks about how we as humans can help the less fortunate or the people that are experiencing pain and...
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...Lewis on Suffering and Pain in the Christian Life Submitted to Dr. Rodney Anderson, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion SEMI 500-B28 LUO Introduction to Seminary Studies by Abigail Strain September 28, 2014 Contents Introduction 1 What were the influential experiences of C. S. Lewis on the topic of pain and suffering? 3 A Heartbreaking foundation 3 C. S. Lewis Atheistic View 4 C. S. Lewis’ Conversion Experience 4 Theodicy 5 C. S. Lewis’ Views on Theodicy and Faith Theology 5 C. S. Lewis Theological views on Pain and Suffering and the Christian Life 6 Evangelizing the lost as seen through eyes of C.S. Lewis 6 Why Evangelize ? 6 Reaching the Lost in the Midst of Pain and Suffering 7 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 10 Introduction This paper will give the readers an understanding of C.S. Lewis’ views on pain and suffering. C.S Lewis’ works emphasize the quandary of theodicy, how pain and suffering originated and how it serves to mold and strengthen our life theology thus creating harmony within our souls (mind), The soul being your mind will and emotions (Deut 6:5), when these arise. C. S. Lewis was a complex individual who demonstrated his courage and shared his faith theology in the midst of his pain and suffering by writing the struggles he went through. Following his concepts on pain and suffering I will...
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...of the cross has always taken a fundamental and cardinal role in the Christian faith. The cross serves as a reminder to Christians that God is with them in their pain, suffering and sorrow. It reinforces their strength of faith in times of great need, because the symbol of the cross reminds Christians that not only did God send His only son to earth to be crucified in order to save us from our sins, but also that both God and Jesus have suffered for our sakes and salvation. The history of the world has been characterised by great human suffering. One can reflect upon horrific events such as the Holocaust and the Twin Towers tragedy and wonder how God, who is supposed to love everyone unconditionally, can permit such inhumane catastrophes to occur. The answer which theologians have provided is that God does not will for these sufferings to befall us, but is present in our suffering and “really suffers with all who suffer in this world” (Johnson, 2007, 61). The symbol of the cross, which Jesus was crucified on, serves to remind Christians that they are not alone in their agony. It is an image of comfort for those in pain, because it brings to mind the sacrifice God made for us in sending His son to intimately share in the world’s pain. The cross symbolises that “God, who is love…freely plunges into the midst of pain and tastes its bitterness to the bitter end in order to save” (Johnson, 2007, 59). Therefore, the symbol of the cross is emotionally significant to Christians in...
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...Love is a dark and intangible feeling that often exposes it's targets to danger, pain and suffering. Love is the pillar for friendship, yet it works to weaken us, and drives us to depend on and be sensitive of others. Love is built on a foundation of trust, a thin barrier between formality and chaos. Which leaves room for a selected group of people to abuse the trust and take advantage. Some might argue that love brings humans together and promote cooperation, yet cooperation and unionism are two very short fangled areas, as they will soon be contaminated with betrayal and lies. Love is a dangerous component of life and it works to deceive and manipulate other people's trusts. At young ages, humans have a natural instinct to befriend people, but this is what weakens them and makes them vulnerable to power hungry people such as bullies. In kindergarten, we have watched countless children fall into the hands of bullies. These innocent children end up working as mindless slaves on behalf of the bully, or they get publically ridiculed and emotionally hurt. These malevolent children gained their sadistic powers by taking advantage of the innocent. Ingenuous children haven't seen the world as a whole yet, so they easily endow their love and kind hearts into the wrong investments. Their love has been abused, yet if there were no such a thing as love, nobody would get hurt. Jealousy, which buds from the tree of love, motivates people to commit irrational actions. Most causes of...
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...problem Gautama Buddha was wrestling with is pain, suffering, and desire that we have on Earth is to why we do not have peace in old age, disease, and death as these things connect with the assumptions Buddha held in common with Hinduism concerning what happens when we die. To begin, Gautama Buddha’s core problem that he wrestled with that people did not get a chance to have in peace to everyone is affected by pain, suffering, and desire in old age, disease, and death as he said, “all life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, and removing desire removes suffering.” In addition, this connects with the assumptions Buddha held in common with Hinduism concerning what happens when we die is that the suffering and pain continues...
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...Is it true to say that he who suffers the most loves the most? Certainly the interaction between suffering and love is a constant. One often hears the comment “I would die for you” and this you could say is the pinnacle of love. “I would live for you” is also a big statement. “I will climb any mountain cross any ocean to be with you” is a variation of song lyrics over the decades. The yearning quality of love and the desire to show and prove its authenticity, are features of most if not all human love. It is embedded in life and therefore has the language of life, and the experiences of life. Platonic love could be said to lack strength and depth. It could also be truly genuine when it is tried and tested and found to be real. Real love costs....
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...In Pamela Cooper-White's chapter Suffering, she puts out all the big question in discovering what and how suffering pans out in the context of theology. Because according to Pamela, "Suffering is the starting point of all pastoral and practical theology". For the sound of the word literally directs to an inhalation full of pain, suffering means pain, anguish in all possible senses. But suffer is not a phenomenon. As it is said that "suffering is the meaning that we make, or attempt to make of our pain" (Cassell 1991; Sulmacy 1999). Pain, therefore, is always tranformed into suffering in our mind for that it has its own 'holistic meaning' as we try to make sense of pain. Yet a suppression of this process may lead to serious complications and...
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...knows death is inevitable. No one can escape this fact. The controversy herein lies within the circumstances people who are suffering or lingering with a terminal illness that debilitates them such that they have no quality of life are not afforded the comfort of dying with dignity. It seems that this high merit is available to our beloved pets, but not our beloved family members. Aunt Bessie is forced to endure unrelenting pain from here incurable pancreatic cancer. No amount of pain medication is available to treat her pain and allow her to maintain consciousness. She knows her time is limited and she does not feel she should have to wait out the inevitable in such a terrible state. At the same time the family pet Bassett hound is found to have a mass in her intestines. She cannot eat and barely moves as she is in so much pain. The veterinarian has given the option of putting her to sleep or euthanizing her to put her out of her misery as she is suffering so. This sits well with most people. Aunt Bessie requesting euthanization though is out of the question. Why is the question that this paper will attempt to answer and why this is wrong will also be addressed? Euthanasia Defined Euthanasia can bring about different feelings to people depending on the context in which it is used. Mention that good old dog and it is good as they no longer suffering. Change the identity to a person and it is not so easily swallowed. No matter how it is...
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...Then you tell yourself that it cannot be too bad because you have always taken good care of your body, you eat right, you get plenty of exercise, and you see your doctor once a year. At the doctor’s office, the doctor informs you that there is no easy way of telling you that a large amount of cancer cells have been found in your blood work. As you try to speak, he continues to inform you that the cancer cells have completely taken over your blood and have migrated to your vital organs. As you try to speak again, he interrupts you one more time, however, this time it is to deliver the final blow; you only have six weeks left to live, which you will surely spend in extreme pain and unremitting suffering as your body goes into complete organ failure. Would you not want the option to end your pain and suffering and die with at least a little dignity? This is what physician-assisted suicide (PAS), if legalized, would offer terminally ill patients. The strongest argument made on behalf of the legalization of PAS is that it, like abortion, it is a choice issue. Proponents continue to argue that PAS is the ultimate civil right,...
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...being outside the legal and moral community (Francione, 2008). In this respect, how they were treated or used raised no legal or moral concern. The Western community could use nonhumans for whatever purpose they felt like, inflicting suffering and pain to whatever magnitude they wanted and no obligation owed to them would be deemed as being violated. In other words nonhumans were not distinguished from other inanimate objects and as such had no legal or moral obligations (Nikki, 2012). There are those acts that from the surface appeared as obligation towards other animals, for instance an obligation not to injure a donkey or horse that belonged to the neighbor, in actual sense we owed the obligation not to the animal but to our neighbors. Issues of moral became a concern only to the limited scope when humans who were cruel or known to subject the nonhumans to suffering were generally thought to be capable of maltreating humans. Just like the above, the obligation related to the animal in question was actually owed to the other human beings. Nonhumans were viewed as having little moral significance. This essay will focus on Jane Goodall assertion that ‘Who are we to say that the suffering of human being is more terrible than the suffering of nonhuman being, or that it matters more’? (1990). Some scholars believe that human being suffer more as compared to the nonhuman beings and they deem the latter as things and equals them to machines. On the other hand, some scholars...
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...mmmmmmm mmmmmmm mmmmmmm 2 February 2016 Decision Made by Terminally Ill Patients What if you think that your time is up, why not end it without suffering? Why allow your siblings loved ones, and others sit around and watch you die slowly? People who are terminally ill should decide if they want to live in pain or die. There are a lot of arguments about the family wanting their love ones to live instead of die, which is selfish. The family should also understand. If a person is terminally ill and not able to take the pain anymore, then they should end their lives upon their choice. Terminally ill patients should be able to decide not to suffer, make their own decisions and die with dignity. For one it is selfish to have an ill person suffering waiting on their death day. It should only be their choice if they decide to suffer or not. If you have never suffered before, then you wouldn’t know how bad the pain really is. No matter whom they are, regardless if it’s the mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, or any other close member of the family, have to understand it’s our lives. Pain is pain there is no big or small, pain is exactly what it is. “Legalize Assisted Suicide: A debate.”(1) Discuss killing someone to suffer. It discusses the fear of the losing capacity to make the choice to die. Those are some of the reason terminally ill patients should not have to suffer. Secondly, under no circumstances a terminally ill person should decide how he/she would like to end...
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