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Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

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Submitted By reijustina
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People may often come across situations where a question regarding the suffering of good people becomes unavoidable. The Bible provides examples of the question through the suffering of Jesus Christ in his crucifixion, written in the book of John, as well as the trials placed on Job, where God tests his righteousness in the Old Testament. Although most of their losses are relatively the same, the purpose behind their stories are distinctly different from each other. Job, who unexpectedly witnesses his possessions being stripped from him, approaches his situation much differently than Jesus who acts more accepting of his situation. The idea of suffering may easily become intolerable, though these two major stories of Job and Jesus teaches individuals to have a deeper insight on how to deal with unbearable conditions. The suffering that both Job and Jesus face easily allows them to question their faith towards God for watching their pain to progress. The character of Job is introduced as a wealthy man with many possessions and described as “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:8). Job is tested as he is stripped of his herd of animals, and his numerous children, causing him to grieve and still says, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:20) In the second chapter, he is inflicted with physical pain from “the soles of his feet to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In comparison, Jesus’ suffering begins as he is captured by the Romans who decide his crucifixion. In front of a crowd, he is stripped of his dignity as he is whipped through his flesh, crowned with thorns, stripped of his clothes, and carries the cross towards his death. Although the extremity of both Job and Jesus’ sufferings are relatively the same, the reasons behind their positions distinctly differ. God initially viewed

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