What are thePpain and Suffering - Essay Example

Introduction From a pessimist view, every segment in the society is experiencing pain, suffering and other forms of anguish. However, from an optimist perspective, the world is brimming with unlimited opportunities and happiness. Therefore from an optimist viewpoint, pain and suffering are just occasional setbacks and normal occurrences in the life of a normal human being. Regardless of whether one is an optimist or a pessimist, God has always been there for all, irrespective of the circumstance, but the question of His ability to eradicate the ever-growing pain and suffering in the world has always remained controversial to believers. This paper critically examines the concept of pain and suffering in the world, in Christian as well as non Christian perspectives. From Christians’ perspective, God created the first man Adam and placed him in the Garden of Aden. According to Zacharias (17), man was placed in charge of all creations that God had made. However, in spite of the availability of all comforts that God provided, Adam was not contented and for this reason Eve was created by God to be the man’s companion. However, Adam and Eve sinned against God, after consuming forbidden fruit that God had forewarned them against. God was angry with both of them and He cursed them and their generations. According to Zacharias (41), man was cursed and told that from then henceforth, he shall live by the labour of his hands. Therefore from this creation narrative, it was by sinning that man broke his covenant with God, and hence sin is the cause of all the pain and suffering that man undergoes in the world up to date. In addition, desire, or greed played a critical role in the breaking the covenant between God and man in the garden of Aden. In spite God providing all comforts in the garden of Aden, man was not satisfied, prompting the creation of Eve. The desire of man did not wane even after eve was created for him, leading to the sin that annoyed God. Therefore, from Christian perspective, sin and desire or lack of contentment are the major causes of pain and suffering to the mankind. Valea identified two types of suffering depending on the causes. These include suffering caused by sin and of natural causes. Suffering caused by natural forces includes natural death, calamities or disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, drought, famine and diseases among others. A critical analysis of these two types of suffering indicates that God created them during the formation of the universe. According to Dick, God created man in His own image. He granted man the free will to choose evil and the good. “If a person does not have a free will, he is not an image of God and does not have the volition to love God” (Dick). Hence, pain and suffering occurs because God gave mankind free will which empowers us to do both good and evil things. Therefore ACM (3) argues that evil and suffering are caused by people disobedience, and God lets human race to do evil so that they can learn from their mistakes. Hence, through pain and suffering, people learn not only about their mistakes, but also experience the true love of God. On creating the universe, God was satisfied with all the natural components in it, including those that are potentially hazardous to man. However, ACM (2) argues that at time of creation, there were no natural disasters, but later, God initiated them to punish the sinful nature of man. The holy Bible is replete with incidents where God punished mankind because of their wickedness. These include Noah’s Ark and the flood, the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah among others. Prior to Noah flood, God had became exceedingly annoyed by the sinful nature of man and decided to wipe the entire human race from the earth apart from Noah, the only righteous man that impressed the Almighty(Genesis 6:1-9). God commanded Noah to construct the Ark, and put two animals of opposite sex of every species on earth. After Noah obeyed God’s command, heavy torrential rains fell for a period of forty days and nights, killing every living species on earth (Genesis 6:1-9). In Egypt, God through his prophet Moses instigated ten plagues upon the King Pharaoh and the entire country. According to the holy Bible, Israelites had been held in slavery for a long period in Egypt where they underwent intense physical and mental suffering. When God sent Moses and Aaron to liberate the Israelites, Pharaoh became stubborn and refused to release them. Through Moses and Aaron, God initiated the plague of blood that polluted river Nile, killing all fish and aquatic animals. This was followed by the plague of frogs, gnats and then flies which created intense suffering on the Egyptian population (Exodus 7: 14-25). In spite of the pain and anguish, Pharaoh still remained adamant, prompting more punitive natural disasters from God. These included outbreak of diseases that killed all domestic animals owned by the Egyptians and the plague of boils, a skin disorder characterized by intense pain and discomfort. Other disasters that befell on the Egyptian land before pharaoh relented included the plague of hail with fire that rained on the country from the heavens, locusts outbreaks that destroyed all crops and the plagues of intense darkness that brought the country into a standstill (Exodus, 8:11-32). Finally, pharaoh relented after the tenth and the final plague, which resulted into the deaths of all first born sons born to Egyptians, including the king’s first born son, who would have succeeded him (Exodus, 9, 10, and 11). Similarly, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by instigating a fierce firestorm, because the residents had committed sins that annoyed the Almighty. Christianity considers pain and suffering as essential events in the life of a believer, because they enhance the faith of a Christian. According to Lee (59), it is through pain and suffering that the love of God is manifested to the mankind. The importance of pain and suffering to salvation of man is aptly reflected in the tribulations that Jesus underwent during his ministry until he was crucified. The purpose of Jesus pain and suffering was to atone for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and reconciled with God. Suffering and pain are associated with evil and it is through these events that the presence of God to the mankind is revealed (Lee, 59). ACM argues that suffering reveals the limitations of man, in spite of his advanced technology and wisdom. Hence, the inherent human limitations strengthen our faith and trust in God (4). Hinduism considers evil as the cause of pain and suffering in the world. Hindu religious doctrines affirm that creation of evil in the world is inevitable and although it causes pain and suffering to mankind, it is essential in shaping the dynamism of the universe (Valea). According to Valea, Brahma, the creator god in Hindu faith created both evil and good. The evil in Hinduism is characterized by anger and desire and even the gods are vulnerable to these evil passions (Valea). Buddhist teachings consider evil as continuation of fantasies by motives that enhance the chain of reliant or dependent origination. According to Valea Buddhism attributes suffering of man to ignorant misconceptions that the world is permanent and misplaced desire. The Buddhists attitude towards life is absolutely pessimistic because the religions’ teachings are founded on the belief that the entire existence of man on earth is characterized by suffering. A notable foundation of Buddhism regarding suffering of man holds that evil originates from a person’s mind (Valea). The three main elements that corrupt the mind of a person leading to suffering include ignorance, hatred and greed (Dick). According to Valea desire to fulfil self is the major cause of developing these mental elements. Hence, Buddhist teachings hold that the pursuit to fulfil personal desires is an illusion that subsequently causes pain and suffering to the mankind. Therefore to avoid pain and suffering, man should extricate him from desire by eliminating the persona, which motivates him or her to harbour evil mind. In Taoism, evil and good are considered to coexists, and manifestation of one element arises from an imbalance with the other, which negates the influence of the other aspect (Valea). Therefore, Taoist regard evil and good as the two major natural influences in the world, and man should subscribe and respect the collective agreement resulting from interaction of both influences. Taoism considers both good and evil (pain and suffering) as eternal and necessary forces for man’s existence in the world (Valea). Conclusion Different religions have various beliefs regarding the origin, and nature of suffering in context to God. In Christian perspective, it was not the desire of God for man to suffer but because of mans’ inclination to commit sins, suffering is inevitable. God instigates suffering upon mankind to manifest His character and love to human race. Hence, Christians should rejoice in pain and suffering because it does not last and eternal reward awaits those who overcome the tribulations. In contrast to Hinduism, Christian doctrine holds that God did not create evil. Buddhism considers evil and suffering as the consequences of man’s desire and this viewpoint is in agreement with Christianity. Work Cited ACM (Association for Catechumenal Ministry). “The Christian meaning of suffering”. 1999. 26 February, 2012 from http://parishbulletin.com/Organizations/8190/Documents/TheChristianMeaningofSuffering.pdf Dick, Trip. Exploring Christianity. 1999. 27 February 2012. Retrieved from http://www.christianity.co.nz/c-right.htm Exodus 7: 14-25 Exodus, 8:11-32 Exodus, 9, 10, 11. Genesis 6:1-9 Lee Strobel. The Case for Faith. New York: Zondervan Publishers, 2002. Valea, Ernest. “Many paths to one goal? The problem of evil in world religions”. 26 February 2012. http://www.comparativereligion.com/evil.html. Zacharias, Ravi. Can Man Live Without God? Nashville: W publishing group, 1994. Read More