Cost Of Suffering Research Paper

The Problem and Purpose of Pain Identifying the problem with pain is fairly simple according to Lewis, explaining the purpose of pain not so much. In chapter one Lewis tells us that the problem with pain is the fact that we as Christians have to try to make it fit into our belief system and that fact “creates, rather than solves, the problem of pain.” (C. Lewis) It also means that as Christians, we are left facing the dilemma of trying to explain how we serve an all-loving, all- powerful, benevolent God who despite His benevolence allows us to suffer. How can I do this?

So, every act of suffering directly benefits the sufferer, and it is entirely willed by God . Suffering is justified by appealing to a greater good. However, more popular theodicies or defences in McNaughton’s view, try to justify the suffering of some people by appealing it to a greater benefit given to others. The difficulty is: is it sufficient to have the moral justification

At the beginning of the article, Mackie states that the initial issue with God’s existence is that, “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists” (Mackie, Paragraph 3). If god is such a pure and good being, then he should be able to combat all evil. The first statement that showcases that God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, then evil cannot possibly exist. The definition of omnipotent is

Free-will is arguably the greater good; we would not be humans without it and we would not be a good creation without choice over our own actions. In protection of that greater good, God does not, and should not, get involved in dealing with moral evil and the suffering caused by it. Doing so would subvert our free-will, and ultimately take away our free-will. Since we have the choice whether to do good or evil, God should not be blamed for the actions that humans make. Following from this, God can still be omniscient (God knows that there is evil in the world), omnipotent (God has the ability to stop evil) and omnibenevolent (God does not want evil to exist, but ultimately allows it for our ability to have free-will).

However, evil does exist. Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist. The evidential problem of evil states that since evil does exists, evidence alone is incompatible with a perfect God, and thus negates the possibility of God 's existence. There exist

This is a huge issue that most Christians need to come to the realization of. Christians in this modern day think that just because they are followers of Jesus Christ and he is their Lord and Savior…that they won’t have any problems in their live. They believe they shouldn’t have to suffer because they belong to the Lord, but if they only knew how false of a statement that truly is. Every single glorious day, a Christian will be met with a new temptation; and this as Bonhoeffer so eloquently puts, “is another kid of suffering and shame which the Christian is not spared ”. The reason for that is simpler than we make it actually; Jesus Christ has suffered and borne the sins of the world.

Throughout humanity, the idea of suffering played a major role in human lives, in some cases by ending it. Nevertheless, according to popular religious traditions, the first humans, Adam and Eve, were placed on Earth to suffer for their sins in a life of misery. All humans are a part of this “original sin,” thus there is no such thing as innocent humans suffering in the world. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Popular religious themes are centered on the idea of continual suffering in life, like the Israelites who continued to suffer through the Holocaust.

This coincides with my next argument in that God has created a world that allows for both good and evil, and along with this, he gave humans the ability to make their own choices. God allows humans, who are not all-powerful and not necessarily wholly good beings to have the decision to make between being good and being evil. I am a firm believer in this hands-off approach that God may have taken during his creation because free will allows people to ultimately choose their own path in life, and while allowing the possibility for evil to occur God himself remains both wholly good and all-powerful. Without free will it would be unclear as to what makes humans unique individuals; free will allows for the understanding that humans can be themselves and choose their outcomes ultimately resulting in them deciding their lives. Unfortunately, free will along with good and evil go hand in hand.

This logical incompatibility between evil and God’s actuality can be made evident in two additional principles provided by Mackie. These are if something is omnipotent, it can do anything and if something is omnibenevolent it will eliminate as much evil as possible. Mackie claims God’s omnipotent characteristic is dependent on him being all powerful. If God is omnipotent than the subjection to limitations, such as the inevitability of evil, should not arise. This first premise is in relation to the second and third because if God is all powerful, wholly good and in existence, the product of his work, our world, should be a reflection of his being.

Everyone suffers. This simple fact of life has plagued humans for centuries, perplexing the wisest thinkers down to the most common among us. It demands an explanation, and history has granted us many - often in the form of religion. Buddhism revolves around the concept of suffering, attempting to explain its origin and how to break free of it. It teaches that no matter how righteous a person acts, they will always suffer until they fully achieve enlightenment.

All creatures in this world have an ability to do whatever it is willing to do. As an illustration, a mother uses drugs, yells at her son every day, forces him to do what he does not want to, and also violently abuses him. One day, that boy kills his mother. That is murder, and that is evil. God might see that, but he let it happen due to two possibilities.

Suffering what a word, it must be apart of our everyday life, especially in war. “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere”(Wiesel). Geneva was suffering while she was sick, Saranell was with her arm, it’s all over the place even in our life. War can be brutal to everyone especially family with love with

God cannot be the creator of evil if he is all good. If he is all good and powerful and he did create evil, then why does he not get rid of

Throughout Harper’s book and Kheiyn’s article, I found five main points that stood out to me in relating to helping me understand why bad things happen to good people. First, God did not create pain and suffering, man has through sin and defiance. Second, although suffering is not good, God uses it to achieve good. The third point tells us that the day will come where your misery will no longer exist and God will judge evil. The fourth states that our suffering does not even compare to what God has in store for his followers.

I personally think that suffering helps us to notice and appreciate true happiness. If we did not feel pain, we would not realize how great life is. Aristotle implies we are able to control our happiness in this way. Once we have experienced suffering we know it eventually passes and life carries