Theodicy - The Problem of Pain
The question is why is there pain and evil in the world? Why is there suffering? Although I have some answers, these will not take the pain away, nor will it make things easier. This will not be why ‘you’ are in pain nor will it be why this or that specific tragedy happened. This will be an attempt to answer the question why has pain and evil been allowed to exist if God is a good and benevolent God.
Pain can teach us (ie. what not to do), pain can be cleansing; pulling a splinter out is painful but it saves you from getting an infection which would have increased your pain ten-fold. Pain can be a wake-up call, if you put your hand on the hot stove, pain causes your hand to recoil, keeping it from further harm. Pain can be a blessing; Analgesia is a disorder in which the pain receptors in a persons body does not work. They can die from a small cut because they feel no pain, and thus do not know when they are hurt. Sometimes pain is necessary to persevere to receive something good and beautiful. When you work-out, you are literally tearing you muscles apart. The reason it is good for them is because they grow back together stronger. Pain can refine you. We all have blemishes, and if you are as stubborn as I am, many times pain is the only thing that will convince me of my error. Pain can increase compassion and your ability to sympathize, but that is up to how you react to what has happened to you. The pain of child-bearing brings forth life. The story of Joseph in the Bible attests that great pain can be towards fulfilling a greater purpose. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused and put into prison, great pain and yet when he persevered he became second to Pharaoh in all of Egypt and became the one who saved his family along with all of Egypt. Probably one of the biggest reasons for pain in this world is the fact that actions have consequences. The actions of a rapist brings great pain to those involved, the choices of an absent father greatly affects the abandoned. One the one hand no one wants to refute that actions have consequences, but whenever we hear examples such as these, we all ask, why was this allowed to happen!?
The premise that God is good and all-powerful can be accepted without contradicting the inherent pain in this world. If accepted, God created us as free agents. We have a free will. This is why actions have consequences. If God did not allow us free will, we would not be capable of love. If our purpose according to the Bible is to love and obey God, then that is impossible without free will. Without free will we would be nothing more than a computer program. Thus because we have a free will, we can choose to give and do painful things. Because we have chosen to do painful things, the world is filled with pain. Even the ground was cursed when Adam and Eve sinned. At the same time, this God of love showed us the true meaning by saving us from our mostly self-imposed pain by suffering the ultimate pain. Christ on the cross.
Pain can either break your spirit, or make you stronger. Either way it is extremely hard and a great burden to carry. My hope was to bring comfort and I do not want to ever make light of the pain you carry. Pain can be necessary, other times there is nothing we can do. As for the rest: although it would be great to live in a world with no hate, pain or evil, I would not trade it out for the world if it meant losing the love, joy, and beauty of this world.
Jared Williams
Pain can teach us (ie. what not to do), pain can be cleansing; pulling a splinter out is painful but it saves you from getting an infection which would have increased your pain ten-fold. Pain can be a wake-up call, if you put your hand on the hot stove, pain causes your hand to recoil, keeping it from further harm. Pain can be a blessing; Analgesia is a disorder in which the pain receptors in a persons body does not work. They can die from a small cut because they feel no pain, and thus do not know when they are hurt. Sometimes pain is necessary to persevere to receive something good and beautiful. When you work-out, you are literally tearing you muscles apart. The reason it is good for them is because they grow back together stronger. Pain can refine you. We all have blemishes, and if you are as stubborn as I am, many times pain is the only thing that will convince me of my error. Pain can increase compassion and your ability to sympathize, but that is up to how you react to what has happened to you. The pain of child-bearing brings forth life. The story of Joseph in the Bible attests that great pain can be towards fulfilling a greater purpose. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused and put into prison, great pain and yet when he persevered he became second to Pharaoh in all of Egypt and became the one who saved his family along with all of Egypt. Probably one of the biggest reasons for pain in this world is the fact that actions have consequences. The actions of a rapist brings great pain to those involved, the choices of an absent father greatly affects the abandoned. One the one hand no one wants to refute that actions have consequences, but whenever we hear examples such as these, we all ask, why was this allowed to happen!?
The premise that God is good and all-powerful can be accepted without contradicting the inherent pain in this world. If accepted, God created us as free agents. We have a free will. This is why actions have consequences. If God did not allow us free will, we would not be capable of love. If our purpose according to the Bible is to love and obey God, then that is impossible without free will. Without free will we would be nothing more than a computer program. Thus because we have a free will, we can choose to give and do painful things. Because we have chosen to do painful things, the world is filled with pain. Even the ground was cursed when Adam and Eve sinned. At the same time, this God of love showed us the true meaning by saving us from our mostly self-imposed pain by suffering the ultimate pain. Christ on the cross.
Pain can either break your spirit, or make you stronger. Either way it is extremely hard and a great burden to carry. My hope was to bring comfort and I do not want to ever make light of the pain you carry. Pain can be necessary, other times there is nothing we can do. As for the rest: although it would be great to live in a world with no hate, pain or evil, I would not trade it out for the world if it meant losing the love, joy, and beauty of this world.
Jared Williams
