Eternal Perspective Research Paper

Christianity answers suffering by allowing Christians to understand why evil dominates and how resisting the temptations will end with forgiveness.

More specifically, theodicy tries to understand or explain suffering in light of God’s greater purposes or plan. There is danger in theodicy when it puts God “on trial,” only to determine whether God is innocent or guilty. Of what significance is God’s guilt or innocence if one has only spent time determining God’s role in suffering to the detriment of the other and his or her

Even in the midst of suffering, God is aiming for your ultimate good (Jer. 29:11-13; Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20).

Romans 5:3-4 points out how suffering only grows us closer to Christ through a transformation of character and realization of the fact that our hope is in him no matter the circumstance.

I believe suffering results from our separation from God. He is holy, all-powerful, all-loving, all that is good. Each day I find myself doing things that move me away from Him. Every time I sin, the world becomes a little bit worse. I can do no good thing apart from God. The more I separate myself from Him, the more likely I am to cause someone else harm or pain.

Some times the question of “Where is God” surfaces with all the adversities, and I find myself asking “what is God doing for all these people who are suffering?” But however amidst all the issues I know that He is there, and all these problems and conflicts do not change the fact that God exists, and I still have hope for change for these suffering people no matter what the circumstance.

As Christians, we claim that God is all powerful and compassionate, and that he is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere all the time. The biggest argument against the presence of God here on earth is that, even with these characteristics, God seems to be incapable or reluctant to put an end to the infinite amount of hardships, darkness, and suffering in the world. While I understand this stance, I believe that God’s intentions are always pure and good, and come with perfect intent. Without pain and suffering in our lives, God would be nothing more than a genie in a bottle that we go to only when we need something. This idea is described perfectly in an article called, “How God Uses Suffering for His Glory” written by, “Randy Alcorn”, it states, “God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on his grace, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, and impart wisdom. And once he accomplishes such great things, often we can see that our suffering has been worth it” (4). This explains that God has a purpose for everything, even suffering. His purpose is to make your spiritual life obvious to everybody you came into contact with, and make it apparent that he is in fact present, here on earth, all of the time! God wants to be sought out, so if you are waiting for God to come to

It is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions of all time: if there are gods who have control over humans’ lives, why do they allow good followers to suffer? How can there be any justice in that kind of world? Philosophers and thinkers like Seneca and authors of the Bible have debated and written about these questions since ancient times. Perhaps because hardships affect every person, many people continue to debate the same topics today. Seneca writes extensively about the topic of suffering in his essay “On Providence,” which is contained in The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca. Likewise, Paul writes about how to face hardships in his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians, and the book of Job in the Old Testament contains

Truly everyone has a worldview, but I have a Christian worldview. My personal worldview is that God has a plan for us even though mankind did fall. God has provided a way for us to be redeem and forgiven. When you have that in mind you understand that man is not perfect and have to be grateful for our savior grace Jesus Christ. When you have a Christian worldview the way you view society is with a caring and prayer heart as well as mind. Believer stand out in society and because of our belief we become world changer sharing the idea of the need to come to one that can give you redemption and forgiveness. Matthew 5:13- 16 stated “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth

Takes the idea of suffering to portray the factors that one may experience when progressing to a final destination

What is evil? What is suffering? Religions all over the world have been trying to answer these questions for centuries. This essay will examine their responses, and briefly look at the practical application of the Christian response to suffering.

The core principal of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha Shakyamuni’s first sermon, the setting in motion of the wheel of dharma, detailed the Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth is about the inherent nature of suffering in the world; that is, everything is suffering. From a Western standpoint, the idea that the world is entirely suffering appears pessimistic. To the Buddhists, this is not a pessimistic viewpoint, but an honest one. In this paper, I will examine whether or not the world in suffering by looking at first the Buddhist justification and then my personal experiences and beliefs.

Why Do Humans Suffer? Is it possible to maintain religious faith in the face of suffering? Describe the ways in which TWO explanations of suffering respond in thought and action to the experience of suffering.   Guide Theists believe in the existence of at least one god who intervenes in the universe and may also be a creator god. (Believers)

There are many different perspectives on suffering with regard to its meaning, significance and purposes. Pope John Paul II (1984) wrote "On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering", that it centres on the notion of redemptive suffering - to remit one’s sins in order to save the soul from eternal suffering (damnation). Personally, I believe suffering can have a purpose. It can enrich life by giving us knowledge of both the good and the bad, arguably making us more appreciative of what we have . Indeed, James Stewart (2005) purports, "If there were no suffering, would there be compassion? If there were no discipline and hardship, would we ever learn patience and endurance? Construct a universe with no trouble in it and immediately you banish some of the finest qualities in the world."

Almost everyone’s perception of the word suffering is different, to each person it presents a new level of understanding, or even new meaning, that concept of “difference” is the beauty of humanity. The rich diversity of the earth is what can make any word have its own interpretation based on an individual’s upbringing, their district or even their own faith. From the beginning of time human beings have always made divisions between one another due to their different beliefs, whether it was social, political and most recently human divergence has been a result of religious ideologies. Although, there are differences between mostly all religions, there does some common amenities between some of them, which brings us back to the concept of suffering.