Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Many of the choices we make, using our free will, lead to suffering. We participate in risky behavior, without thinking of the consequences. For example, people that smoke have greater chances of developing health problem (e.g., cancer), which results in pain and suffering. This type of suffering is caused by our errors and mistakes. Many of the choice we make have consequences, but is it is impossible to live in a way in which we do not take risks. Furthermore, God's existence comes from intellect and not the sense, but suffering is felt through through our senses, whether it be external or internal pain. Suffering is adventitious and not

Why do we suffer? Humans have spent years searching for meaning in the grievous events that happen in life. Some find comfort through religions that give reason to tragedy and teach that suffering is not always eternal. Others just accept that this is the way the world is and then do their best to adapt to that reality. Religions and philosophies, like Buddhism and stoicism, may try to teach its followers how to end their pain, because no one likes hurting. However, suffering is not necessarily a bad thing. It is painful, but suffering can bring new levels of meaning and appreciation to happiness. Pain is inevitable for anyone who cares about the people or things in his/her life. But if we were to eliminate suffering then life would become meaningless, because real joy is not possible without the risk of pain, and those who find contentment after enduring some tribulations appreciate their joy much more.

Why Does God allow suffering? This question is probably as old as religion itself. It is a stumbling block for some of us, and for many more at given moments of tragedy. There are as many answers to this question as there are people who care to engage in theological dialogue. One understanding is that yes, God allows "bad" things to happen; God does not cause them to happen.

Hick explains that God did not create a paradise. A paradise would have resulted in a fundamentally different universe, one that perhaps could have been even worse. In a paradise, for example, there would be no incentive—life could not be better, but it also could not be worse. What, then, would be our purpose on Earth? Ultimately, free will would be unnecessary and soul-making, useless. Moreover, for Christians, the possibility of Heaven is one explanation for the meaning of life in an imperfect world: “the Christian answer must be in terms of a future good great enough to justify all that has happened on the way to it” (295). Hick’s suggests suffering is God’s test, Heaven, His reward. Those who respond courageously and develop as humans are sent to Heaven; those who succumb to their weaknesses are not rewarded as

How Can Our God Allow Suffering in the World? “Why does God let men suffer?” That is the most common question made by atheists. On the other hand people, such as Billy Graham, believed that God lets us suffer to test us. Billy Graham believes God does this “because we don’t know how strong we are” (Billy Graham).

According to Buddha, suffering is an inevitable part of human existence. Who hasn't experience hardship? Some days you think, holy crap, why did I even both getting out of bed today! Not too long ago, I had the week from hell. Complete with sleepless nights, worrying about all kinds of stuff I couldn't control. I was so looking forward to the cat going to the vet's. I thought, yeah, no kitty to crawl into bed with me and keep me awake in the middle of the night! Guess what, I stayed up worrying about whether the cat was okay! On top of a friend, herself dealing with some trying issues, snapping at me. True, she had a point, but still it is stressful to deal with. And other stuff, I am not even going to mention. I was thinking about all the

Religion has always played an instrumental role in the foundation of society, 17th century France perfectly exemplifies this heavy reliance on religion when faced with the dilemma of animals souls. European life, along with Descartes theory on animal souls, depend exclusively on the presence of God, if animals souls were to be proven, the trust in God would be diminished along with any justification given to humans for the treatment of animals, leaving the question of true human purpose.

If God loves us, why does He allow us to suffer? The central question in Shadowlands challenges traditional religious and moral conventions. It is a question asked by many, with few satisfactory answers. Before attempting to answer the question, and explore its relationship to Shadowlands, let us first define the question, so its implications may be more clearly understood. At the heart of the question is a doubt in the goodness of God, "If God loves us". From the beginning it is clear that God is being judged and criticized by the question. Then the second phrase follows"Why does He allow us to suffer?". The assumption made in the second phrase is that God has enough control over the world to prevent suffering. If He can prevent

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."

“Suffering helps to transform Christians into persons who are ready to live in God’s holy presence” (Sharpe, 2016). Theodicy deeply explains and defends why God allowed evil and suffer in the world. Suffering strengths our Character and helps us prove to ourselves that we need to love and trust God when we are in trouble and not only when everything is good. It also makes us more compassionate of others. Suffering, also keeps us dependent on Christ.

In today’s society, and dating back to when humans first walked the earth, the concept of suffering has been an unavoidable feature of human existence (Piper & Taylor, 2006). Many humans who embrace faith in God, and the belief that God gives them divine protection and care, are left curiously questioning the suffering they must endure along their journey through life (McCall, 2011). World events, such as the Tsunami in Thailand on December 26, 2004, caused people to question God’s existence, in the event of mass suffering (Goh, 2016). Many undergo a different approach toward the idea of suffering, and trust in God’s bigger plans for themselves, which are present within the Scripture of the Bible (Piper & Taylor, 2006). This essay will discuss the meaning of God’s

God created the world, a place free from suffering and pain where humankind could live in peace and harmony,however when man chose the way of Satan by eating the forbidden fruit, this was the beginning of sin in the world. God makes it clear to Adam and Eve the consequences of sinning, and from this moment on suffering was declared. Since dying on the cross, through the letter of St Paul to the Colossians, Christ expects us to bind our sufferings with his. As a result of sin, God allows us to suffer because he loves us and wants us to have free will and the choice whether to love/not love. With this freedom, mankind has broken laws which result in pain and suffering which act as an early warning system when we exercise wrong decisions. Catholics believe that suffering is a test of faith and this is exampled in the book of Job where God lets good people suffer: Job loosing everything he owned, the death of his childer etc. Job examples the reaction to our own suffering. Instead of asking why, the Church teaches us to endure through our suffering and remember that God loves us and no matter the situation will lead us back home. In Pope John Paul’s apostolic

Its impossible to reflect on the origins of evil without bringing up the concept of free will. God created man with this idea of choice; the choice to believe and obey, or the choice to disobey. It was this free will that allowed Adam and Eve to fall from their initial glory and introduce evil and suffering into the world. We can justify a large amount of sustained suffering by acknowledging that it actually benefits us and is not incompatible with God's loving nature. We learn lessons both physically and spiritually that allows us to grow and mature according to God. Some suffering is used to spark revival or for a great advancement in his kingdom, cause after all we're

The suffering of man is a very complicated matter that is most likely impossible to understand completely. It is a subject that people have grappled with since the dawn of recorded history. In fact, suffering is evident in every form of art man has created. Suffering is in our paintings, our poetry, our music, our plays, and in anything else that is conceivable. But still, we as a whole still struggle with the idea of suffering. It is my opinion that some individuals may grasp the notion of suffering more than others, but that no one person will ever fully understand suffering in every form. A person may only understand his or her own personal suffering, not suffering as a whole. It is the next step to then say

We see this in The Book of Job too. To Job, suffering happens as a result of God testing us. A Satan questioned the followings of God's people. This led to God testing his best subject, Job. God made Job suffer in the worst way any human being could. This would be physical suffering and mental suffering. When God took away Job's family and possessions, he suffered mentally. All of his possessions and loved ones were gone without a reason known to him. It was physical suffering when he was struck with sores about his body. This also gives reason to suffering that happens when you can't explain it. Even a person who thinks that they are perfect can suffer. You could be just like Job, almost a perfect worshiper. That would be even more the reason for you to be tested. The Book of Job is one of the teachings of the Bible, a spiritual and religious guide. A person reading this would believe that suffering is a test. It is a test of your faith, your faith in God. Therefore, if we were suffering, as long as we keep faith, the suffering will end. As long as we keep faith the suffering will stop, and better things will happen and develop.