by Steve Bro

Created on: June 07, 2010   Last Updated: November 01, 2010

Suffering - The Causes, The Facts, The Solution

No human being alive today is exempt from suffering in some form or another. One person may be living in poverty, another facing a terminal illness, another grieving the loss of a loved one. There are billions of victims, past and present, who have suffered through war, natural disasters and injustice.

Whether we are an atheist, agnostic or a believer, how can we understand these things? Is there a reasonable explanation or, is it just a “fact of life“? Would knowing “why?” make suffering any more bearable?

If there is a creator of life, a “God”, surely he would know the answers. Unfortunately, many of the answers that come from religious leaders today are as illogical and discomforting as the alternative explanation of the atheist, namely that, life is pointless, and then we all die and then the universe ends!

Religious leaders say offensive things like “God took your child to be with him in heaven “ or “God sent that earthquake to punish them for their sins”. This has the effect of burdening those who have suffered with either anger or guilt. One of the most common yet, unsatisfying explanations given is “It’s a mystery, we don’t know why”. If any of the former statements are true, who could be drawn to such a callous, indifferent God? No wonder people are turning away from religion!

Can the creator speak for himself? Where could we find such an explanation? Billions of people today put trust in the words of the Bible. True, there have been accounts in the Bible where God did step in to destroy certain individuals and groups, but those were very different situations where those who were destroyed were warned many times to stop their depraved and violent activities. Who of us would treat an unrepentant child murderer or a violent rapist kindly? The Canaanite nations of the time of Moses habitually sacrificed children in fire and had sex with anyone and anything, including children and animals.   

As to the question of suffering, there are answers in the Bible and they are as follows;

THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING

1)  Human selfishness  

“For the final age of this world is to be a time of troubles. Men will love nothing but money and self; they will be arrogant boastful and abusive; with no respect for parents, no gratitude. They will be men who put pleasure in the place of God” - (2nd book of Timothy, chapter

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