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God and the Problem of Suffering Philip St. Romain

GOD, AND THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING

by

Philip St. Romain, M.S., D. Min.

- all rights reserved -

First draft for review and editing

Not for circulation

August 4, 2015

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Contents

Introduction

God, and Human Suffering

- Five Causes of Suffering

- Moral Evil

- Accidents

- Natural Evil

- Growth, Sickness and Death

The Critique of Atheism

Christian Spirituality

- Faith and Love

- Redemptive Suffering

- Hope for the Future

Summary

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Introduction

Schoolyard shootings, devastating hurricanes, plane crashes, genocide, child

abuse, cancer: where is God when these and other tragic events happen?

God gets blamed for many things. I recall when my wife, a sixth-grade religion

teacher at the time, had a discussion with her class about a famine in Ethiopia, and

she asked the students what they thought about it. Several stated that the reason

the Ethiopians were starving was because they probably were not Christians.

Others stated that God was punishing them for something they did wrong. These

comments might be excusable for children, but several said this was what their

parents had told them.

People in every walk of life struggle with the issue of God’s involvement in

suffering and evil. Consider, for example, this quote from Sidney Hook, a

contributor to Free Inquiry, a journal of secular humanist ideas.

I ask: How could an all-living and all-powerful God exist if he permits the

innocent to be tortured and the wicked to prosper? If he is all-loving and

cannot prevent it, he is not all-powerful; if he is able to prevent it but will

not, he is not all-loving.

What’s the answer to this dilemma? Has Mr. Hook painted God into a corner?

How we understand God’s role in suffering and evil has a significant impact on

our faith. How difficult for those sixth-graders taught by my wife to feel compassion

for the hungry if for some reason their plight is deserved. The dilemma presented by

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Sidney Hook in the above quote has significant implications for faith. Indeed, it

seems that for many people today, it is a primary stumbling block.

The reflections which follow will not conclusively resolve the many questions

connected with belief in God and the reality of suffering and evil. Ultimately, we are

dealing with a mystery, here, which is not to say that we cannot shed light on the

subject, but that the topic goes beyond the capacities of human reason and its

manner of understanding things. Indeed, we must rely, to some extent, on divine

revelation to help us comprehend God’s attitude toward suffering and evil. After all,

a critique of God’s complicity in these matters implies some kind of concept of God,

of which there are many among the world’s religions. The response given herein will

be from the perspective of Christian theology, which is based in large part on the

revelation of God presented in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It will be a sketch on

how to approach and respond to this topic rather than a scholarly thesis, of which

there are many.

God, and Human Suffering

We begin by recognizing that there are different causes of pain and suffering in

our human lives, each having different implications for how we might understand

God’s role.

Five Causes of Suffering

1. Moral Evil: suffering caused by the misuse of human freedom. Poor eating

habits, smoking, and lack of exercise are examples of poor choices made by

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individuals; heart attacks, cancers and other problems are possible consequences.

Guilt and shame resulting from lying and other immoral behaviors are also

conditions that we bring on ourselves. No one is surprised when a smoker gets lung

cancer or a liar has relationship difficulties. Individuals hurting others through

violent actions is another example of this type of suffering. Child abuse is a sad but

fairly common example, but so is gossip that damages another’s reputation. The list

could go on.

Social injustice is also caused by the misuse of freedom under the influence of

social biases. Racism, sexism, and other forms of bias are common examples, as is

persecuting people for their religious beliefs. Genocidal movements have claimed

millions of lives during the past century.

2. Suffering caused by accidents. For example, a car wreck because of a tire that

blows out is unplanned and not completely preventable. Neither is tripping and

breaking one’s arm, and a wide variety of other mishaps and mistakes. Accidents

are in their own category because they are unintended and and unpredictable. They

are often ascribed to “bad luck” or similar phrases, prompting different kinds of

questions concerning God’s role in the situation.

3. Suffering occasioned by nature is quite common. This can include tragedies

brought on by weather (tornados, floods, lightning, blizzards, etc.) and geological

phenomena like earthquakes and volcanoes. These natural causes are sometimes

called “acts of God” by the insurance industry, as there is no human being or social

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entity to assign blame to them. Biological factors like birth defects can also be

assigned to this type of suffering, as are unavoidable forms of mental illness.

4. Suffering caused by sickness. Even though one lives in a country where social

injustice is minimal, and one manages to avoid accidents, natural disasters, and

poor choices, we all get sick at some time. This is unavoidable, as our immune

system is not invulnerable to every kind of virus or bacteria. Sickness — even the

common cold — painful, not to mention a stress on our caregivers.

5. Suffering rooted in the growth process derives from our creatureliness. As we

grow older, it is natural that we stretch our physical and psycho-spiritual

boundaries. From the reproductive and birthing process to teething and learning to

walk to the adolescent’s search for identity to aging and death, there is pain

accompanying growth. These pains cannot be prevented. They are part of life.

Sometimes we find combinations of these causes of suffering, as when a

hurricane makes landfall in a country that is poorly governed and unable to provide

assistance to those in the path of the storm. To make matters worse, looters might

move in, further complicating the situation. Small children and the elderly will be

most vulnerable to the stresses of inadequate food and medical care. A hurricane is

a powerful, destructive force to begin with, but all the more so where there are

many poor.

Moral Evil

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Now that we have examined the five common sources of human suffering, we can

reflect on the problem of moral evil. Keeping in mind the philosophical definition of

evil as “the absence of good,” let us consider the question: What would God have to

do in order to prevent evil from happening?

Since moral evil is the natural and logical outcome of the misuse of freedom, the

way to prevent it would be for God to somehow prevent people from doing harmful

acts to themselves and one another. For example, God would have to deter the child

abuser from beating his child, or disallow the unjust laws imposed by a dictator

from being implemented. Obviously, God does not do this. Why? Because to allow

humans to make only good choices while preventing us from making and enacting

bad ones would be no freedom at all. We would be more like robots if that were the

case, but that is not how God has created us.

Still, it seems that this explanation lets God off the hook completely. After all,

God is the one who created us with freedom, and who sustains in existence those

who create evil acts. Therefore, God has a living connection with evil-doers; without

the gifts of life and existence, they could not do anyone any harm.

There is great mystery in all this, but what we can say from our biblical

tradition is that God, who is love (1 John 4:8) created us in his image and likeness

(Gen. 1:26). This is to say that we have a spiritual nature coexisting with our

bodies, enabling us to act as rational beings and make free choices. Love cannot

exist outside a context of freedom; it cannot be required or demanded. Nor is love on

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the spiritual level a blind, intellectual drive; it is a decision made in freedom. This

freedom must include the possibility of choosing self-will over friendship with God

or it is no freedom at all.

God created us free to accept or reject God’s love. He knew that most of us would

reject him some of the time, and that a few would deny him most of the time. He

also knew that the gift of free will would enable men like Hitler to rise to power,

that the Cains of this world would kill the Abels, and that death squads would

torture innocent children. Nonetheless, God knew that some human beings would

finally, in spirit and truth, choose to love Him in return. Why does God allow evil?

He must have thought that those who would accept his offer of friendship would

make it all worthwhile.

Still, even though God allows evil to happen, it does not follow that God

approves of it. God loathes moral evil (Ps. 26:5).

Following the biblical story of the Fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), we read of

the spread evil throughout the human race, corrupting our awareness of God’s love

and our reverence for truth. This was all a natural and logical consequence of our

First Parent’s betrayal of the spiritual enlightenment they had been blessed with.

Their own darkened consciousness contaminated their childrens', whose darkness

was passed along, generation after generation, becoming politically and

economically enculturated through the centuries.

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God did not leave us to ourselves, however. The biblical story is one of God

taking the initiative to invite us to live more responsibly and lawfully with one

another. When the time was right, God became incarnate as a human being, Jesus

of Nazareth, to stand with us in the battle against evil while empowering us with

his very Spirit to become loving children to God.

Jesus’ position was always to resist evil without further escalating it; his power

was demonstrated through love, not aggressive coercion. Through his death and

resurrection, Jesus broke the hold of evil in this world, demonstrating that the

power of goodness is stronger than evil. We see, too, that God’s power is not negated

by evil, for the resurrection of Jesus established a spiritual foundation from which

all creation shall eventually be renewed. It is this same power that God shares with

us in the gift of the Holy Spirit — to help us love as Christ himself loved.

So we see that God is very concerned about human evil and has even suffered,

through Jesus, a most unjust process of torture and death from powers of evil. God

empathizes with those who suffer because of moral evil, and has done everything

possible to help us face the powers of evil without revoking the gift of freedom that

enables the precious possibility of friendship with him. In the end, those who prefer

evil over good will be banished to hell, while the rest will live with God in heaven

for all eternity. But in the meantime, during this epoch of salvation history, we live

in a world where forces of both good and evil are in conflict, knowing that God is

with us through the struggle. This world and this age are but part of the ongoing

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story of creation. In the end, God’s will shall prevail; The resurrection of Christ is

our hope and promise that evil shall not have the last word. More on this in a later

section.

Accidents

If it is possible to believe in a good God who nonetheless permits evil, and a

powerful God who will not use his power to negate human freedom, then the

question of God’s role in suffering brought about by accidents naturally emerges.

One might say: “OK, so God cannot be blamed for a ruthless dictator’s rise to power

nor for the evil of social injustice. Why, then, does God not warn us about accidents?

God could surely alert us to tires that were about to blow out, or a bridge that was

going to collapse. This would not violate our freedom; we could still choose to take a

risk and travel on the tire or bridge, or to do something else. So why, if God is good,

are we not warned about accidents to spare us this type of suffering?”

One common response to these questions is to consider all accidental occurrences

to be part of “God’s plan.” One often hears people saying this after an accident of

some kind. Even the statement, “God works in mysterious ways” presumes that God

has some kind of role in engineering the accident. In this view, the thousands of

people killed in plane crashes through the years were called by God to die in that

manner. Perhaps we might say, “it was their turn to go,” or something like that to

try to make sense of it. Those who ran late and missed those fatal flights were

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somehow saved by an act of divine intervention as “it wasn’t their turn to go.” This

view represents a misunderstanding of God’s power, providence and sovereignty.

Accidents happen, and God has nothing to do with it. Those who maintain that

God somehow has a role in bringing about accidents as a means of selecting those

whose time on earth is up fail to make a distinction between primary and secondary

causality. Primary causality is the theological affirmation of a God who creates

things that can act according to their own nature. Secondary causality is the

recognition of the actions of creatures to one another. This is to say that God makes

creation (primary causality), but is not responsible for the actions taken by the

creatures (secondary causality), including the failures of even things like tires and

airplanes. Tires and airplanes were made by people, and so their failures — even

though unintended — are to be laid at the feet of humans, not God. Build a better

tire and there will be fewer blowouts; make a better airplane and there will be fewer

crashes (both have, in fact, improved through the years).

Can God prevent accidents? Yes, of course; God can do anything! But this would

require that God somehow forewarn us so we could avoid them. It may well be that

God sometimes does alert us of a problem by nudging us internally away from a

certain destructive course of action; many people have given testimony of this kind

of experience (usually with the clarity of “20-20 hindsight”). For example, around

350 people changed or canceled their flight plans for the planes that were hijacked

on September 11, 2001 in the U.S. This is an extremely high number compared to

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similar days on these flights. Coincidence? Warning from God? Impossible to say, in

most cases, though some have stated that they had received an inner warning or

sense of danger.

It seems, however, that God usually allows us to experience the natural and

logical consequences of our lives on earth so that we might become more responsible

as a people. If God warned us every time a tire was ready to blow out, we would not

have had the initiative to build a better tire. We would probably be lax in our efforts

to address social problems if God directly intervened by forewarning us of the

approach of a madman with a gun, ready to shoot whoever is in sight. If God

stepped in to prevent these kinds of occurrences, it would probably undermine our

incentive to correct these kinds of problems.

The reality of accidental suffering and death should be a sobering reminder to us

that we never really know when we will die. Because an accident can take us away

from this life before we are ready to go, we must live in such manner that we are

always ready to stand before God to give an account of our lives.

Suffering caused by accidents also calls us to be compassionate to those who

have suffered such misfortunes. One of the ugliest and most insidious myths

prevalent today is that we all get what we deserve — including accidents. This is a

pagan view, unworthy of Christians. There is that fascinating passage in Luke

13:1-5 where Jesus refers to eighteen people who were killed by a falling tower in

Siloam. “Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else who live in

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Jerusalem?” he asked the crowd, rhetorically. “Certainly not!” he exclaimed in

response. Sometimes one is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The most

appropriate response to suffering cased by accidents is to do what we can to reduce

them while providing compassionate support to those who, through no fault of their

own, fall victim to this type of suffering in our imperfect world. The last thing we

should do is to blame God for the accident and ensuing suffering.

Natural Evil

The term “natural evil” has been used to indicate suffering brought about

through natural processes. Some writers have even considered sickness and death

to be of this type, but we will discuss those types of suffering separately. What we

are most concerned with here are largely tragedies related to weather and

geological processes.

Of course, it is difficult to completely subtract human influence from even this

type of suffering. For example, much has been written during the past few years

concerning climate change — how emissions of greenhouse gasses (CO2, natural

gas) from industry, automobiles and cattle has contributed to broad changes in

weather patterns. Although it is difficult to prove the degree to which climate

change is related to extreme weather patterns, climatologists insist there is a

connection. The prediction is that we will see more weather extremes in the decades

to come, one consequence being more human suffering from such natural causes.

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Human agency is also implicated in other kinds of natural disasters. The dust

storms in the Great Plains during the 1930s were caused, in part, from

irresponsible land cultivation methods that left the topsoil unprotected from the

wind. Humans depleting the rain forests also influences weather patterns and leads

to more flooding. The examples could go on.

Even in a world where humans lived in perfect harmony with nature, we would

sometimes suffer from an earthquake, volcano, hurricane, and so forth. These so-

called “acts of God” have been happening for a very long time — long before humans

came onto the scene. They are part of the way the earth’s natural geological and

climatological processes unfold. The problem for us is that we are often unprepared

or unable to cope with these situations.

In Kansas, where I now live, we have numerous tornadoes every year. Some of

these can be very powerful, destroying virtually everything in their path. They are

generally less than a half-mile wide, however, and it often happens that a house on

one side of the road will be destroyed, while one on the other side will be untouched.

The path of a tornado is often erratic, prompting some to speculate that they

express some kind of divine purpose — destroying this home and that barn for

reasons known to God, but sparing others just a few feet away, or seemingly in the

direct path because of divine mercy.

As tempting as it is to consider tornadoes and other natural forces to be agents

of divine justice, I am sure this position is not theologically defensible. As always,

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good people suffer from these forces, and bad people escape unharmed. There is no

moral intent expressed in natural forces. As was the case with accidental

phenomena, we need to make a distinction between primary and secondary

causality. Climate and geology operate in the realm of secondary causality.

Thanks to scientific progress, we are now able to avoid some of the causes of

natural suffering better than in the past. When a hurricane destroyed Galveston,

TX in 1900, no one knew it was coming in advance and so there was no evacuation

of the island. Thousands died. Now, we can track hurricanes from their early

formation and provide ample warning time to encourage evacuation. This will not

diminish the damage done to property in its path; those who wish to avoid this risk

can consider living elsewhere. Same goes for those who live near geological fault

lines. Early-warning systems for earthquakes don’t give much advance notice, but

they can help one to at least get out of a building before serious damage is done.

Also, knowing where earthquakes are likely to occur provides information to

consider when planning where we want to settle. San Francisco, CA is a lovely city,

and it’s easy to understand why anyone would want to live there. But no geologist

would be surprised if a major earthquake caused extensive damage to the city at

any time. Science can also help to predict situations where tsunamis will arise, as

well as give warnings about flash flooding, severe thunderstorms, and volcanic

eruptions. The more we learn, the better we can adjust our lives to natural forces.

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I have placed birth defects in this section because they can seemingly turn up

randomly and without warning. As with other natural causes of suffering, however,

they are not completely disconnected from human actions. For example, a woman

who drinks alcohol and/or uses drugs during her pregnancy can harm her

developing fetus, sometimes severely. But a wide range of handicaps can arise in

the children of healthy women and marriages. With a better knowledge of the

genetic heritage of both parents, it might be possible to predict some of these

possibilities, but not necessarily prevent them. Genetic testing of fetuses is also

possible, raising the ethical dilemma of how to deal with those who will be born

with handicaps, especially severe ones. Church teaching on this issue gives priority

to the right to life of the unborn, and that is helpful in sorting out the ethical issues

at stake. Bringing a handicapped fetus to term and caring for him or her will surely

present extraordinary challenges for the parents, however.

I think God’s attitude toward suffering from natural causes is similar to that of

accidents — first and foremost encouraging compassionate assistance to those who

are victims of such tragedies. During the flooding of New Orleans following

Hurricane Katrina in 2005, I heard people say things like, “well, if you live in a city

below sea level, you’re asking for it!” Not exactly compassion! God also prompts us

to learn more about the earth and its natural systems that we might live in more

safety and harmony with these mighty forces. Better levees have been built around

New Orleans, for example, and more care is being given to inspecting the pumps

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that are supposed to remove flood waters. Couples who know they at risk for

bearing children with serious handicaps can better decide if they want to take this

risk, or to find other ways to be generous with their lives — like adoption, for

example. God gave us intellects that we might become more responsible for how we

live our lives, and the Spirit of God has been given to guide us in our studies and

discernments.

On a purely fantasy level, I can imagine that God wanting us to drop the term,

“acts of God” in reference to tragedies brought on by nature. The term gives the

wrong impression, ascribing blame to God and thus discouraging people from

turning to God when they need him most. God is always with us, loving us in all of

the circumstances of our lives.

Growth, Sickness and Death

All life forms undergo a growth process, struggle to find adequate food,

experience illnesses, and finally die. It is no different with humans. Between the

time the egg is fertilized in the mother’s womb through birth, toddlerhood,

adolescence, adulthood, and finally old age and death, we are challenged and

stretched to let go of what has been to realize more of our potential. The growth

process need not be too painful if one is healthy and supported by a loving family,

but that is not always the case. Still, there’s no getting around the fact that life is

often difficult, stressful and wearisome.

Our days may come to seventy years,

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or eighty, if our strength endures;

yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,

for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

(Ps. 90:10)

As with the other causes of suffering, things can be made better or worse

depending on the kinds of choices we have made in our lives, and those we continue

to make once the difficult times arise. The research is very clear, for example, that

diet, sleep, exercise, and relationships are strongly correlated with health. No doctor

is surprised when an obese person develops diabetes, or an alcoholic has liver

diseases. Children who grow up in homes where the parents frequently quarrel will

often develop low self-esteem, which is a painful psychological consequence they will

struggle for years, in many cases. Obviously, we cannot blame God for illnesses

brought about through our own poor lifestyle decisions.

Even in the best of circumstances, however, sickness and death can intrude

unexpectedly. We are probably all aware of someone — a “health nut,” we might

have called him or her — who was careful about diet, sleep, exercise, and managing

stress, but suffered a stroke or heart attack at an early age. In one case I am

familiar with, the man, aged 42, had had a physical exam, with excellent numbers

to boast of. He dropped dead during a jog the very next week, leaving his wife and

three young children behind. Statistics are in favor of those who make good self-care

decisions, but there are no guarantees. Death can come at any moment.

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I suppose most people would have little quarrel with God if they knew they could

count on a long life with few illnesses and a rather quick dying process, surrounded

by family and friends, with joyful anticipation of the heavenly world to come. After

all, everything that lives eventually has to die, so one has no right to feel exempt

from that fact. But the later the better, and with as little suffering as possible, most

of us would say. Indeed, some people are granted such a gift, but of course they do

not know that it will happen this way, and most likely have experienced times of

stress thinking about their eventual death.

What needs to be noted in all this is that, from a biblical perspective, God did not

will that humans should know suffering and death as we now experience it. With

the creation of the first humans, God breathed into them an immortal spirit that

transformed even their bodies with a fullness and glory that was resistant to illness

and death. We do not know how that would have worked, of course, as this

metaphysical situation was lost with the Fall in Eden. Even though those early

chapters in Genesis are mythological in construct, they do describe a change in the

status of human nature and its capacity for suffering. Genesis 3:16-19 describes the

curses humans were to experience in our new, fallen state — mental anguish,

struggle, loss of harmony, contentious relationships, to name a few. Then God gave

them “animal skins” to clothe them for life outside of Eden, signifying that we are

now like the other animals, who will experience disease and death. There is also a

new capacity for “knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:22), which is to say a

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judgmentalism that we can apply to any situation. God did not will that we

experience this “fruit of the tree of Knowledge,” which is the source of so much of

our misery.

Human judgmentalism must be ranked among the chief sources of human

suffering and misery. It is bad enough that the shoe of life pinches tightly at times,

but we make things worse by judging that this is a bad thing and something to

loathe, maybe even blame someone else (including God) about. Making mistakes is

inevitable, but judging oneself to be a bad person and failure for doing so is quite

another. Animals become frightened when they perceive a threat, but unlike a cat,

who calms down when the dog is finally out of sight, we continue to scare ourselves

by fantasizing other threatening situations. We create inner disharmony through

our mental mismanagement, compounding the pains we experience from illnesses

and other difficulties. Granted, these are but more examples of suffering brought on

through poor choices, but what we are naming here is a kind of spiritual disease

that biases us to make such choices in the first place. We are our own worst enemy,

and that is perhaps the worst suffering of all, for it disposes us to be hopeless and

despondent.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what

I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is

good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I

know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For

I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do

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the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin

living in me that does it.

(Rom. 7:15-20)

God knows all about our misery, of course, and has done something about it, as

we shall soon see. What needs to be affirmed here, is that God wills that we be

compassionately responsive to the pains and struggles that we all undergo through

the growth process, sickness and death. We see Jesus doing so on many occasions in

the Gospels, and he calls us to do the same.

The Critique of Atheism

The fact of suffering and death is one of atheist’s strongest criticisms of belief in

a loving God. They are quick to use quotes like that of Sidney Hook, which I shared

in the Introduction to this work but will repeat here:

I ask: How could an all-living and all-powerful God exist if he permits the

innocent to be tortured and the wicked to prosper? If he is all-loving and

cannot prevent it, he is not all-powerful; if he is able to prevent it but will

not, he is not all-loving.

As we have seen in our reflections on the different causes of illness, there is

nothing of the Christian understanding of God to warrant agreement with Mr.

Hook. God’s love and omnipotence are not in conflict, especially if we recognize that

God grants a measure of freedom to humans and indeed all of creation in its

operations. Without such freedom, the universe would simply be like a machine,

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with creatures going about and doing things according to causes they could not

resist or change in any manner. Yet the fact that humans are capable of changing

their attitudes and behavior is proof enough that our lives and actions are not pre-

determined. Freedom of mind and action is inscribed in the heart of all humans,

and to a lesser degree in other creatures as well. Such freedom implies the

possibility of doing harm, even in the face of the experience of negative

consequences.

Some atheists will grant the role of free-will in human suffering, but complain

about God creating a kind of universe where natural evil, birth defects, growth

pains, sickness and death take place. Change and even violence are found

throughout the universe, from the birth and death of stars, to the cataclysmic

changes that planets undergo through volcanoes, bombardment by meteors, and so

forth. Life on earth has come forth in such a context. Animals eat plants and other

animals. Species arise, and eventually go extinct; such is the way of the universe.

The atheist might want nothing to do with a God who creates a universe where

suffering and evil are possible, but it’s not as though they have a choice about which

one they will live in. Neither is it obvious that they could have done a better job!

Of course, it’s possible that God could have designed a universe where free

creatures would be compelled to do only good. In fact, such a place actually does

exist, according to Christian theology. It’s called heaven — a state of existence

where the goodness and beauty of God are perceived so fully that its inhabitants are

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are irresistibly drawn to goodness and love. Another way of considering the atheist’s

complaint, then, would be to inquire why God didn’t create only heaven and skip the

step of this mortal life with its struggles and pain? There could be no arguing about

existence of God if that were the case, nor of God’s goodness and power, for that

matter. God could have done things that way, but God did not, so there must be a

reason for His plan.

What we know about God’s ultimate plan and God’s reason for working it out in

the context of this physical universe is extremely limited, however. As the Apostle

Paul noted, “For now we see through a glass darkly (1 Cor. 13:12),” and the great

prophet Isaiah stated: “Who can know the mind of the Lord, or teach him anything

(Is. 40:13)?” And (God speaking) “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are

my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts (55:9).”

God has His reasons for having created a universe where creatures could experience

suffering and evil. The Bible is generally silent on this matter, as it does not occur

to its authors to question why God created this kind of universe and not another.

It is worth noting again that the kinds of suffering humans experience on earth

is not what God had intended for us. While the state of existence that the Bible calls

Eden wasn’t the same as what we believe heaven to be, it was nonetheless one of

peace and harmony between humans and the creation. Edenic paradise was lost

with the rupturing of relationship between our first parents and God. Atheists

might write all this off as a childish fairy-tale, but there’s no denying the biblical

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provision for an earthly paradisiacal state in the context of the very same universe

now blamed for causing so much suffering. Then, too, there is the Christian hope for

resurrection of the body, and the possibility that the earth may very well one day be

populated and developed by these resurrected inhabitants of heaven. It takes a very

special universe indeed to provide for these kinds of possibilities, not to mention the

amazing array of learning contexts for personal and social development.

One thing we can all say, however, is that the universe is not lacking in beauty

and grandeur! Atheists are often very much in touch with this, but they do not

recognize a Transcendent Source behind and within it all. For the religious person,

creation is iconic, or revelatory of a greater Goodness, Beauty and Intelligence. This

is why the Apostle Paul wrote: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible

qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being

understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Rm.

1:20).” Creation itself stands as a witness to the existence of God, for it cannot

account for its own origin and existence.

Atheists, then, are inescapably shackled to a materialist perspective that even

the most noble of their humanists cannot overcome. Their hope to leave the earth a

better place for the next generation is laudable, but does not address the deepest

aspirations of the human soul and its yearning for complete love, knowledge and

meaning. For them, death is believed to be the end, including the extinguishing of

the light of individual consciousness. Perhaps they feel some degree of satisfaction

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in their protest against a God whom they believe to be unjust and mean-spirited,

but such self-righteousness is small compensation for the harsh reality of an

eventual death and annihilation. Nevertheless, the number of atheists is growing,

in no small part because many of them are ignorant of the hope Christianity holds

out in the face of evil and suffering.

Christian Spirituality

Christians share with atheists a sense of responsibility for the social and

ecological future of the planet. We recognize the work for good that they are often

doing, and we stand with them in many ventures. As the Apostle Paul wrote long

ago, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy

—think about such things (Phil. 4:8).” There are many such “excellent and

praiseworthy” writings and initiatives carried forward by atheists. With regard to

scientific research, in particular, it makes little difference whether the scientist is

an atheist or a religious person. Science proceeds by following a method of inquiry

that helps to clarify facts, and what is most important is fidelity to this method.

How to act upon and understand the meaning of scientific data necessitates

consideration of ethical and sometimes even theological principles, however, and it

is here that one often finds disagreements. We can collaborate on mapping the

human gene code, for example, but what to do with this information is another

question. Other complicated areas include embryonic stem cell research, birth

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control methods, and assisted suicide. Should we proactively and painlessly

terminate the life of a person suffering from a terminal illness, for example? Is it

ethical to perform late-term abortions when the mother’s life is not at risk? Science

cannot resolve these questions as they are ethical considerations.

Christianity has no quarrel with advances in technology that help to relieve

suffering and extend life. Although our symbol is the Cross, we do not believe that

suffering in itself is a good thing. As noted in a section above, the kind of misery

and strife we experience at this time in history was not God’s hope for us, and so it’s

a good thing to do whatever we can through scientific means (medical,

pharmaceutical, psychological, etc.) and otherwise to work to alleviate suffering and

to reverse the conditions that bring it about. Chief among these conditions is the

misuse of human freedom — a topic about which Christian spirituality has much to

offer.

Faith and Love

The misuse of human freedom is the cause of enormous misery and destruction:

relational, social, political, economic, environmental, and so on. If we could

eliminate this cause, we would still have natural evil, accidents, growth pains and

sicknesses to contend with, but we could deal with each of these problems much

more effectively.

It’s obvious that making rational and loving choices would make things better in

any circumstance, so one wonders why we would ever choose to do otherwise? The

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answer is because our choosing is deeply influenced by three negative factors:

ignorance, selfishness, and social bias. These three are often entwined to twist our

consciousness, thus distorting our perceptions, judgments and decision-making. All

of the world’s religions and many atheists as well are aware of these destructive

influences, but countering them is another matter.

In Christianity, the problem of ignorance is addressed in a variety of ways.

Christians support educational endeavors such as the pursuit of the arts, science,

math, and so forth. The greater problem of moral ignorance is also addressed in

several ways. Biblical revelation confronts us with the Ten Commandments, for

example, and moral theologians today reflect on the application of ethical principles

in a wide range of situations. But it is the example of Jesus that sets forth the

clearest expression of what it means to live a good and moral life. His teachings on

love and his example of living a life of love inspire us to do likewise. Because

Christians believe that Jesus is God-incarnate, we find in him the focal point to

draw the mind and will in the direction of goodness.

The problem of selfish bias is more difficult to overcome. As the Apostle Paul

noted, the Jews had the moral Law, but their history betrays an inability to live up

to its requirements. The reason for this has less to do with a disregard for the Law

than with a deep woundedness that leaves the human psyche polluted with fear,

shame and resentment. These negative emotions exert considerable influence on the

will and reason, moving us to seek our own good first without regard for the needs

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of others. Christianity responds to this inner bias by calling us to conversion — to

renounce our selfish ways and to open ourselves to the love of God through faith.

Faith also enables us to open to the power of the Holy Spirit — a deeper Will and

Energy at work within us — Who heals the deep recesses of the soul and gifts us in

power to love God and one another. Of course, it’s painfully obvious that many who

call themselves Christians seem to have missed out on this inner healing and

empowerment. But what should also be obvious is that this kind of religious

transformation is not an option offered by atheism, which, in fact, denies its very

possibility despite the example of countless saints and mystics in our day and

through the ages.

Finally, the influence of social bias is offset by Christian community, where we

find support and encouragement for growing in faith and living by moral values.

Through the preaching, teaching, fellowship and Sacraments, we are nurtured in

our growth in Christ. We are also sent forth to live a life of love in our families,

workplace, and in the larger culture.

We see, then, that Christianity does offer a positive response to the problem of

individual and social bias, and the case could easily be made that the world today is

a better place because of the influence of Christians through the ages. The record is

tainted by scandals, inquisitions and so forth, but it would be wrong to consider

these to be characteristic and definitive. Wherever such wrongdoing has occurred, it

has eventually been condemned by Christian teaching. Far more characteristic has

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been transformed individuals and relationships, with schools, hospitals, and

religious communities responding to a wide variety of needs. Much remains to be

done, of course, but the spiritual means to do so has been richly provided for by God

through Christ and His Church.

Redemptive Suffering

Even with the responses of education, faith, spirituality and community

described above, everyone will suffer at some time. It is during such times that the

question of a good and loving God becomes most focused and urgent. Sometimes

people become angry with God, holding God responsible for their situation, or at

least wondering why God doesn’t rescue them from it somehow. In the worst of

cases, they reject God completely, including spiritual disciplines and Christian

community. This can lead to the experience of non-redemptive suffering.

All pain moves us to focus on self, our problems, and possible solutions. When we

fully give in to this movement, we can shut others — including God — out of our

lives, and become more withdrawn, isolated, and hopeless. This non-redemptive

suffering makes a difficult situation worse by straining relationships and leaving us

with a sense of meaninglessness. The life circumstance from which we suffer is bad

enough, but we compound it because of our negative, judgmental attitude, perhaps

going so far as to become bitter and closed off to life. Alcohol and drugs might

provide temporary relief, but we have little hope for experiencing happiness. This is

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a tragic mistake, for Christianity holds out a very different way of responding to a

painful situation.

The message and example of Christ is that God is with us in every circumstance

of life. That’s why the response of faith discussed above is so important; it helps us

to be open to God. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who weary and over-burdened,

and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28).” He is the promised Immanuel (God-with-us)

from the Book of Isaiah (7:14). He is with us when we suffer, offering his love,

friendship, guidance, and hope. If our suffering is a consequence of poor or selfish

choices, he holds out his forgiveness, inviting us to make amends, if necessary, and

move on. Even from the Cross, where he was being mocked by those who had

tortured him unjustly, he persisted in love and forgiveness. Jesus reveals that

nothing can separate us from God’s love — not trouble or calamity, persecution,

hunger, poverty, death, demons, powers and principalities (see Rom. 8:31-39).

The promise of redemptive suffering is that we can continue to grow in our

relationship with God, self and others even during times of pain. In the book, Man’s

Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl noted that even in the experience of a Nazi

concentration camp, it was still possible for individuals to choose their attitude in

this horrible situation. Christ did the same during his passion, and he can

strengthen us as well through His Spirit dwelling in us. There is no guarantee that

the cause of our suffering will be resolved. One still might have the cancer, or the

destruction left by a tornado, for example. The main point is that one can go

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through this difficult time open to God and loving, or one can withdraw from life in

bitterness. The choice is ours.

At the heart of the Christian spiritual life is a dynamic called the paschal

mystery. The paschal mystery refers to Christ’s dying and rising from the dead, and

we experience this pattern in our own lives. Sometimes things fall apart, but if we

stay close to God and persevere is loving relationships, we come to experience

transformation. Looking back on such an experience, we can see how close God was

to us, and how much we learned and grew through it all. As the Apostle Paul

observes, “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces

perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put

us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the

Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rm. 5:3-5).”

The paschal mystery is another answer to the question, “Where is God during

times of suffering?” God is with us, loving and supporting us, deepening our

capacity for compassion and insight. We are “grown” by God through times of

suffering just as surely as we are when things are going well — maybe moreso.

Spiritual growth is always open to us, and that is good news indeed!

Hope for the Future

“Religion is the opiate of the people” is a summary of Karl Marx’s critique of the

role of religion in society. He saw that the promise of a heavenly future held out by

religions could often serve to distract people from taking responsibility for

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improving life in this world. Even worse, teachings about heaven in combination

with an unhealthy emphasis on the nobility of the Cross and suffering played into

the hands of the wealthy, who used it to oppress the working class. Hence, for Marx

and the communists who made use of his teachings, there could be no place for

religion in their socialistic society.

Marx had a point, of course. Sometimes religious teachings have been used to

manipulate people. As always, however, these distortions have been confronted by

Christian teachings themselves, with the errors pointed out and exaggerated

emphases corrected. The solution to the problem Marx pointed out was not to get

rid of religion, as the communists did, but to reform and renew it, as has been done

many times through the centuries. Religious traditions participate in the paschal

mystery in a manner similar to that of individuals, with structures and emphases

that worked in one age eventually falling apart and then rising again in another

form with a more life-giving emphasis in another. Church history tells the story of

these dyings and risings, which continue to this day.

The truth is that we need a little of the “opium” that Marx was protesting

against. A better name for this would be the virtue of hope, which looks to a better

future for individuals and the world. After all, if this life is all there is, then the

future ends with death and its annihilation of everything we know ourselves to be

— body, psyche and spirit. What kind of future is that? And yet there’s no denying

the fact of death, so what would be our basis for hoping for a future beyond?

�32


Some religions (Hinduism, New Age) respond by proposing that the human spirit

survives death, but is embodied again to go through another life as a human or

perhaps, even, as another kind of animal, or even a creature on another planet. This

process continues through many lifetimes until one finally attains complete oneness

with the divine and the universe. Like the drop of rain that falls into the ocean to

become one with it, so, too, does the individual soul eventually lose itself in the

great ocean of existence. This view tends to encourage people to try to live a good

life to attain a better rebirth, but it can also lead to a certain fatalism concerning

the future.

The Christian basis for hope in a future beyond is based on the resurrection of

Jesus. The risen Christ is the individual, Jesus of Nazareth, transformed in body

and soul to fully participate in the life of God. This revelation is held out as a

promise to those who are in Christ — that we, too, will be resurrected as Jesus was,

to experience eternal life with God. Christ was raised from the dead, “the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20).” The encounters with the risen Christ

reported in the Gospels give us a glimpse of our own glorious future.

The resurrection has implications beyond that of the destiny of individuals. A

spiritual transformation of society and the world are promised as well, fully

overcoming the various causes of suffering. Christians believe that Christ will come

again in glory, ushering in a new age in which the reign of God will exist on earth

as in heaven. In this new world, God will “wipe every tear from their eyes. There

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will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has

passed away (Rev. 21:4).”

The Gospel of Christ holds out a glorious future to hope in — for our individual

destiny, and for that of the world. Because of this hope, we can hold our heads high

and more cheerfully endure the inescapable sufferings of this life. This hope is “Pie

in the sky,” to some degree, but that’s not a bad thing — especially if we can taste

the Pie in this life. That’s why God left us the Holy Spirit, God’s enduring presence

with us through this time in history as we wait for the promised fulfillment to come.

Through faith, prayer, and spiritual disciplines, we can experience a glimpse of

what this new life will be like. As the Apostle Peter writes, “Though you have not

seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him

and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end

result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pet. 1:8-9)” The utopian future

hoped for by Marxists and other atheists pales in comparison with this hope for

resurrection.

Summary

We live in a time of biblical history between the fall of our first parents from

fullness of relationship with God and the triumphant second coming of Christ. We

are both fallen and redeemed — deeply wounded by shame, fear and selfishness,

but also gifted with the love of God made available through Jesus Christ. We

continue to experience suffering brought on by our own bad choices, and also from

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accidents, natural evil, sickness and growing pains. Often it does not seem to make

sense that God allows us to experience such misery, but biblical and church

teaching note that this was never God’s plan for the human race. Nevertheless, God

is still with us, and nothing can separate us from the love of God poured out in

Jesus Christ. If we claim God’s love through faith, we can experience God’s presence

during times of suffering, and even continue to grow in character. Suffering need

not deprive us of meaning or hope. There will come a time when God’s reign will be

fully established on earth and suffering will be no more, but in the meantime, we

are all vulnerable, and we all shall one day die. As a people of God, we are called to

extend the compassion and consolation of God to one another as we journey through

life.

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