I started reading Bart Ehrman's "God's Problem; How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-Why We Suffer." Ehrman has an interesting back story as a "born-again" Christian who studied at Moody Bible, and then went on to study the Greek NT at Princeton under Bruce Metzger.He recounts that what caused him to lose his faith entirely was teaching a class at Rutgers on the question of why humans suffer. He said as he continued how the Bible answered the problem of suffering, he not only saw varied answers to the question, but none of them were sufficient. Why didn't the God who repeatedly step in for his people Israel to save them from horrific suffering on earth still step in to save people suffering today? That is when Bart threw in the towel on his faith. And this book is basically a summary of what he discovered during his study and why he chose to stop believing in a God who is powerful and/or loving.
Another book that recently came out in paperback from Ehrman is Jesus, Interrupted.
There is a trailer for it HERE. and a bunch of reviews of the book HERE.
I enjoy reading books like Ehrman's for a few reasons. One, they challenge my thinking and some of my currently held beliefs which I think is a healthy practice. Two, a lot of people are reading and resonating with Ehrman's books (including people that sit and listen to us teach every Sunday).
Ehrman is compelling because he writes in such an honest and accessible way. Unfortunately that means there are a lot of people reading his books that:
1. Have never thought about these issues before and will simply think he's right by default.
2. Are already angry or resentful with God because of some hurt or pain in their live and will read this and it will just add fuel to the fire.
3. Are not educated in NT criticism, how the canon developed, or Theodicy to be able to intelligently interact with his arguments or see the flaws within his thinking.
That bums me out!
It's a similar phenomenon with Dan Brown novels! "Hey, did you know Jesus had a wife?" :(
10 comments:
What are your thoughts on why there is suffering in the world?
Jeff
it remains a mystery to me and I'm ok with that. I do know what it doesn't mean though.
Because God voluntarily suffered the worst kind of suffering, I know it's not because he's not powerful enough to stop it.
And if God allowed Jesus, his own son, the one whom God loved and was pleased with in every way to suffer, I also know that it's not because He isn't all loving.
Those two things I know. I think a lot of suffering comes as a result of what we do to each other.
And some suffering which comes from natural disasters and such seem to be part of the "curse" that was unleashed on creation as a result of sin via Gen. 3/Rom. 1-2.
And there is a lot of suffering I simply don't understand, like why babies are dying of hunger every 5 seconds. It is upsetting and disturbing and the Psalmists complained about the same kind of injustices in the Psalms, but they never turned away from faith in God or the belief that God could bring redemption out of the worst situation. And that is where I find myself as well.
Dustin, I like your answer to Jeff a whole lot. I would add an analogy I read in a book by Lee Strobel a number of years ago.
Imagine a bear caught in a spring load trap. A compassionate hiker stumbles upon the bear and wants to free him, but can only do so by pushing the trip tighter on its limb.
What would the bear think? Probably, "why is this person causing me pain?
I view suffering as basically a nasty consequence of free will. God was loving enough to allow free will so you could choose to love him. (Which is nice because, after all, the love you have for your wife may not be as great as it is if you were required or forced to love her.) And in giving people a choice, it opens up the possibility that they could choose to do something that is harmful to someone else.
I also think suffering is a relative term. I don't think any suffering in the world can hold a candle to what Jesus dealt with on the cross. While most people refer to the physical pain Jesus went through, I don't really think that should be the focus. I mean, many people have suffered worse physically. Every day probably somewhere. The real suffering Jesus endured was at the very end when he took everyone's sins, past and future, upon himself. That was the serious suffering. It was enough for him to ask God why has he been forsaken. It makes any form of human suffering seem inconsequential in comparison.
Also, I remember reading something by Nietzsche where he explains how the stronger a society becomes, the less vicious are its punishments because it is less threatened and thus can instead take pleasure in the power of mercy. It made me think of the relationship between God's power and mercy. And the potential solace He might feel in allowing suffering knowing that he provides us all with such tremendous mercy. Unlimited mercy essentially if we choose to love Him and believe in Him, which can only be provided by someone with unlimited power.
And yes, I understand the irony of taking what Nietzsche said and applying it to God.
And I like the bear trap analogy Bill, but it makes suffering seem to be caused by God. I view it more as an unintended but likely consequence of allowing free will. An outcome God is willing to allow because His mercy is so great. I guess that seems ironic too.
Any thoughts on what I said Bill or Dustin?
I have wanted to read his stuff for a while now. Maybe now is the time. Thanks for the push.
totally off-topic. this article reminded me of you: http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/03/help-the-world-drink-beer/37326/
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