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christian beliefs on suffering
is christian counseling effective
christian view of suffering
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Bad experiences are a part of life and everyone will go through them at some time in their lives. Many people turn to some form of religion in times of trouble; in this essay I am going to investigate the guidance and support that Christian teachings give to people in need.
The prime example of suffering in the bible is that of Jesus. He suffered the ultimate sacrifice of death to save mankind from death for their sins. This gives a comparison for someone who is suffering; it shows that however bad the suffering of that person is it is nothing compared to the suffering felt by Jesus. The bible also says that we should be happy that we are suffering just as Jesus did, ‘be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that you will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. When people insult you because you follow Christ, you are blessed, because the glorious spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you.’ This teaches us that we should be proud to be a Christian and not worry about the suffering that that may bring upon us. The resurrection of Jesus also gives hope for a person in need as it tells them that suffering is only temporary and there will be an end to it.
The bible teaches that God is in control of the universe and all that occurs in it; this means that God has the power to relieve people from suffering and make them a better person because of it. This links into a piece of literature that could help many people through hard times in their lives, this is a poem entitled ‘Footprints’. It tells of a man having a dream of his life represented as a walk along a beach. He sees that walking with him is the Lord. At the hardest times in his life there is only one set of footprints and he questions the Lord as to why he was deserted during his times of need. The Lord answers with, ‘during your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.’ This poem shows that whoever believes in Christ will never be alone and will always be helped through their suffering. This could be a great help to people in need as it shows, once again, that there is an end to suffering and with the help of God people can make it through times of trial.
The start of this article focuses on a Christian client named George who is plagued with feelings of worthlessness, depression, low self-esteem, and suicide. His mother had also battled depression, and his father had an abusive relationship with alcohol, which caused his father to have verbally and physically abusive altercations with George and his mother. The abusive experiences that George was exposed to as a child paved the way for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as an adult (Garzon, 2005). With all of these factors present in this client’s life, a treatment plan was created that involved scripture interventions. The author made sure to touch on the fact that every client is unique in the hopes that counselors would be aware that one type of scripture intervention might work for one client and not work for another. The article highlights three guiding values when considering these types of interventions; “respect for the client’s autonomy/freedom, sensitivity to and empathy for the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs, and flexibility and responsiveness to the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs.”(Garzon, 2005). ...
This poem shines importance on going through thing s and how you have to start some place. I found this book very inspirational and it has refreshed my perspective on life. My people that came before me went through so much just so that I could even have to opportunity or ability to read this book and wright a review on my own.
The question of suffering comes up much when talking about, or practicing any religion. Many ask why people suffer, and what causes suffering? The various religions try to answer these questions in their own way. Pico Iyer’s editorial, “The Value of Suffering” addresses the questions of suffering and how it is handled. This article could be compared to the Bhagavad-Gita which also addresses and explains suffering through different stories of the interactions of humans and different Gods. One can specifically look at “The Second Teaching” in the Bhagavad-Gita, which explains the interaction between a man named Arjuna and the god Krishna. In it Arjuna is suffering because he does not want to fight in a war and with people whom he should be worshiping. Krishna says to fight because the souls of the people will forever live on, and because he needs to fulfill his Dharma. With what is known about the Bhagavad-Gita and how Iyer thinks about the subject, Iyer would agree with how the Bhagavad-Gita address suffering.
Mark McMinn purposely writes this twofold book to first, address the pragmatic assimilation of psychology, theology, and spirituality. Secondly, he explores the spirituality of a Christian counselor, and how this aspect of character affects the methods he or she may use to represent Jesus Christ when dealing with clients. Altogether, this book discusses the dual need for Biblical Counselors to multitask with clients while pursuing personal development in spirituality to advance a Christian worldview. The objective is to “help Christian counselors and researchers unite around certain key questions and perspectives so that our interventions become increasingly relevant and effective" (p. 6).
The poem “When you have God you have everything” by Leiby Acosta, demonstrates the love of God toward an individual. The theme of the poem is, when God is by my side I have everything. The poem starts with the blessing of God of starting a new beginning with deeper reasons. She went through a lot, however, God was and is always on her side, which is why she overcame hardships and tribulations. He is always been there for her through the light and the darkest time. To motivate her and tell her that there is someone there for her. The highest power in the world watched over her, and now she is surrounded by ease and protection. She is thankful to God for always been on her side and showing the right path. The poem “When you have God you have
Children and adults that are familiar with God and that have been taught that God is love, often associated their traumatic experiences in a negative way to their spirituality. Children and adults may relate their trauma experienced to a retribution by a punitive God and it can disrupt their spiritual belief and connection with God or a divine being (Bryant-Davis, et al., 2012). Individuals’ that have experienced trauma at times develop a negative and unsafe view of the world. The world is no longer a safe place for them. This negative connotation of the world could lead to many adverse effects throughout the development stages of a person. It could lead to mental health as well as a complete rejection of one’s faith, and mistrust that can lead to the inhibition of formatting healthy relationships with others or with God. Although, children and adults could develop a negative view against their God due to the negative experience, spirituality can also be a source of strength and a mechanism that can lead to recovery. Many times victims of a traumatic event use their spirituality as a form of coping skill that leads to a better understanding and acceptance of their past or present circumstances. This positive view of spirituality can later be restored through means of different styles of
Christianity is more than just a philosophy or “crutch” in life. I became a Christian back in 2008 and I’ve been through a lot since then. I can say that without God and my faith I would not have made it through those tough years. Being Christian is more than dependency and using God as a “crutch” in life, it’s making the choice to live morally for God and worshipping him and accepting that you cannot do everything on your own. Even entering college has been tough but my dependency on God has gotten me through and I know that with God by my side anything is possible. “Our desire for a personal relationship of God is strong, but we usually fail to recognize that desire for what it is” (Keller 1). I’ve learned that I can’t blame everyone and everything for my problems. I can’t even blame myself because by setting high standards I’m setting myse...
It is easy to place the blame on fate or God when one is encumbered by suffering. It is much harder to find meaning in that pain, and harvest it into motivation to move forward and grow from the grief. It is imperative for one to understand one’s suffering as a gateway to new wisdom and development; for without suffering, people cannot find true value in happiness nor can they find actual meaning to their lives. In both Antigone and The Holy Bible there are a plethora of instances that give light to the quintessential role suffering plays in defining life across cultures. The Holy Bible and Sophocles’ Antigone both mirror the dichotomous reality in which society is situated, underlining the necessity of both joy and suffering in the world.
Trip, D. (1999), “The Christian view of suffering” [Online], Exploring Christianity. Available from: http://www.christianity.co.nz/suffer4.htm [Accessed 18 April 2008].
Testimonies of how you stayed faithful even when times were tough. Moments you will be able to look back and be thankful to God for them. Those moments will increase your faith and you will be able to trust God because of what happened in the past. Your testimonies are great to edify yourself but even better to edify other people. Using your experience, you will be able to encourage people in their relationship with God. If we look at Daniel in the Bible, we know that he was a good man who feared God, yet God allowed him to be sentenced to death in a lion’s den. Daniel was saved by God so it’s hard to call it a suffering, but still we see that God used this situation to show his might to the king Darius and his nation –“I issues a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Dave Earley says it so well, “God’s ultimate plan behind all of His activities on this planet is to present humanity with a clear testimony of who He truly is and what He
finding the problems and circumstances must always lead to the scriptures and allow the client to see the work of God being uplifted in the situation
The Importance of Suffering, Death and Resurrection for Christians Today. The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus holds many values for us. Christians today. They are central areas of Christian faith and worship as Jesus gave up his life for us through the Resurrection.
The paradoxical connection between suffering and happiness is one that leaves room for various interpretations of the relationship. To suffer is to experience a feeling contrary to happiness, but one must suffer in order to know what happiness truly is. Suffering allows people to develop certain qualities that will ultimately make them happier. People who have suffered have been subjected to circumstances that are otherwise unfathomable, such as: witnessing the stark contrast between pleasure and pain, and facing circumstances that they cannot simply escape from, both of which allow them to develop qualities that make them happier in the long run.
The Christian tradition is haunted by a significant mark: Suffering. The question that arises from this suffering is if God is the omnipitous being that Christians believe Him to be, why would He let His people, whom he loves, suffer great pains and horrible deaths? According to premises derived from theologians and followers of the Bible, God is "all loving". If that is true, then God would not want His people to suffer, but by just looking around us we see that suffering, in fact, is happening. If there is suffering going on that God does not want, then He would be able to stop that suffering since He also believed to be "all powerful", yet suffering still goes on. Why? Hopefully by the end of this paper I will be able to answer that for myself.
In our fast passed and ever changing society, personal experiences built up over time and often make life difficult to deal with over time. Everyone has their own prospective on what is important and how they will tackle various problems they face from day to day. It is the responses to our harsh environment and experiences that can often manifest into feelings such as: anxiety, resentment and possibly guilt (Crabb, 1977). It is those that have negative experiences in life that seek out the help of counselors, to better understand and change the root of those problems. Each Christian counselor must carefully research and develop a counseling model which best aligns with their education level and spiritual beliefs. The following will be a summary of the models of counseling developed by Dr. Crabb and Dr. Hawkins, addressing the strengths and weaknesses of each model. Through this theory critique a Christian counselor should be able to identify and develop a strong foundation for their counseling theory and better serve their clients while maintaining a strong spiritual foundation.