The Significant Period Of Suffering

Most people think that suffering is a random, natural part of life but in actuality suffering is a mechanism used by the gods to either teach humanity a less, or use it for their own selfish needs. Throughout the book of Job God, or Yahweh used suffering to prove to the Accuser that he was loyal to Him, and not only because God had given Job a blessed life. The Roman pagan gods used suffer for their own personal vendetta such as when Odysseus blinded the Cyclops, who was the son of the Roman god Poseidon, and to get back at Odysseus Poseidon created a storm so he could not get home to make him suffer his homesickness further. The Greek pagan gods also used suffering to their own person use, such as when Jupiter raped and transformed a girl into cow to hide what he had done from his wife. Having hope in the god you worship is a very important thing, because if that hope is lacking then when gods cause someone to suffer there is no hope of it getting better and no hope that their god will help. When the hope is there it gives the person a reason to have respect for their god or gods, and a reason to worship the them because when the person suffers they have hope that it will eventually get better and that their suffering is happening for a reason and not just because the gods are mad at them and not because the gods gave into some temptation they had. Although Yahweh and the Greek and Roman gods have different reasons of making humanity suffer, they are the ones who decide who suffers and who does not, whether the reason is of their own personal reasons, or if it is to prove a point.

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.

Luhman, Regiland S. 1985. “Belief in God and the Problem of Suffering.” The Evangelical Quarterly, 57.4: 327-248. http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/, (Accessed February 9, 2014).

Judaisms beliefs on suffering by Alex Barnett Why do the innocent suffer? This question has been asked for ages. Jewish sources, from the earliest to the latest, have tried themselves to answer this. It occurs to every single person with an interest in religion or not. We all know cases of good people who suffer terrible pains for no obvious reason.

Often many are left wondering "why does God allow such pain and suffering"? In my opinion, we must consider the philosophical problem regarding both moral and natural evil. Perhaps the purpose of this evil is to glorify the all loving nature of God, or to seamlessly integrate our relationship with him, while prompting us to move closer to, in preparation for our eternal reward. I think of the Job, as he succumbed too great pain and suffering by the hand of Satan; with Gods permission however, remained steadfast in his trust and

After reviewing the work of David Hume, the idea of a God existing in a world filled with so much pain and suffering is not so hard to understand. Humes’ work highlights some interesting points which allowed me to reach the conclusion that suffering is perhaps a part of God’s divine plan for humans. Our morals and values allow us to operate and live our daily lives in conjunction with a set of standards that help us to better understand our world around us and essentially allows us to better prepare for the potential life after life. For each and every day we get closer to our impending deaths and possibly closer to meeting the grand orchestrator of our universe.

The Holy Scriptures is full of promises, although, there is no promise that life is without pain and suffering. On the contrary, the Bible teaches us that pain is part of life. Jesus said in John 16:33, “in the world you have tribulation.” The word used there for tribulation means, “to force down, or squash.” It gives the picture of a winepress, crushing the grapes so the pure juice flows out. When a rose petal is crushed, the perfume of the rose is evident. Moreover, the book of James teaches us that there is a purpose behind the suffering and pain that comes into our lives. James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its

Everyone has a different personal theory about human behaviour, why people encounter suffering and what makes counseling or therapy helpful. After learning about different mental and physical illnesses throughout secondary school and post secondary school, I began to discover my own beliefs about why people suffer. My theory suggests that suffering is caused by a persons childhood and family experiences. Since this is the beginning of my professional years in social work I am still in the process of distinguishing my own personal theory and may adjust my theory as this class progresses.

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.

Often times when people are in pain they ask what they did to deserve it. Whether this be by asking God or others around them, people generally want a reason as to why they must carry an extra burden compared to others. Many people believe that suffering is an effect of behaving badly, such as in the ideas of karma and the retribution doctrine. Others, however, believe that everyone suffers, and it is just a normal part of life that helps people to grow and mature. In the book of Job in The Bible, Job experiences suffering through the loss of his material possessions but he does not question God’s reasoning. However, when the pain worsens and becomes more physical, Job begins to ask God what he has done to deserve the severe misery that