“… Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?…” Job 2:10
In a recent post, Answering the Problem of Suffering, I looked at the two most common questions I am asked, why is there suffering? And, if there is a God who is supposed to be loving and all-powerful, then why does He allow suffering?
I have asked some friends for their thoughts to these questions which will be posted in a series of blogs entitled Christians responding to suffering.
Some thoughts from James Veltmeyer
1. When people ask about suffering, think why they are asking, e.g. “Why does God let people die of cancer?”
That is, “Why did God let my dad die of cancer?”
People understand that people die of things like cancer and they want to know why a certain person they love has it.
Sometimes I say no matter what answer I give it won’t fix their problem of suffering. But I can be there for them and just listen.
2. There is suffering because we live in a fallen & broken world.
3. We suffer because of people’s sin.
If a person who is drunk drives a car and hits my brother and kills him then it was the person’s choice or sin that caused my suffering.
God gave us free will, a choice to live for Him or live for ourselves.
4. Suffering shows there is a God
Haiti – “How can God allow this?” – see point 2.
For the atheist it’s just the way life is they can’t give a person who is suffering any comfort. Atheism doesn’t answer the problem of suffering.
When we cry out “Why” – who are we crying out to??? Maybe God
When we want someone to do something – maybe it’s God that we want to do something
Also maybe God is restraining or holding back suffering, the suffering could have been worse but in God’s mercy it isn’t.
5. Suffering causes us to repent and trust Jesus – see Luke 13:1-9
6. God understands our suffering, He sent His Son Jesus to suffer, die on a cross and rise again.
7. Suffering will one day stop. The hope of Heaven – see Revelation 21:4, no more suffering. A great promise for Christians.
This is the clearest argument on suffering I have ever heard.
James is a clear thinking and compassionate Christian.
Unfortunately, God cannot yet be removed from the equation. One lives in hope though. Evidence based medicine, along with clinical know-how (and these are by no means always the same thing) are the ways to go. As a medical historian, I’m always impressed by the amount of mumbo jumbo purveyed by eminent medicos of the past. I have no reason to suppose that much of what we doctors do now will be seen in the same light at some stage in the future. But I like to think that we’ve reduced the percentage down to about ninety. Meantime, when medical mumbo jumbo fails, at times I call on my clerical friends for a bit of religious mumbo jumbo for the hapless patient. The patients’ beliefs, not mine, are what counts.