Christianity Explored: Insights and Reflections for New Believers

Why do we suffer?

Christian scholars and theologians have offered various perspectives on why God allows bad things to happen in the world. Here are some of the key explanations:

1. **Free Will:** Many Christian scholars emphasize the importance of free will in understanding human suffering. They argue that God has given humans the freedom to make choices, even if those choices lead to negative consequences such as sin, injustice, and suffering. According to this view, God respects human autonomy and does not intervene to prevent every harmful action, allowing for genuine moral agency.

2. **The Fall and Original Sin:** Some scholars point to the biblical narrative of the Fall in Genesis as the root cause of human suffering. They argue that humanity's disobedience to God's commands introduced sin and brokenness into the world, leading to natural disasters, disease, and death. While God is not the author of evil, He allows its consequences to play out as a consequence of human rebellion.

3. **Soul-Making Theodicy:** This perspective, popularized by theologians like John Hick, suggests that God allows suffering and evil in the world as a means of spiritual growth and soul-making. According to this view, adversity and challenges provide opportunities for humans to develop virtues such as courage, compassion, resilience, and empathy, ultimately leading to greater moral and spiritual maturity.

4. **Greater Good Defense:** Some scholars argue that God permits suffering and evil in the world because it serves a greater purpose or leads to greater goods that outweigh the pain and hardship experienced. This could include opportunities for redemption, the cultivation of virtues, the prevention of greater evils, or the demonstration of God's love, mercy, and power in the midst of adversity.

5. **Mystery and Limited Human Understanding:** Ultimately, many Christian scholars acknowledge that the problem of evil is a profound mystery that may not have fully satisfactory answers in this life. They caution against simplistic explanations and emphasize the limitations of human understanding in comprehending the purposes and ways of God. Trust and faith in God's goodness, justice, and sovereignty are seen as essential in grappling with the reality of suffering and evil.

These perspectives reflect the complexity of theodicy-the attempt to reconcile the existence of a loving and powerful God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. While there is diversity of thought among Christian scholars, they generally affirm the goodness and sovereignty of God while acknowledging the reality of human suffering and the challenges it poses to faith.