CFS-WB-CH18

Recommendations

Info

First Misunderstanding: Suffering is God’s Punishment for Sin For most of Israel’s history, suffering was understood in this way. For example, in the Old Testament Book of Job, the protagonist of the story, Job, did not understand why he was made to suffer so much when was a just man. His friends tried to rationalize his situation by telling him that he must have some fault that brought his afflictions on him. In this view, the suffering of a seemingly innocent person is brought about because they either do not realize their true sinfulness, or they are being punished for the sins of their father (or grandfather, or great grandfather) (see Job 3:1–26; 4:1–21; 21:17–20). God is thus not responsible for the suffering of the seemingly innocent; He is simply administering justice. But Jesus revealed God as the unconditionally loving father of the Prodigal Son who does not directly inflict suffering as a punishment. Rather, Jesus tells us that the Father “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Jesus formally abandons the idea of suffering as punishment for sin and says that God causes rain (something negative) to fall on both the righteous and sinners, and that God causes His sun to shine (something positive) on both sinners and the righteous. Second Misunderstanding: Suffering Is Solely the Result of Original Sin Neither the Gospels nor the Book of Job point to the sin of Adam to explain suffering. In fact, the Book of Job instead refers to the testing of people by Satan, the punishment of sinful people by God, the good things suffering can do for us, and the mystery of suffering. We can see, then, that Original Sin is at least not the whole reason for human suffering. Jesus supersedes the first two reasons (testing and punishment). And He brings enhanced understanding to the second two (the good and mystery of suffering), which we will learn more about in the next chapters. Original Sin: The state of human nature deprived of the original holiness and justice Adam and Eve enjoyed before the Fall. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” MATTHEW 5:45 Third Misunderstanding: God Directly Wills the Events That Cause Suffering As previously noted, during the time of the Old Testament, it was commonly thought that God was directly responsible for everything that happens. Jesus did not directly dispute this idea, but, if we think about it, if God were the direct cause of every action in the world, chance and human freedom would be impossible. St. Thomas Aquinas concluded that after God (the First Cause) created the universe, secondary causes (such as gravity) began to operate. This central idea provided the © Sophia Institute for Teachers Unit 7, Chapter 18: The Christian Understanding of Suffering 367
Freedom: The power, rooted in the intellect and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. True freedom is the ability to do what one ought to do, that which is truly good and directed toward God, our happiness and fulfillment. Humility: The moral virtue that keeps us from being concerned with personal greatness, but to recognize our total dependence on God. intellectual framework for the emergence of natural science. In contemporary physics, Big Bang cosmology indicates that the parameters of all causation and natural objects were infused in the universe at the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. Though the whole universe must be brought into being and sustained in being by God (the First Cause), the forces in the universe can act toward their proper ends without His direct intervention (for example, gravity can cause an object in the air to fall back to the earth). While God can intervene in these natural processes through a miracle, constant interference would make the laws of nature too unpredictable and undermine human freedom and the benefits suffering can bring. We will see in the next chapter that there can be many benefits to challenges and weaknesses, which we would lose if all suffering were miraculously averted. So, does God ever directly cause suffering? Sometimes, but probably very rarely. It is certainly in His power to do so if He chose to. For example, when St. Paul was on the road to Damascus, Jesus caused him to be temporarily blind. God may cause suffering directly if it is for our salvation and does not interfere with our freedom. While St. Paul received a stunning wake-up call, he freely chose to become a Christian. But such examples are hard to find as most of the suffering we encounter comes from the usual, non-divine causes: our choices, others’ choices, and natural causes (e.g., gravity). Fourth Misunderstanding: If God Were Present in Our Suffering, We Would Be Able to See How He Helps Us While it may be tempting to think this way, when we recognize the infinite wisdom and power of God, we accept our inability to understand fully how He works. In the Old Testament, God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah about this very idea: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8–9) Humility and trust must always be the basis of our relationship with God. As this relationship grows, it becomes more possible for us to endure suffering peacefully without understanding why it is happening. There is one truth we must never abandon no matter our feelings: when one door closes due to suffering, weakness, or grief, the Holy Spirit is opening other doors that will lead to purification of faith and love, to 368 Apologetics I: The Catholic Faith and Science © Magis Center
Page 1 and 2: UNIT 7 CHAPTER 18 The Christian Und
Page 3 and 4: Chapter 18 Aa VOCABULARY Redemption
Page 5 and 6: Job is an example of steadfast fait
Page 7 and 8: St. Paul’s perspective is that su
Page 9: The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from
Page 13 and 14: Focus and Reflection Questions 1 Wh
Page 15 and 16: enduring. This is evidence of the r

CFS-WB-CH18

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?