Today we are looking at one of the hardest questions anyone has ever struggled with. It is Suffering.\u00a0 It is the doctorate level intellectual challenge to faith in God that has kicked all of us in the teeth at one time or another…<\/p>\n
My wife, Beth, and I were discussing the challenges of raising special needs children with some friends from church.\u00a0 Jackie has helped many couples cope and thrive with a special needs child. I asked her, “What was the biggest challenge?”\u00a0 She told me that, \u201cMost of them are stuck in the question, what did we do wrong do deserve this?…which produces guilt…which leads to “Why did God punish my child for my mistakes?…\u201d That then produces more guilt that you are thinking about your child as a punishment…<\/p>\n
I was playing racquetball with my friend Stephen as he and his wife were struggling with a second year of infertility and an inability to have children. He too -as a follower of Christ- was frustrated, angry, and hurting with, “Why wouldn’t God allow them to have children?” He wanted to know why bad things happen to good people…<\/p>\n
I visited a small group about a month ago. At the end of the group, we went around the room and asked for prayer requests, and what resulted was a cascade of stories of pain, heartache, and challenges. Family challenges, financial challenges, marriage issues, and business obstacles. Here were a group of \u201cgood\u201d people at a Bible study, but facing pain and difficulty….\u00a0 When most of us look at some aspect of our lives or the world, we sense THIS IS NOT WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.<\/p>\n
There are five reasons why the recipe was ruined, but only one recipe for restoration:<\/p>\n
I.\u00a0 As we look at the world, here are the five mutually exclusive explanations for why life doesn’t act
\nthe way we think it should. Five different reasons why suffering occurs.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Suffering is the Result of a Broken Creation and Free Will The Bible says that there was an original recipe for creation. A recipe for a world without pain agony or suffering And that recipe still resides in each human heart You can\u2019t shake it because truly the world has been ruined.\u00a0 Imagine a chocolate cake that is distorted and lopsided when pulled this out of the oven. This is not what was supposed to happen. What I envisioned as a masterpiece, is more of a cooking disaster.\u00a0 The taste was horrific…someone had misread 2 teaspoons of salt and instead put in 2 CUPS of salt. This recipe had been ruined…since the topic of suffering can get very heart-wrenching, let’ s use this cooking disaster as a fun case study. You see every atheist, pastor, priest, Hindu guru needs to wrestle with the problem of suffering. I’d like to give you the five reasons the recipe for life is ruined today.<\/p>\n Suffering is Your Fault<\/em> If the first reason is correct, suffering is your fault…then of course, God is dipping you in hot water to punish you. Of course, he is out to get you… But as you look at the collapsed cake, the world or your life, you have a second reason why the recipe is ruined.<\/p>\n Suffering is an Illusion<\/em> Suffering is Normal?<\/em> Continued next time…<\/em><\/p>\n For a free session of Godonomics, visit http:\/\/www.godonomics.com\/watch-session-5<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSuffering is the Result of God\u2019s Punishment\/Reward
\nSuffering is an Illusion
\nSuffering is the Normal and Natural part of the Evolutionary Process
\nSuffering is Your Fault (the universe is punishing you from acts done in this life or the last)<\/p>\n
\nThere are several strands of this thinking. Religious church goers often think this way \u201cWhy is God punishing me with this issue?” Hindu religions teach it-through Karma… and even Buddhism if you really push their logic will end up here -As I\u2019ll show you in a moment. Many of us are struggling with anger at God and guilt because we really only have this lens to see the problem of suffering.\u00a0 Once when I walked into a SMOOTHIE KING and saw a sign that read, TIPPING IS GOOD KARMA…which sounds pithy and fun until you realize that Karma teaches that suffering is your fault. In 2008, Sharon Stone was shunned when she said that:\u00a0 China quakes were “karma” for Tibetans. When
\nshe stated this belief, out loud, she was attacked by the media…. A family therapist told me that he sees this \u201cKarma\u201d Suffering-is-your-fault belief plague many marriages and people in depression. He noted that Karma is the MOST SIN BASED SYSTEM in the world. Why? It\u2019s all about punishing wrong doing. The Universe is paying you back for every little thing you do wrong. As a family therapist, he sees the relational problems of a \u201ckarma\u201d belief system in Christian marriages, agnostic marriages, and everything in between. Regardless of what \u201clabel\u201d a couple has when coming in. Believing in this way of thinking, means justice, being right, giving others their due trumps grace and mercy. So it results in a highly authoritative parenting style, Why? You must punish wrong doing. Wrong doing must be dealt with\u2026. It also results in a blanket of guilt and condemnation in regards to God
\nincluding a constant sense of fear, demand, and pressure, But it finds its root in the core belief that we all deserve judgment for what we\u2019ve done wrong… But it has no room for grace and mercy and undeserved forgiveness.. This thinking has permeated our culture and thus permeated the thinking of people from all backgrounds.\u00a0 Even most people who call themselves Christians, think about suffering through the lens of karma… believing God is punishing them. Mad at them. Ticked off at them. They picture God as a giant cook in the sky who dips us in hot water when we do something wrong… http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e6L6XoV42ZY&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBuddhism teaches that suffering is an illusion. It’s unreal. It is caused by our cravings and appetites and the delusion that we are real. That we think we are Individuals. This answer for suffering says “it’s an illusion,” but actually has karma hiding in the corner because if you and I would stop wanting or craving or thinking this world is real. We wouldn’t suffer.\u00a0 I was at Starbucks about a year ago with a friend who practices a religion known as Christian
\nScience. Christian Science was founded by Mary Bakker and from my study is a mix of Jesus and Buddha. I had lunch with a friend who told me he was a leader in the Christian Science Church.\u00a0\u00a0 We spoke about parenting and asking for his advice on parenting a child with special needs. After he gave me some heartfelt wisdom about how to look to the future. He asked me about the differences between what I believed and Christian Science. I responded, \u201cWell tell me what Christian Science Teaches about the problem of Evil\u201d… he said, Well, I\u2019ll teach you what we
\nbelieve about everything. he pulled out a napkin and made two columns. One was labeled REAL and the other Unreal. In the real column, he wrote words like \u201cLove, patience, compassion, healing\u201d In the unreal category, he wrote, \u201cSickness, pain, guilt, condemnation, gossip.\u201d He said, \u201cChristian Science is about focusing on what is real, not what is Unreal.\u201d Since he was an expert, And this sounded a lot like Buddha, I asked him a question about suffering. \u201cSo sickness and suffering are unreal?\u201d \u201cYes, that is correct.\u201d he replied. \u201cWell, we had been talking for the
\npast hour about the special needs and difficulties both of our son\u2019s have. So, I asked Is the handicap they face REAL or UNREAL….? he paused… Well… I guess they are real… But God could heal them… \u201cSure he could, but when he doesn\u2019t, like apparently he is not right now, where does that leave us?\u201d \u201c I\u2019m not sure, \u201che said, \u201cI guess, my son would be healed if I HAD MORE FAITH!\u201d \u201cSo, it\u2019s your fault that your son is handicap?\u201d I said, \u201chow do you live with the guilt of that?\u201d what other option is there? he asked… I wrote out these 5 answers to the problem of
\nevil…. And explained why Jesus\u2019s view on suffering makes sense of life without being delusional
\nor guilt-ridden. Where does that leave us? The recipe is ruined but not really, it’s your fault, result of broken creation or is it that<\/p>\n
\nLook at my cake. Why is it ruined? Because in a blind meaningless process of DNA and evolution,
\n“someone’s gonna get hurt” according to Richard Dawkins. DNA neither knows nor cares. The survival
\nof the fittest… The strong eat the weak so get used to it… This is normal.\u00a0 This is no recipe for
\nanything else.<\/p>\n