Necessity of Pain and Suffering

Romans 5:3–4 NASB95

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

Introduction

Couple of things I want to achieve today

I want to provide the common arguments used against our belief from the angle of pain and suffering.

If God is omnipotent, omniscient, and all loving, why does pain and suffering exist?

The common rebuttal against such question.

Utilitarian freewill.

Finally, pain and suffering are actually a necessary component to what God has in mind.

Overview of problem of pain and suffering

The existence of pain and suffering has been a major stumbling block for many people in the world.

Not only Atheist but for Christians as well.

Many Christians renounce their faith due to pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering is actually one of the major reasons for people disposing their Christian faith.

Pain and suffering is something that every single one of us is guaranteed to experience in our lives.

There are countless literature and such works on pain and suffering.

Dostoevsky, and Russian author in in 19-century wrote a very famous novel called “The Brothers of Karamazov.”

In the novel, there’s a long segment of Ivan Karamazov questioning his brother Alyosha Karamazov, who is a Eastern Orthodox Christian monk about pain, suffering, and evil. Innocent children getting murdered.

Towards the end of the section, Ivan tells Alyosha that he is returning his ticket to heaven if God is such a being who stands by idle to all the pain and suffering.

“And so I hasten to give back my entrance ticket, and if I am an honest man I am bound to give it back as soon as possible.

Going back even further, a 17th-century writer, Voltaire, wrote the famous poem called, Lisbon Earthquake.

Based on the actual earthquake that happened in 1755 at Lisbon, Spain on a Sunday morning.

People gathered in cathedral for worship was crushed under collapsed building due to the earthquake.

Pain and suffering has been an issue with humanity as far back and history recollects.

The Bible also tackles the problem of pain and suffering. Look at Job!

In a span of one day, Job loses everything—his children and wealth. Then soon after, Job breaks out in painful boils. His wife tells him to curse God and die. His friends come and tells him there must be some sin in his life that he is being punished for.

But is that right? Does God use pain and suffering to punish us for our sins?

The necessity of pain

The intensity of pain is a very wide spectrum

From pain that we feel when we accidentally stub our toes on a furniture to greater pain from bigger injuries.

None of us likes pain. We don’t like it when we stub our toes or if we fall and experience pain.

But pain is an absolutely necessary component to survival.

Imagine if you didn’t feel any pain when you accidentally kick a furniture.

If you didn’t feel any pain, you can kick a furniture so hard, you break your toes and wouldn’t even know!

Leprosy is a bacterial infection that causes lesions on the skin. Mostly on skin, nose, and eyes. Lesions meaning cuts and openings. When it gets bad, people lose their nose, their fingers, etc.

Leprosy is now curable through medication and treatments but before a cure was found, one of the biggest breakthrough on helping lepers survive was discovering that the bacteria messed with people’s pain sensors.

Cases such as people with leprosy on their hands and fingers would grab a mop so tight that it would cause lesions on your hands and fingers.

Leprosy on feet and toes, people wearings shoes that do not match their shoe size and cause damage but not know it.

All because of lack of pain sensors.

Our ability to feel physical pain is a beautiful and absolutely necessary gift from God for our survival and wellbeing.

Pain vs suffering and common arguments

But the biggest issue at hand is the emotional and mental pain and suffering.

We can understand the necessity of physical pain but why mental pain and suffering? Why the existence of traumatic events?

The common argument from many atheists and atheistic philosophers is this

If God is omnipotent(all powerful), why create a world where such pain and suffering exist?

If God is omniscient(all knowing), why…?

If God is all loving, why…?

If God is indeed omnipotent, then He is not omniscient, If God is omniscient, He is not omnipotent, If God is both omnipotent and omniscient, then He is not loving.

But God is indeed all three, omnipotent, omniscient, and all loving. So what is the explanation? Why did God create the world the way it is.

Common free will argument

One of the major and most often used argument against atheists is the free will argument.

In the professional theologian world, we call this utilitarian free will. Free will that knows no bound. You are free to do both good and evil.

Christians combine free will and sin to provide an explanation for the existence of pain and suffering.

God created a perfect world, devoid of pain and suffering.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned, thus entered pain and suffering in the world.

God doesn’t create pain and suffering, but it is humanity through our own free willed actions cause pain and suffering.

Ivan Karamazov…problem with man killing another man. Humanity murdering babies...

All explained by sinful desires and the practice of utilitarian free will.

I believe this is only part of the answer.

No character equals no hope

I believe utilitarian free will is a major factor.

I don’t think God gave us utilitarian free will to simply do whatever we desire, but because He desired for us to actively choose to love Him and become like Him by our free will.

For us to actively engage in choosing the good and not evil.

However, God allows pain and suffering for a reason.

In our passage in Romans 5:3

Romans 5:3 NASB95

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

Paul says, “we also exult in our tribulations...”

Tribulations can also be translated as suffering. NIV uses “sufferings.”

When we go through tribulations, or sufferings, we endure..we persevere.

When we persevere, we develop character.

Character denotes that which has been proven by trial and testing.

Think of phone cases.

Mous case.

They drop the phone from 1200 feet above ground.

Because of this test, because the case went through such “trial” and have persevered, it carries a “characteristic” which gives the owner confidence, or “hope” that when they drop their phone, their phone will not break.

C.S. Lewis also described pain and suffering as God chiseling away at a dumb boulder to create a magnificent sculpture.

Think of Donatello’s David sculpture.

Before Donatello finished, at one point, it was nothing but a dumb boulder.

When we persevere through pain and suffering, we develop character that’s been tried.

When we have such character, we begin to really hope in God. Not only for now, but for the coming age.

When we begin to hope in the coming age, we being to see, and think through that lens.

Conclusion

Physical pain is a gift from God that lets us survive

Pain and suffering exists for a very good reason, it’s actually necessary.

It is not because God is not omnipotent, omniscient, or all loving.

It’s pain and suffering combined with utilitarian free will that shapes us and our faith.

God desires to develop christ-like character in us which ultimately develops hope in us.

Hope in God which will never disappoint, and hope in the coming age where we will be face to face with God.