The Problem of Pain

I totally agree with you. At least we have a God who understands when we hurt so he knows just what we need and how long we need.

In addition, suffering from pain makes us humble and patient which is the way of God to purify us like gold being passed on fire to purify it, seven times, just imagine.

I just realized I've been on mylot.com at least 3 weeks ago! WoW .. this has already been an interesting journey.

WoW .. good cannot exist without evil, or else we cannot know what good is? I see your point, BUT, Goodness IS! It does not have to have contrast to be known as good. You've raised a very interesting point, and I'm going to have to think about this some more. Someone has done extensive philosphical thought about defining beauty. (Maybe it was a psychological or artistic based study). They say that the standards of beauty can be defined .. there are certain aesthetic shapes and proportions which are instantly recognized as beautiful. In fact, it is only a sick psyche that views ugliness and profane things as "beautiful". So, the question might be, if everything in the world, and if everyone in the world were beautiful, wouldn't that fact still be recognizable? hmmmmmmmmm And, the further focus of the book, if it ever gets finished, will be on accepting and adapting to the reality of pain and suffering in the world. Those who get hurt the worst are those who refuse to accept that the world is less perfect than they demand it to be. I'm a very positive cynic, firmly based in reality. The cynic part of me expects the worst and is thus constantly surprised to find that people are much, much better than expected. However, when a real dirt bag comes along, it doesn't upend my world! And, I'm a positive person, because I work at keeping my attitude and perspective rooted in optimism .. I believe that I can improve on every situation in my life, with God's help. And, as a realist, I don't allow idealism and fantasies to lead me into a belief system that does not work in this reality: time, space, etc.

That's an interesting explanation for it. I do believe that good could not exist without evil, how else would we know it was good. Thanks again for posing this question, and good luck with your research.

I appreciate your perspective. If I may ask, if pain is for wrongdoings, why do good people suffer and experience pain from time to time?

Jesus totally changed our understanding of that OT principle .. it is no longer an "eye for an eye". He taught that we do not return evil for evil. I doubt seriously that we will learn sufficient here to be able to live a totally painfree life in this realm of time and space. The eternal realm does not include physical pain, according to Scripture, unless we end up in torment.

Sorry, I guess I was not able to make my self very clear. I didn't mean pain in the sense of inflicting pain just for the sake of suffering pain. Nothing like that. Both believers and non believers do get sick due to several natural reasons. The believer may think that God allowed this to happen to him in order for Him to think of God and treat it as God's will for him. Sickness brings pain, the feeling of pain comes with it but its not the main thing. It was never intended to let him go through pain. It's a result of an event that happened to him. And different people have different pain threshold. Anyway. This is a good topic you started. Cheers.

Isn't it amazing that we can only remember God as our Father when things go opposite. But, we can't have the same relationship with Him when things go good .. well, it seems to be harder for most of us.

By the way, why do people always ask "Why did God allow this to happen?" Why is it always Gods fault? Does no one read their Bible?

I do not believe that man can ever be so perfect as to be without sin. Not anymore. Maybe in Old Testament times but not this day and age. Pain, I believe is part of the fall from grace, but I have seen people healed without explanation. Yes, I do believe that "good" people can be afflicted by serious pain. Myself included. I have fibromyalgia,chronic fatigue syndrome and I suffer migraines. But I DON'T ask why God allowed this to happen, rather, I ask Him for help. There are numerous reasons a person might be in pain. 1. The body wears out. Plain and simple. Our bodies weren't meant to last forever. 2. Our food is not nutritionally adequate anymore. We messed with what God meant for nourishment and we screwed it up, to put it mildly. 3. We have become an "I want it now" generation. Fast food, microwaveable food, over processed food that we have to turn around and add back in what we have processed out of it. 4. Generational curses also apply. What did someone in your' line of people do to curse even the third and fourth generation to follow? In my Father in-laws' line, no man as far back as he can remember has ever lived past the age of 67. I'm not saying, "Here is the simple answer. You better believe it". I am simply saying that the answers you are looking for are in your Bible. They are also (and I should have said this last night) all around us. Look at how we live now versus Biblical times. It's an interesting question with no one right answer. I hope your book sells 10 million copies! Good luck to you!

I've been around people who believe this way most of my life. Problem .. Man's goodness or badness has nothing to do with the question. Second, are you saying that obeying God's laws protects us from pain? At what level of perfection would one have to obey God's Laws to be protected from pain and suffering? Have you ever met a person who follows God's Laws who had a painful disease? I have. Simplistic answers don't get to the real core of the problem.

An interesting response... are you saying that Jesus was mad? I'm just trying to understand how you connect ideas. You way we are to suffer like Jesus did, but that pain drive you mad. I do not believe that the purpose of life is suffering. However, pain and suffering are a part of life. But, it is not usually continuous. Do you think that we would be as able to discern good and pleasure if there were no evil and pain?

If God stepped in to help people, would we be robots? Would we have the freedom of a child instead of the freedom of an adult? Why is it that people who say they have no faith in God can also experience pain? They have no faith to be tested? Sorry for the questions, but the issues are not as easily stated nor as easily solved as we would like them to be. This is one subject that just seems to provoke more and more questions