Suffering as a Challenge to Faith
Google image Life, as we all know, is "unfair." It’s an observation expressed by people who are suffering, or whose loved ones are suffering, by the rhetorical question, “Why me?” I believe the question of suffering is one of the greatest stumbling blocks to faith. And it’s not only expressed by people who haven’t embraced faith, but also by people who are believers. We simply can’t understand why God’s view of fairness doesn’t coincide with ours. The question is also often framed as, “Why does God allow people, including good people, to suffer?" At the outset, I will answer, as I often answer such questions in these blogs, by saying, “I don’t know.” But I’m not alone in my inability to offer a good explanation to a question that is as old as Job. The book of Job is said to be the oldest book in the Bible, and it deals with the question in a sort of indirect, and not very satisfying, way. Blameless Reputation Job is a righteous, wealthy, and faithful man who has ...