THE CHRISTIAN IN FRONT OF SUFFERING Response to the Problem of Suffering in Job 40:4-5; 42:2-6 and Rom 8:28-30
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Date
2005
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
Every human being at some time in their lives is touched by suffering, and I
was not an exception. Suffering knocked at my door in different circumstances.
However, I looked around me and I found different ways people suffer. Among
those ways, there are people who suffer for no apparent reason, especially those
children sexually abused by people whom they trusted. From news around the world
we came to know of so many priests who abused not only the trust, but also the lives
and bodies of children in their care. These abuses leave on the victims a wound that
is difficult to heal, especially because they have been inflicted by people who are
"representing" God. This moved my pastoral heart to find ways to help them first of
all to understand their suffering and the role God plays in it. This was the spark that
started the present work and drove me to continue the investigation.
Thus, aiming at a deeper understanding of suffering, we try to distinguish a
way a Christian may understand suffering. To this end, we investigate three passages
in the Christian Scriptures Job 40:4-5; 42:2-6 and Rom 8:28-30. We chose these
passages because they present an understanding of suffering in the Old and New
Testament respectively.
In this work, we use the Book of Job to understand undeserved suffering in
the Old Testament. Thus, we also presuppose that Job is righteous and that his
sufferings are undeserved. The fact that Romans explains the Christian life is not a
matter of discussion; this Christian life is lived by Christians who have been made
righteous by God. Then, the sufferings that they undergo are not supposed to happen
to them because Christ had already paid the price for their victory.
Thus, this essay is divided into three chapters. In this chapter, we analyse
Job's response to his suffering. In this analysis, we survey the different ways in
which the Old Testament understood suffering; then, we proceed with the
delimitation and context of the text. This is followed by the exegesis of the text, and,
finally, we present its theological message.
In the second chapter, we survey Rom 8:28-30 to understand the place
suffering has in the life of the Christian. We start with presenting the approach on
suffering of Jesus and his disciples; then, we will have the delimitation of the text
and the examination of its context; subsequently, we will do the exegesis to finish
with the theological message of the text. Finally, in the third chapter we will
compare the findings of the previous two chapters and underline the particular
Christian response to suffering.
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THE CHRISTIAN IN FRONT OF SUFFERING Response to the Problem of Suffering in Job 40:4-5; 42:2-6 and Rom 8:28-30