Browsing by Author "JORGE, ENRIQUE ORMESIO QUIROZ"

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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
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) JORGE, ENRIQUE ORMESIO QUIROZ
    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.