One of the hardest questions to deal with in life runs something like this: Why is there (so much) suffering in the world? Each of the major religions has something to say in response to this question. In this article, I will attempt to capture the kernel of each of these responses for Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and (not a religion, but still worthwhile considering) atheism.

Hinduism: Suffering brings balance

Most of us will have come across the concept of ‘karma’, the universal principle by which all events in the past balance out with present and future events. This balance spans not only your life, but all of your past and future lives (i.e. incarnations). When you die, according to a Hindu, you will continue being reincarnated until your personal karma allows you to escape physical existence altogether and reach a state of nirvana.

As a result, a devout Hindu encountering a person suffering from disease, illness or poverty will consider it to be ‘payback’ (to put it crudely) for that person’s actions, either in this life or in a previous one. Similarly, a child who dies at birth was obviously wicked or cruel or unjust in a previous life. Which is not to say that Hindu people are any less compassionate or humane than their counterparts who subscribe to other world views; rather this is how, philosophically speaking, a devout Hindu would explain the presence of suffering.

The solution offered is to seek to improve your karma, until such time as you are able to achieve nirvana.

On the one hand this is a brilliant explanation: it is intellectually satisfying and all but impossible to gainsay. On the other, however, such a world-view leaves little room for consolation. Granted, Hinduism emerged well before our therapeutically intensive society, and so does not share what John Dickson calls our “modern Western fixation with consolation,” (John Dickson, If I were God I’d end all the pain [Matthias Media, 2001] p. 21) this remains cold comfort to those suffering under oppression, persecution, poverty, illness or grief.

Buddhism: Suffering is an illusion

Buddhism arose in direct response to the problem of suffering. Sometime around 500BC a man named Siddhartha Gautama, the Prince of a regions near the present-day borders of Nepal and India, left his palace and stumbled across 3 examples of human misery on his doorstep: a man withered by age; a man incapacitated by illness; and finally a dead body. On returning to his palace he decided to devote the rest of his life to understanding the problem of human suffering.

After searching diligently for 7 years, lived in self-denial and asceticism, he still did not have any answers. According to legend he vowed to meditate day and night under a Bo Tree until he had gained the insight he sought. One night, under a full moon in the month of May, Siddhartha found what he was looking for: all pain is an illusion through which we must train ourselves to see. According to Gautama (known to later generations as the ‘Buddha’ or Enlightened One, in honour of this insight) suffering is directly related to our desires and affections for the things of this world. Thus the pain of losing a loved one is caused not by the loss itself but by the affection I feel towards my parent, spouse, child or friend. If I lose my job, my anguish is brought about by my desire to be employed. If I desire intimacy then being single will bring anguish.

To overcome suffering, therefore, you must follow the Buddha’s eightfold path in order to purge yourself of all desires and affections.

There is little doubt in my mind that the Buddha’s solution is an insightful one: who can argue that our experience of suffering is unrelated to our desires. But does this ‘solution’ provide us a way forward? Is it possible to live this way, to isolate myself of all desire and affection? What kind of life will I be left with?

Islam: Suffering is the will of Allah

Unlike Buddhism, Islam deals with questions of suffering only peripherally. Nevertheless the Muslim position is clear: all events in history, from the least to the greatest, occur according to the will of Allah. The word Islam translates as ‘submission’ (to Allah’s will) and the word Muslim translates ‘one who submits’. Suffering becomes an opportunity for the devout Muslim to ‘submit’ to Allah’s will; to do otherwise, to cry out ‘Why God?’, is to presume to question the Almighty, and therefore all but blasphemy.

Thus, all that happens in this world – good or bad – is attributed to Allah: a young woman dies of cancer; chemists develop a life-saving drug; a family breadwinner dies of AIDS, plunging their family into poverty; a couple get married; a child is born with a heart problem… all these things are according to Allah’s will.

Perhaps of more importance, however, is Allah’s reaction to all of these things: none. According to standard Muslim theology, Allah is the ‘unmoved mover’. He causes all things to happen, but is impacted by none of them.

The Muslim solution, then, is to train yourself to submit to the will of Allah.

Atheism: Suffering is natural

For an atheist, the question “why does God allow suffering?” is meaningless as God does not exist. Instead, suffering is purely according to chance, and is the outworking of the interplay between our actions and the laws that govern the universe.

In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and we won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at the bottom no design, no purpose, no evil, and no good; nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.

- Richard Dawkins, “The Evolution of the Darwin Man”, published during 2000 in The Sydney Morning Herald and cited in John Dickson, If I were God I’d end all the pain, (Matthias Media, 2002) p. 29.

There is no point searching for meaning or purpose in life, because there is none to be found. That’s just the way things have always been and will always be. There is no solution to be found.

So, we have now looked at 4 of the main approaches to understanding suffering in the world today. Next time, we will look at how Christians understand both the problem, and its solution.

I just read an article on boundless.org about discernment in grey areas of our lives. I found it to be full of useful insights. From the article:

Does Scripture address R-Rated movies? Music styles? Not directly. But God has provided principles in his Word to help us discern how to live, what to choose, and what to reject. We need principles from Scripture to inform how our practice of living.

So here are five principles for growing in discernment that have implications for our daily lives:

• Imitate God
• Distrust your heart
• Think biblically
• Involve others
• Decide to worship

(Read the full article for more details.)

What kind of ‘grey’ issues have you come across? How did you go about resolving them? Do you think that the suggestions in the article (Imitate God, Distrust your heart etc.) are useful? Can you think of a circumstance in which you would apply them?

If you have answers to any of these questions (or perhaps some questions of your own) leave us a comment – we’d love to have your input!

It was six men of Indostan
    To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant,
    (Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
    Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the elephant
    And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
    At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the elephant
    Is nothing but a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
    Cried “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
    To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
    Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
    And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
    Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant
    Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
    And felt about the knee:
“What most this wondrous beast is like
    Is mighty plan,” quoth he;
“‘Tis clear enough the elephant
    Is very like a tree.”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
    Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles mos;
    Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
    Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
    About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
    That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant
    Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
    Disputed loud and long
Each in his own opinion
    Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was plainly in the right,
    And all were in the wrong!

So, oft in theologic wars
    The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
    Of what each other mean,
And prate about an elephant
    Not one of them has seen!

- John Godfrey Saxe

When it comes to God, we are all blind, and he is even bigger than your average elephant. So be very careful about the image of God that you profess and believe, as chances are you don’t have the full picture.

In fact only one man in all of history – Jesus – has ever understood God in his entirety. He is like a man with sight coming and telling the blind men all about the elephant, and walking them around him until their understanding was more complete. Not fully complete, certainly, but a much bigger picture. If we want to know God, we can only do so through Jesus.

Here’s a modern day parable from Charles Swindoll:

On a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little lifesaving station. Actually, the station was merely a hut with only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the turbulent sea. With little thought for themselves, they would go out day and night tirelessly searching for those in danger as well as the lost. Many, many lives were saved by this brave band of men who faithfully worked as a team in and out of the lifesaving station. By and by, it became a famous place.

Some of those who had been saved as well as others along the seacoast wanted to become associated with this little station. They were willing to give their time and energy and money in support of its objectives. New boats were purchased. New crews were trained. The station that was once obscure and crude and virtually insignificant began to grow.

Some of its members were unhappy that the hut was so unattractive and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided. Therefore emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture. Rough, hand-made equipment was discarded, and sophisticated, classy systems were installed. The hut, of course, had to be torn down to make room for all the additional equipment, furniture, systems and appointments.

By its completion, the lifesaving station had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives began to shift. It was now used as sort of a clubhouse, an attractive building for public gatherings. Saving lives and feeding the hungry and strenthening the fearful and calming the disturbed rarely occurred by now.

Fewer members were now interested in braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional lifeboat crews to do the work. The original goal of the station wasn’t altogether forgotten, however. The lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the club’s decorations. In fact, there was a liturgical lifeboat preservers in the “Room of Sweet Memories” with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer of dust upon the once-used vessel.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast and the boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty. Some were terribly sick and lonely. Others were black and they were “different” from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy and cluttered. A special committee saw to it that a shower house was immediately built “outside” and “away from” the club so victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up “before” coming inside the club.

At the next meeting there were strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the members. Most of the people wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether and place all involvements with shipwreck victims somewhere else. “It’s too unpleasant,” they said. “It’s a hindrance to our social life. It’s opening the doors to folks who are not ‘our kind’.”

Well, as you would expect, some still insisted upon saving lives, that this was their primary objective. Their only reason for existence was ministering to “anyone” needing help regardless of their club’s beauty or size or decorations. Well, they were voted down and they were told if they still wanted to be involved in saving lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast! And so they did.

As years passed, the new station experienced the same old changes. It evolved into just another club. And yet another lifesaving station was begun. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that coats today, you’ll find a large number of exclusive, impressive clubs along the shoreline owned and operated by slick professionals who have lost all involvement with the saving of lives.

Shipwrecks still occur in those waters, you understand, but now most of the victims are not saved. Every day they perish at sea, and so few seem to care… so very few.

- Charles Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotation (Thomas Nelson, 1998) pp. 89-91

Ever found God’s way a bit too constrictive? Wish you could go your own way for a bit? Consider this illustration:

Can you imagine Thomas the tank-engine thinking to himself, “I don’t need these silly rails, they restrict me too much and I cannot go wherever I please and I cannot do whatever I chose”?

So one fine morning – with a full head of steam, Thomas hits the bend – at speed – and deliberately derails himself in a field.

“Wee!! I’m free!!”, he says.

The earth is soft and warm, the sky is clear, and the sun is strong.

But as the weather changes, and the rains begin to fall, and Thomas’ wheels begin to rust, and the weeds and vines begin to cover his once gleaming but now faded paint work, and the water in his tank turns pale green, Thomas regrets his decision.

And that is because trains function best when they are on the rails.

Thomas is going nowhere and what is more, he is falling apart in the process.

He is miserable, and he is very frustrated, and there is not one thing he can do to change his situation.

Sin is like that.

Sin, fuelled by self-interest and a contempt for God’s decrees and commands – drives people at full speed off the rails (as it were).
Not only is human kind off-course, we are also held fast in that predicament.
There is nothing that we can do to right the situation.
Getting back on track is beyond us.

- Stuart Robinson, “Looking for Justice”, preached to St Paul’s Anglican, Chatswood, 29/1/06

I really like the chorus of the Martina McBride song “Anyway” (I’ve included the whole thing at the end of this post):

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

- Martina McBride, “Anyway” from the album Waking up laughing (RCA Records, 2007)

What kind of life is it when we don’t do anything for fear that it won’t work out “like the way [we] think it should”? Not much of one. This is particularly true of prayer. Some people fall in to the trap of thinking, “I don’t know what God wants me to pray, so I won’t pray anything.” My advice is to pray anyway – and once you start praying, God may well show you what to pray for!

It’s kind of like a car or a boat: it’s much easier to steer once you’re actually moving. Similarly, it’s easier for God to tell you about his plans if you’re actually in conversation with him in the first place! By all means start out by asking him what to pray for… but even if you don’t get an answer straight away, it’s still cool to keep praying!

On another note, don’t be discouraged because “when I pray / It doesn’t always turn out like [you] think it should.” Sometimes God has other plans. And sometimes his plans are the same as yours, his timing is just different. Consider this story from the book of Daniel. In Daniel 10, Daniel comes to a realisation that a great war is coming. He then begins mourn, fasting and praying. At the end of 3 weeks, he still hasn’t heard anything from God – until an angel appears and says:

‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days… Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future.’

- Daniel 10:12-14

If Daniel had given up on praying, I reckon he would have missed out. But because he kept praying, the angel won through to pass on God’s message to him. Because he was persistent, even though it seemed that God was ‘silent’, he got the result he was looking for. Because he “did it anyway” he unleashed God’s blessing into his life, and into the life of his nation.

You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not never come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yea – I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea – sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love
Anyway

- Martina McBride, “Anyway” from the album Waking up laughing (RCA Records, 2007)

Recently I was having a discussion with some friends (over a bowl of icecream and chocolate topping – the only way to discuss!) about whether Jesus is the only way to be saved. And if so, what happens to those who never hear about him and therefore never have opportunity to choose him? For example, when a child dies in infancy, before reaching a point of understanding Jesus’ message, do they go to heaven? Or what happens to someone who grows up in a Muslim nation, where they are not able to hear the gospel?

The Bible is fairly clear on the first question – Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation. Consider Jesus’ own words :

‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

- John 14:6

Similarly Peter says that:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

- Acts 4:12

Let me be clear: Christianity is not just one religion among many, all offering different (equally valid) ways of approaching God. Jesus was quite insistent that he was and is the only way of entering relationship with the Father. He is the only doorway into eternal life. This is not a popular stance in the world today, everyone’s ‘truth’ is equally valid, and noone can claim exclusivity in the area of truth without attracting the ire of all around them. Unpopular or not, though, I believe that we as Christians are called to speak and defend this truth.

The second question, however, is a little trickier. The Bible appears to be silent on the issue, and so we cannot say with any great certainty one way or another. There is no promise, for example, that babies will automatically go to heaven. There is certainly no promise that adults who don’t hear about Christ will automatically qualify for heaven.

Some might cite Paul’s letter to the Romans on this issue:

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets, through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

- Romans 2:12-16

Their argument in doing so would be to suggest that even someone who hasn’t heard of Jesus will be judged on the basis of being a “law for themselves” (14) who “have the requirements of the law written on their hearts” (15) – and will be found guilty even in the sight of their own consciences. The problem with this is that this passage is that knowledge of the law, in my view, is not actually comparable to knowledge of Jesus. That is to say, the argument that “Ignorance of the law is no defence in court and so therefore ignorance of Jesus is no defence in his ultimate court” doesn’t really stand.

Here’s what I do know: God is characterised by his love, his mercy and his justice. I personally believe that, on the day of judgment, Jesus will consider each and every person according to their life and circumstances. In the same way that earthly judges are able to exercise discretion in sentencing, much more will the Judge of all the earth be able to judge “based on truth” (Rom 2:2).

I do not know what measure or method (if any) he might use in doing this.

I do trust him to do what is right.

The Sydney Morning Herald last month published this article about whether the recent tsunami in the Solomon Island’s represents God’s punishment for “straying from Christian ways”. Similar accusations have been made concerning many natural disasters – our present drought, Hurricane Katrina, the Sri Lankan tsunami etc.

I don’t believe that this is the case however. Those who work regularly with children will tell you that discipline is only effective if the child knows what they are being disciplined for. Throughout the Bible, where God has used natural disaster as a means of judgment, he has accompanied it with prophetic explanation of the reasons for it – which hasn’t (so far as I know) occurred in this instance. See, for example, the book of Joel, where Joel announces the Lord’s judgment through the recent plagues of locusts. Further, that judgment was on the basis of the people having transgressed the laws that were given them through Moses, and God was enacting the punishment dictated in those laws – see Deuteronomy 28.

This disaster, to me, is another instance of a world in trouble, “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” (Rom 8:22). A world where such things happen and lead to death is a world gone wrong, a world far astray from the perfect creation God had planned for us. So whilst the tsunami is not a specific judgment upon the people of the Solomons, it is in many ways an ongoing judgment upon humanity in general.

I also believe that God uses the forces of nature to remind us that he is ever present, to cause us to lift our eyes to him even if only to cry out, “Will not the Judge of all the Earth do right?” (Gen 18:25), or, “Oh that I had someone to hear me!” (Job 31:35). I was talking tonight to a friend who was in India when the tsunami hit India, Thailand and Sri Lanka in 2004, and he was telling me of the numerous conversations about God started by that event. He spent 3 hours talking to one guy who wanted to understand how God could allow such a thing, and why. I, like my friend, don’t know the answers for sure, and probably won’t this side of heaven. But maybe, just maybe, it was so that that conversation (and perhaps many more just like it) would take place.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said “‘Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'” (Matt 10:39)?

Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack – a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away – an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out.

Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave.”

He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.

He studied the possibility of both option. What should he do, pour it into the old and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago?

Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.

Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little not: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”

- Charles R. Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity (quoted in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes [Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1998] p. 197)

What are you hanging on to? Do you have a death-grip on a particular possession, idea, relationship, job or position? Are you reluctant to give stuff over to God because you are afraid you will be left without? Perhaps you are in a relationship with someone, and you feel insecure when they spend time with other people. Or maybe you have a plan for your life and are unwilling to accept anything that doesn’t fit in.

Let me tell you, unless you are willing to give those things and those relationships over to God, you will ultimately lose them. If you do entrust them to his care, however, he will multiply them amazingly! By trying to hold on to what we have, we risk everything. But if we surrender all in accordance with God’s instruction and will, we will receive all that we ever need… and more!

To get a pilot’s licence, you have to get an “instrument rating”. This means that you understand the instruments that your plane is equipped with – compass, altimeter etc. – and are capable of flying your plane using those and nothing else should the need arise. This is important, because otherwise it is easy to become disoriented when flying through fog or cloud. In some circumstances it is even possible for pilots to suffer what is called vertigo – ‘up’ and ‘down’ become confused, and you feel like you’re upright when you’re actually upside down.

To be able to fly using instruments only, a pilot needs the following:

• Good instruments: What’s the point in relying on your instruments if they are telling you the wrong thing? Even a slightly misaligned compass can lead you a long way off course.
• Understanding: You need to know how to use your instruments in order for them to be useful. You could hand me a compass, or a GPS device, but unless I had been taught how to use it it would be nothing more than a paperweight to me.
• Faith: Sometimes a pilot has to believe his instruments, even when they are in direct contradiction to what his senses are telling him.

I believe that Christians, too, need to get an “instrument rating”. Too easily we can get caught up in what our senses are telling us about the world that we are deceived. I believe that this is what happened for John the Baptist, when he sent word to Jesus to ask if he really was the Messiah, or if they should be looking for someone else (Matthew 11:2-6). This was a bit of a strange question, really, since John had been one of the very first to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 3:13-17), and had witnessed “the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him.” (16) and the “voice from heaven” proclaiming “‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'” (17).

Things had taken a bit of a bad turn for John since then, however, and he was now in gaol and facing death. Is it any wonder that he began to think that something must have gone wrong somewhere?

Jesus’ response serves to remind John of his instruments. First, he suggests that John needs to consider more than just his immediate surroundings – he tells the messenger to let John know about all the wonderful things that are happening. The things he specifically directs the messengers to take not of, however, are particularly important as they are things spoken of in the scriptures as being indicative of the Messiah. Jesus is commanding, “Go back to your Bible and compare what you find there with what your disciples report – then answer the question for yourself.”

The Bible is Jesus’ answer to not knowing which way is up and which way down. When being tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11), it is scripture which Jesus relies upon in overcoming Satan. If he allowed himself to be caught up in his own situation (I love the subtly understated “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (2)!) then Satan’s suggestions would no doubt have seemed like good sense – after all, how could he possibly be any good to anyone if he starved to death? Perhaps it would be easier to accept the world from Satan’s hand as a gift, rather than pay the price to buy it back. But Jesus knew the scriptures and trusted that the words spoken there were truth, even though his senses and his understanding of the world he was in right then and there were screaming there was a better way.

We need that instrument for ourselves. We need to know what the Bible says in order to know what is right. We need to rely on scripture to navigate us through the fog of this life. We need to trust God’s word, even when it seems totally contrary to what our senses are telling us.

Are you instrument rated?