Mathew Y. Agada
Email: matthewagada50@gmail.com
+2348036459490, PhD candidate, Systematic Theology,
Nigerian Theological Seminary Ogbomoso
Abstract
Human suffering has always been a universal experience including African countries and other countries in the world. It includes pains and distress that result into illness, loss of loved ones, natural disasters, such as droughts, accidents, hunger, famine, poverty and many other unfortunate things that affect human live negatively. The seeming prevalence of pains and sufferings in the world pushes humanity to doubt the existence God who is professed as loving, caring and all-powerful. This paper addresses these negative issues in human live and God’s providence amidst these challenges. The Bible which is the final authority and ultimate source of theology is employed to prove God’s providence despite human suffering in the world. The researcher adopted the analytical approach to achieve the paper’s objectives. The views of theologians and philosophers on human suffering are examined. The paper concludes that the issue of human suffering remains a paradox and a mystery. However, in the midst of all pains and sufferings in the world, God caters for His people. It is discovered that human suffering is prevalent in every human society. It is also noted that there are several types sufferings such as poverty, famine, draughts, killings, and kidnapping, injustice and corruption among others. The paper recommends that persistent prayer and total dependence on God glorious promises are the solutions to human suffering.
Key Words: God’s providence, human suffering, Contemporary Church,
Introduction
Suffering has always been a universal human experience through the ages. It may be diseases, accidents, trials, temptations, rejection, loss of loved ones, poverty, hunger, and many other unfortunate things that affect human life. These unfortunate events pose a threat and doubt to the omnipotence and omniscience attributes of God.
There is the perception of a seeming contradiction in the idea of God who is professed to be good, all-powerful and knows everything, and yet permits tragedy to strike, especially to His faithful children. How can human beings justify the God who claims to be powerful, good and knows the future and yet created pains and sufferings in the lives of people that He created in His image? This paper intends to address those profoundly puzzling questions in the lives of human beings. In order to achieve this objective, the paper discusses an overview of human suffering, biblical perspectives of human suffering, causes of human suffering, God’s providence in relation to human suffering, and the implications of human suffering for the contemporary church.
Overview of Human Suffering
Since the creation of the world there have been perennial problem of human suffering. Human suffering includes all sorts of pain and distress which accompany serious illness, loss of loved ones, natural disasters such as earthquakes, accidents, persecution and many other unfortunate events that touch lives (Hill 2005, 11). Also, wars are taking place in many parts of the world. Many are killed, and some are captured as prisoners of war.
The church is not exempted from the storms and tempests of life. Many Christians, such as Mathew, Philip, James, Paul who were the disciples of Christ, Polycarp, John Huss, Blandina, Attalus and other devoted Christians were killed as a result of their faith in Christ (Berry 1988, 9-27). Many contemporary Christians are equally affected. Where such things happen, the families as the victims are anguished as they think and become very sorrowful for the death of the loved ones.
Life is full of sorrows. Sometimes people face different challenges of life and feel that they are lonely in the wilderness of life when it seems that there are no solutions to their problems. Those that go through such difficulties and challenges of life always keep asking questions, why? If God is all-powerful could He not have spared His people from all this suffering? Does God care? If He cares, why does He not answer the prayers of those that cry to Him for help? Is God good? If He is good, why does He allow evils to happen to the people He had created in His image? Questions like these always fill the hearts of people that are going through challenges of life. Sometimes, some contemporary Christians are tempted to doubt that God cares about them especially when they are pinched by poverty, oppressed with many troubles, harassed by the enemies and covered with shame and reproach.
Indeed, man’s life is full of sorrows. This is the fulfillment of God’s word to the woman that her sorrow and conception would be multiplied (Epp 1970, 9). Job 14:1 also states that “man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” There is no doubt that the early Christians faced a lot of suffering especially because of their faith in Christ, there is hope of an inheritance in the heavenly kingdom awaiting them and also for the contemporary Christians that are passing through suffering for the sake of Christ. confirming this, Hill submits:
The various trials by which the pilgrims of the early church were grieved had a noble purpose. God intended by means of trials to prove their faith: that the genuineness of their faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (2005, 11).
In expressing the tragedy of the contemporary human beings, Epp submits,
Eyes were created to see, but some are blind, Ears were created to hear, but some are deaf. Hands were made to work, but disease renders them limp and useless. Lungs were made to breath, but they become cancerous and bring an end to breathing. Brains were made to think, but some suffer brain damage. Suffering is all around…. Not only is there physical anguish, but there is mental anguish as well. Hopes and dreams of a lifetime are dashed to the ground. …why this dark mystery of suffering? …Why? Is there no answers? Yes, there is an answer (1970, 10).
There is no doubt that human beings are surrounded with different types of suffering. The practical examples are Ebola outbreak between 2016 and 2017 and COVID-19 that claimed many lives all over the nations of the world. Also the suffering of poverty that is currently affecting Nigerians due to the change of Nigerian naira notes which put Nigerians into a complex and miserable situations.
However, in God’s providence, He certainly cares in times of storms of life. If the contemporary Christians can keep their focus squarely on Jesus Christ, who has power to do all things, they would finish the journey of life victoriously.
Biblical Perspectives of Human Suffering
The Bible speaks vividly about human suffering. There are manifold instances of suffering mentioned in the Old Testament period. Confirming this, Luyten submits:
Where the Old Testament speaks about suffering, it deals primarily with concrete or incidental suffering, with extraordinary and brutal disturbances in the life of an individual or community such as serious illness, sterility, untimely death or the consequences of war, pestilence, famine, and other disasters (Luyten and Lambrecht 1989, 3).
In the Old Testament, all manners of disasters, calamities and illnesses are mentioned which are directed to the subject of human suffering. Human suffering in the Old Testament includes the suffering and the fate of all those who were innocently murdered, from Abel to Zechariah, the son of Jehoida, who at Joash’s order was stoned in the courtyard of Yahweh’s temple (2Chr. 24:20-22) (Luyten and Lambrecht 1989, 19). Following the killing of Abel, the innocent man, by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:8), there have been records of killings, sicknesses and diseases among the Jewish people. The Jewish nation knew what it was to experience suffering and sickness. They believed that suffering was part of their lot as human beings, but they also believed that God sent sickness to test or chastise them because of personal sins. (Warrington, 2005,11). Because of this belief, those who were sick were considered to be unclean and this stigma was associated with them (Leviticus 13:1-5; Psalm 38:11). As a result of the deep-seated belief that God sent sickness, the Jews were often uncertain as to whether they should seek the help of a doctor (Warrington 2005,19). Though physicians were valuable and healing remedies were not condemned, most healings sometimes occurred through prophets and most healings were done through prayer (Genesis 20:7, 17).
However, some Jews also believed that personal sin was not always the cause of sickness. The good example is Job that was a righteous man (Job 2:3) and yet was sick. However, the causes of suffering shall be discussed fully later in the cause of this research work.
Human suffering is also discussed in the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon says that life makes no difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, between oppressors and the oppressed, between the wise and the foolish (Ecclesiastes 3:16, 4:1-4). He further says that all in existence is desolation and full of frustration, misery, and bitterness (5:16). Even property and riches, all the productivity and creativity which people exhibit, their quest for knowledge and wisdom, are all in vain and striving after wind (1:2-3); 13-18, 2:1-23). These are part of human suffering as stated by Solomon.
In the New Testament, there are also cases of suffering. People faced different problems and tried to find solutions to their problems. In the Roman Empire, people believed in a variety of gods (Warrington 2005, 19). One of the most famous gods, who was renowned as a healing deity in the time of Jesus, was called Asclepius (Warrington 2005, 23). People who had problems visited ‘him’ in order to find solutions to their problems. Also, there are cases of people that had different problems and Jesus healed them. Jesus cast out demons (Mark 1:23-28), and raised people from the dead (Luke 7:11-17). He also touched the sick despite their being ceremonially unclean because of their sickness and they were all healed (Matthew 8:2-4; 9:20-22). He went to the temple and healed those that were sick (Mathew 21:14). In the Gospels, Jesus is presented as being awesome in power. He is not recorded as praying for the healing of the sick. Instead, the sickness is removed often with a word or command (Warrington 2005, 23). Also, Jesus had compassion on those that were facing problems of rejection. The healing of lepers as recorded in Matthew 8:1-4 is a good example. In Old Testament times, those who had this problem were excluded from the society because of its link with uncleanness (Leviticus 13:9, 45, 46). Jesus came and restored those facing this suffering because he was the only person who had the power to do that. Thus, the healing of lepers and other people with different diseases who were considered unclean provided hope for the hopeless. Through his healings, he offered freedom to those neglected and made it possible for them to be reintegrated into society and into their community and made them to be useful and productive again.
Jesus, the son of God who came as a messiah, was rejected by the Jews and was regarded as dangerous impostor who misled the people (John 11:47-48). On the human level, this was why Jesus had to face opposition and untimely execution. (Marshal 2000, 595). Jesus was rejected, persecuted, despised, and killed. However, Christ’s suffering and death culminated in his glorification and the salvation of mankind (Austin and Gbadebo2017,113). Jesus also was confronted with human suffering. He put on humanity and experienced human suffering like any other human being. However, his suffering makes a difference because he suffered and died to rescue human beings from eternal misery.
It is also to be noted that the book of Acts has narrative accounts of people that had cases of human suffering such as sickness, persecution, rejection and death, and God’s providence in their lives through miracles of healing by the apostles. For instance, Peter and John healed a crippled man that was carried to the temple gate called Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-8). People that suffered different types of diseases were brought to the apostles for healing (5:16). The persecution of the apostles and their imprisonments (Acts 4, 16:16-40), the persecution of Stephen and his death (6:9-7:1-60). The accounts of Dorcas, death and the miracle of her resurrection (9:36-43), and the resurrection of Eutychus in Acts 20:9-12. There are other cases of human suffering recorded in the book of Acts. However, in all these, God’s providence was demonstrated through the apostles. Jesus identified himself with the problems of humanity just as the Gospels recorded, through his miraculous activities performed through the apostles.
In Paul’s letters, he also talked about suffering. In Philippians 2:27, Paul said that Epaphroditus, his brother and co-worker was sick and nearly died, though God healed him. Also, in 1Timothy 5:23, Paul encouraged Timothy to take little wine for the sake of his stomach and frequent illness and the record that he left Trophimus sick (2Timothy 4:20). Paul also described his outer nature wasting away (2Corinthians 4:16), in Galatians 4:13, he describes a “weakness in the flesh” generally understood to be a physical form of suffering (Austin and Gbadebo2017,113). Paul also identified his own suffering as a “thorn in the flesh” (2Corinthians 12:7-10) and he prayed for its removal three times.
The thorn is described as tormenting him (12:7), indicating that it was a recurring experience. Meanwhile, the response of the Lord indicates that he would provide ongoing support for the apostle for this continuing suffering (Warrington 2005, 152). In verse ten of the same passage, Paul mentioned weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and other difficulties and life they experienced for the sake of the gospel of Christ.
The book of James is opened with the issue of human suffering. Chapter 1:1-12 talks about trials and temptations which are part of human suffering. Chapter 5:13-18 also talks about human suffering such as sickness and the need of prayer offered in faith as a response of God to the one suffering. James is not only offering hope for those in his community who are physically ill, but also as a result of other forms of weakness (Warrington 2005,160). Human suffering varies, it may be discouragement, fear, anxiety, marginalization and any other type of physical illness. James offers hope for those who are confronted with such challenges of life. Peter also talked about human suffering in 1Peter 4:12-16. He said that suffering should not be a strange thing for Christians. In the apostolic times, suffering as a result of persecution was not unusual, because it was expected that if a person professed Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he would surely suffer as Christ himself suffered (1Peter 3:18). Peter further said that the scope of suffering is worldwide, when he said “…because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering” (1Peter 5:9).
Suffering is a fact of life for all humans, hence all humans suffer and die. Christians are not exempted from human suffering. To become a real Christian may also involve entering into suffering on account of faith itself (Warrington 2005,160). However, perseverance in suffering… builds our character and resilience as we grow in faith and confidence in our walk with God in spite of suffering (Dau, 2017, 105).
From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the study has shown various kinds of suffering as experienced by God’s people, including Jesus Christ, who suffered for mankind, leaving an example that we might follow in his steps (1Peter 2:21). The contemporary church’s awareness of the issue of human suffering would help Christians to build their faith in Christ when suffering and disaster strike. It should be noted that amidst all these human suffering, God’s providence was demonstrated through miracles of healing especially through Jesus Christ. Through Him, men are liberated from satanic power and are possessed by the power of God (Mcgill 1982, 93). Only Jesus Christ has authority over human suffering and he demonstrated that power by healing people as clearly seen in the previous discussion of his healing ministry. Jesus also testified to this when he said, “for you granted him authority over all people, that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him” (John 17:2). Christ is the hope of believers, he is always with them and to deliver them in times of suffering.