A Christian View of Suffering Essay -- The Value of Suffering

The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity, regarding much(pre zero(prenominal)inal) matters as moral conduct, ghostly advancework forcet and ultimate destiny. Indeed an speech pattern on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where, it preserve be argued, we are shown how to journey through suffering (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the torment news of Man (Mark 832), Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to chant the resolve of the early Christian community (Halpern 2002, Mayerfeld 2005), the underlying moral is non lost on a modern reader grappling with multifaceted challenges regarding faith in the face of suffering. In his article A Christian Response to injury, William Marravee (1987) describes suffering as an experience over which we men and women continue to stumble and fall. The way we prognosis matinee idol is essential to the way we feeling suffering according to Marravee, who delineates the disparity bet ween a view of God as an outsider and the biblical image of God where God is an insider who suffers with us in our struggle. This essay seeks to explain the Christian view of suffering and the purpose suffering can have in our lives.Suffering is an individuals basic affective experience of pain or distress, often as a result of ones physical, emotional or spiritual circumstance (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2006). Suffering can be classified ad as physical for example pain caused by a set-apart knee, emotional for example ones grief over the end of a loved one, or spiritual which is described as the articulate of being separated from the blissful nature of your divine self (soul). To suffer physically or emotionally is often unavoidable however it can be argued that spiritual liberation... ...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.Marravee. W, 1987, A Christian Response to Suffering, Review for Religious, no. 46, pp. 25 6-260.Mayerfeld. J, 2005, Suffering and Moral Responsibility. New York Oxford University Press.Pope John Paul II (1984), Apostolic Letter SALVIFICI DOLORIS, Online, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Available at http//www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jpapl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html 27 April 2008.Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (2006), Suffering Online, Metaphysics Research Lab, Available at http//plato.stanford.edu/entries/pleasure/ 3 May 2008.Trip, D. (1999), The Christian view of suffering Online, Exploring Christianity. Available from http//www.christianity.co.nz/suffer4.htm Accessed 18 April 2008.