Is suffering supposed to make sense? Why do we suffer? At first this question seems intuitive. However, after the first spontaneous outburst of answers, we start to question why there is suffering in the world and how we can make sense of it. Generally, when these ultimate questions are asked we tend to assert conclusions based on God or our personal values. It goes beyond that. Religion provides a guideline for these questions, and our values are extremely important for a sense of identity, however these questions can be reconciled by looking at them holistically in terms of religion, psychology and philosophy.
As a general guideline, people use the structures of religion, philosophy and psychology to answer the question, how can we make sense of suffering? For the most part, all three systems of thought view suffering as intrinsic to the human condition, and an important part of emotional, cognitive and spiritual development.
For most people, especially those who are religious adherents, suffering is generally viewed as a form of evil in the world. Generally, evil is classified into two categories, natural and moral. Natural evil are things such as earthquakes and volcanoes, which humans have limited control over. Moral evil is evil which leads to suffering, which arise from the deliberate choice of individuals to use their freedom to cause pain and suffering to others, such as the holocaust. Suffering crosses into the grey area compared to the black and white explanation of evil. When it comes to suffering there are two types: suffering caused by external factors, or personal suffering. External factors which lead to suffering include, harmful natural, ecological, political, economic and social conditions. Such factors are out of control of the person, similar to natural evil. Personal suffering is more complicated. It involves suffering caused by emotional, cognitive and spiritual underdevelopment. Further classification of these three areas say: Emotional suffering is things like guilt, fear shame, Cognitive suffering is things like, lacking concentration or memory, and spiritual suffering is existential anxiety such as who am I? What am I doing with my life? What is my meaning? Certainly, personal suffering is a lot more complicated to exertensial suffering. The problem most people come to in reguards to suffering and religion is that If God is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful, why does God allow unwarranted suffering? Mostly, this is the case for suffering caused by natural terms, such as tsunamis or cancer. Christianity provides some answers to this dilemma. It says that evil power struggles with an all-loving God, so whereas God intends only whatever is loving and good, the evil power intends and effects the opposite, and it is not God who inflicts unwarranted suffering in the world but Satan (Gill, 2015). When talking about moral suffering, Christianity says that we all have free will, and that suffering is caused by submission to evil through free will. Through Jesus, God has shared our suffering and exemplified the way to live with suffering. Christianity and Judaism share some ties in their response to suffering. Judaism says that Suffering is an inevitable part of human existence (Gen 3:19). However, it is more strict compared to Christianity and says that suffering is caused by Sin, not come existential evil force. This response from Judaism can be interpreted as black and white and not as direction as other religions such as Buddhism. Buddhism whole religious structure is based around suffering. Contrary to Christianity, it explains that we are to do away with desire which is the root of suffering. We can do away with desire by following the eightfold path. In general, it views desire as the root of evil in the world. Buddhists believe that karama will affect …show more content…
Core to Buddhist is this notion of desire. Desire is a form of internal conflict, something which we want but cannot have. Carl Jung wrote in his 1957 classic, The Undiscovered Self, that “a true understanding of the inner self recognizes the existence of good and evil within us” (Michaelson, 2012). Michaelson summarises this by saying, “the bitterness and rage we may experience is a cover-up for our willingness to indulge in feeling victimized in some manner or other” (Michaelson, 2012). From both Jung and Michaelson, they state that suffering is caused by some internal conflict within the
As a general guideline, people use the structures of religion, philosophy and psychology to answer the question, how can we make sense of suffering? For the most part, all three systems of thought view suffering as intrinsic to the human condition, and an important part of emotional, cognitive and spiritual development.
For most people, especially those who are religious adherents, suffering is generally viewed as a form of evil in the world. Generally, evil is classified into two categories, natural and moral. Natural evil are things such as earthquakes and volcanoes, which humans have limited control over. Moral evil is evil which leads to suffering, which arise from the deliberate choice of individuals to use their freedom to cause pain and suffering to others, such as the holocaust. Suffering crosses into the grey area compared to the black and white explanation of evil. When it comes to suffering there are two types: suffering caused by external factors, or personal suffering. External factors which lead to suffering include, harmful natural, ecological, political, economic and social conditions. Such factors are out of control of the person, similar to natural evil. Personal suffering is more complicated. It involves suffering caused by emotional, cognitive and spiritual underdevelopment. Further classification of these three areas say: Emotional suffering is things like guilt, fear shame, Cognitive suffering is things like, lacking concentration or memory, and spiritual suffering is existential anxiety such as who am I? What am I doing with my life? What is my meaning? Certainly, personal suffering is a lot more complicated to exertensial suffering. The problem most people come to in reguards to suffering and religion is that If God is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful, why does God allow unwarranted suffering? Mostly, this is the case for suffering caused by natural terms, such as tsunamis or cancer. Christianity provides some answers to this dilemma. It says that evil power struggles with an all-loving God, so whereas God intends only whatever is loving and good, the evil power intends and effects the opposite, and it is not God who inflicts unwarranted suffering in the world but Satan (Gill, 2015). When talking about moral suffering, Christianity says that we all have free will, and that suffering is caused by submission to evil through free will. Through Jesus, God has shared our suffering and exemplified the way to live with suffering. Christianity and Judaism share some ties in their response to suffering. Judaism says that Suffering is an inevitable part of human existence (Gen 3:19). However, it is more strict compared to Christianity and says that suffering is caused by Sin, not come existential evil force. This response from Judaism can be interpreted as black and white and not as direction as other religions such as Buddhism. Buddhism whole religious structure is based around suffering. Contrary to Christianity, it explains that we are to do away with desire which is the root of suffering. We can do away with desire by following the eightfold path. In general, it views desire as the root of evil in the world. Buddhists believe that karama will affect …show more content…
Core to Buddhist is this notion of desire. Desire is a form of internal conflict, something which we want but cannot have. Carl Jung wrote in his 1957 classic, The Undiscovered Self, that “a true understanding of the inner self recognizes the existence of good and evil within us” (Michaelson, 2012). Michaelson summarises this by saying, “the bitterness and rage we may experience is a cover-up for our willingness to indulge in feeling victimized in some manner or other” (Michaelson, 2012). From both Jung and Michaelson, they state that suffering is caused by some internal conflict within the