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The Problem of Pain

Explore divine omnipotence and goodness amidst human pain, suffering, and the fall of man. Consider the role of pain in redemption, surrender, and the pursuit of heaven. Reflect on the complexities of free will, God's love, and the human spirit's journey through affliction. Unveil the transformative power of pain in shaping souls toward a higher purpose and understanding.

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The Problem of Pain

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  1. The Problem of Pain

  2. Divine Omnipotence

  3. Divine Omnipotence • So, what’s the problem of pain? • With God all things are possible, but… • “Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God” • Impossible..................Unless • Impossible...................As Long As • Self Contradictory .....Intrinsically Impossible • The Intrinsic Impossibilities: • Laws of Nature. • What do we need for a human society? • If souls are free, they can not be prevented from dealing with hostility instead of courtesy.

  4. Divine Omnipotence • What if God corrected the results at every moment?! • How will this affect man’s free will? • Then what about Miracles?? • The concept of a common and stable world demands that these occasions should be extremely rare.

  5. Divine Goodness

  6. Divine Goodness • What do we mean by the goodness of God? • Love  Kindness • “We want, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven.” • But what’s the problem with that? • Love is more stern & splendid than mere kindness. • The relation between God & Ourselves • Love demands the perfecting of the beloved • Can’t God be just content with us the way we are?

  7. The Fall of Man

  8. The Fall of Man • So where did evil, pain & suffering come from? • The abuse of free will lead to the fall. • Wouldn’t it have been possible to God to remove by miracle the results of the first sin? • The first sin was a result of Pride • Such a sin required no complex conditions • From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the centre is opened to it.

  9. The Fall of Man • As a result, man lost his authority • So, God began to rule human organism in a more external way. • By the Fall, man lost his original specific nature • Its inclination became self-ward rather than God-ward • It was not a variation, it was the emergence of a new kind of man, never made by God • Man spoiled himself and pain plays a major part in his remedy

  10. Human Pain

  11. Human Pain • So why our cure should be painful? • Let’s first define the word ‘Pain’: • A particular kind of sensation, probably conveyed by specialized nerve fibres, and recognisable by the patient as that kind of sensation wether he likes it or not. • Any experience, wether physical or mental, which the patient dislikes. • Now, what’s the proper good for a creature? • After the Fall of Man, How to recover this self-surrender?

  12. Human Pain • The human spirit will not even begin to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it • The nature of sin • Pain is unmasked & unmistakable evil • The happy evil man • Once pain has aroused him, he knows that something is wrong • So, he either rebels or else makes some attempt to an adjustment

  13. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our • conscience, but SHOUTS in our pain: • it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world

  14. Human Pain • The first and lowest operation of pain shatters the illusion that all is well. • The second operation shatters the illusion that what we have is our own and enough for us. ‘We have all we want’ • ‘God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full-there’s nowhere for Him to put it’ St.Augustine • God knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. • What then can God do in our interests but to make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us?

  15. Human Pain • The third operation of pain arises because the surrender of self-will will always remain unpleasant for fallen creatures. • In surrendering self-will (obeying), embracing what is contrary to its nature, a rational creature enacts its creaturely role. • Such an act may be described as a ‘test’ of the creature’s return to God.

  16. Human Pain • The main purposes of Pain are: • Shatters the illusion that all is well • Shatters the illusion that what we have is our own and enough for us • Surrendering self-will is in itself a painful thing

  17. Human Pain • What happens to man in times of tribulation ? • Can tribulations ever cease? • The sacrifice of Christ is repeated or re-echoed among His followers in varying degrees, from martyrdom to self-submission of intention. • ‘The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their suffering might be like His.’ • The real problem is not why some people suffer, but why some do not!

  18. Heaven

  19. Heaven • ‘I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are NOT worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18) • The Christian solution for the problem of pain • Do we really desire heaven? • As a matter of fact, we were born desiring something, but what is it that we do desire? • What make you love certain books, landscapes & hobbies? • You have never had it, but all the things that have ever deeply possesed your soul have been but hints of it.

  20. Heaven • But if you ever had it, you would know it. • But why does God make each soul unique? • The ins & outs of your individuality is no mystery to Him. • The mould, the key & the lock. • For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you. • Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it.

  21. Heaven • ‘To him that overcometh I will give a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it’ (Revelation 2:17) • What can be more than a man’s own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God & him? • What shall we take this secrecy to mean? • That’s why individuals were created • The blessed will remain eternally different. • This floods with meaning the love of all blessed creatures for one another because union exists only between distincts

  22. Conclusion • Nothing which implies contradicition falls under the omnipotence of God • God’s love demands our perfection • Man spoiled himself and pain plays a major role in his remedy • The Son of God suferred unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their suffering might be like His • We were born desiring heaven and when we reach our place, we will forget about our earthly pains and even pleasures

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