A GOOD GOD A SUFFERING PEOPLE BY AUGUSTINE ABIAGOM cm PRELUDE The paradox: “A good God, A suffering people” is one of the problem that has challenged faith in “God” who is believed to possess the attributed; Omni-benevolence, Omnipresence, Omni-science, Omni-potent and supreme justice. Even St Augustine was buried with this contradiction and origin of evil in the world. Can such a God truly be existence if considered for instance, the disasters that have caused debilitating destruction across the world in recent times in which the young, the poor, the elderly, and the sick are the greatest victims in the most cases? When you see images of wrecked homes, lost lives and broken hearts, you sometimes wonder; “why does God permit so much suffering? Or do you think, “God must have good reasons for allowing such things to happen but has not disclosed those reasons?” This article “A good God, A suffering people” is out to count for why the suffering of people amidst the existence of a good God. THE UBIQUITY OF SUFFERING The ubiquity of suffering reminds me of an extract from the poem “ the Meadow Mouse” by Theodore Roethke: “ I think of the nesting fallen into deep grass, the turtle gasping in the duty rubble of highway, the paralytic stunned in the tub, and the water rising all things innocent, hapless forsaken.” Suffering is everywhere, although we may try to see it as some vast and vague universal phenomenon. The more we try to ignore it the more it makes itself felt again and again. As a matter of fact, the dark petal of suffering has consumed hope and its immense force, even shattered the faith of many. In his book “Learning to cope with suffering,” Konard Fernandez opined: suffering embraces all creation with the blades in its wings. Children suffer, the old suffer, and the innocent pay the price for things they haven’t done. Good people are treated unjustly, the honest accused, and the helpless trampled upon.” The drought in Niger Tsunami across Asia up to the Horn of Africa, the famine in some parts of Africa and Asia, the earthquakes in Asia and other part of the world, the Hurricane (Katrina) in the united States, the unending conflict in the Middle East, the devastating effects of snow in some parts of Europe, etc. are paradigms of the suffering that affect our world. A CHALLENGE ON THE EXISTENCE OF A GOOD GOD IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD The philosophical discipline “Theodicy” has demonstrated that the nation or idea that God exists with His positive attributes such as God is good, God is All-powerful, God is just, yet Evil exists, is a harsh reality that is difficult to reconcile. Atheism has responded to this problem by denying the existence of God consequent of the presence of Evil in the world. Deism denies God the attribute of “justice” for absconding after creating the world. Deism and Pantheism and Dualism deny God’s power, positing his powerlessness as the cause of the strife of evil in the world. AN ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY SUFFERING Several attempts have been made to justify suffering. Many view suffering as divine punishment has been considered as part of God’s greater plan. It has also opined that all sufferings results in wise or good ends. The inclusion of cosmicity as an attribute of God and the idea that God has not finished creation has also been used by many in an attempt to justify suffering. One columnist described a devastating hurricane as ‘’the fist of God.’’ In Sri Lanka, militants Buddhist blamed Christians for the tsunami, thus deepening the religious animosity. The trustee of a Hindu temple felt that the god Shiva was angry because people were not living the right way. A Buddhist religious leader in the United States said concerning natural disasters: ‘’we don’t know why things happen………., we don’t even know why we’re here.’’ Rabbi Harold S. Kushner provides helpful insights for dealing with the common ‘’why’’ kind of questions, why do evil acts occur? Why are there random tragedies in the world? Why do I suffer without just cause? Kushner concludes that God does not send the bad things to occur. Kushner offers a philosophical theological answer to these questions based on the Hebrews Scriptures: that is just the way life is. The rain falls and the sun shines on the good and bad; both get sunburned or soaking wet when they are unprotected. Kushner’s believe that God is not out to get us is assuming. His understanding that God is available to help us face life, is comforting. Cf (The book:’ where is God when things happen’’? by Horace O. Duke). CONCLUSION St. Thomas Aquinas in his ‘’principle nuturea’’ presented the three principles of natural change matter, form, and privation. Using these principles, he made a distinction between substance and accident, act and potency, caused principles and cause in itself. Using these principles, he arrives at the conclusion that ‘’Evil is not a thing and therefore, does not fall within the realm of something created by God. Kekong Bisong in his article: ‘’when terrible things happen to good people’’ indicated that ‘’evil is a word that we use to describe certain things that happen to us (most of which are cause by other people). This indication is silent because human factor for instance can also turn an earthquake into a major disaster, for it is not the shock are wave of energy that causes most deaths and injuries but collapsing buildings. Seismologist for good reason have the saying ‘’earthquakes don’t kill people, building kill people.’’ God gave mankind the ability to learn about the earth and its cycles, and to varying degrees this knowledge has enable humans to predict extreme weather and other potentials dangers, such as volcanic eruption. But the refusal to heed to warnings such as ‘’Lining’’ in high Risk Area’’ in one major reason why terrible things happen to people whether good or bad. For St Augustine, suffering is the cause of sin and after sin, man is full of fears, worries, and anxieties, he torment himself for losing something which is for him a source of joy and anxious to get what he do not have or lost. His opinion is in line with what prophet Isaiah prophesied. ‘’Surely, the arm or the Lord is not too short to save nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God……’’(cf. Isaiah 59:1-2).
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:43:43 +0000
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