1. Theodicy

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1. Theodicy Suffering

• Someone must have traduced Joseph K., for
  without having done anything wrong he was
  arrested on fine morning
• Franz Kafka, The Trial

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TWO APPROACHES TO SUFFERING IN CHRISTIAN
TRADITIONS AND CULTURES

• CHRISTIAN MASOCHISM CHRISTIAN APATHY

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.1 John Calvin's Prayer
• And surely, O Lord, from the very chastisements
  which thou has inflicted upon us, we know that
  for the justest causes thy wrath is kindled
  against us for, seeing thou are a just Judge,
  thou afflictest not thy people when not
  offending. Therefore, beaten with thy stripes, we
  acknowledge that we have provoked thy anger
  against us and even now we see thy hand
  stretched forth for our punishment. The swords
  which thou art wont to use in inflicting
  vengeance are now drawn, and those with which
  thou threatenest sinners and wicked men we see
  ready to smite. But though thou mightest take
  much severer punishment upon us than before, and
  thus inflict blows an hundredfold more numerous,
  and though disasters only less dreadful than
  those with which thou didst formerly chastise the
  sins of thy people of Israel, should overtake us,
  we confess that we are worthy of them, and have
  merited them by our crimes.

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.2 Powerlessness and Meaninglessness of
  Suffering in Christian Masochism
• 1.2.1 "Powerlessness signifies 'the expectancy or
  probability held by the individual that his own
  behavior cannot determine the occurrence of the
  outcomes, or reinforcements, he seeks.'" Soelle,
  Suffering, 11

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.2.2 "The consciousness that one is powerless is
  a fundamental element in suffering." Soelle,
  Suffering, 11
• 1.2.3 "Meaninglessness.... This occurs when 'the
  individual is unclear as to what he ought to
  believe - when the individuals minimal standards
  for clarity in decision making are not met.'"
  Soelle, Suffering, 11

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.3 "The reaction to the real or imagined creator
  of suffering is pictured in the OT itself as
  wrath, ill temper. Suffering produces fruits like
  curses, imprecations, and prayers for vengeance
  more readily than reform and insight. Suffering
  causes people to experience helplessness and
  fear indeed intense pain cripples all power to
  resist and frequently leads to despair." Soelle,
  Suffering, 21

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.4 "It is not difficult to criticize Christian
  masochism, since it has so many features that
  merit criticism the low value it places on human
  strength its veneration of one who is neither
  good nor logical but only extremely powerful its
  viewing of suffering exclusively form the
  perspective of endurance and its consequent lack
  of sensitivity for the suffering of others."
  Soelle, Suffering, 22

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.5 "The logic of this sadistic understanding of
  suffering is hard to refute. It consists of three
  propositions which recur in all sadistic
  theologies 1) God is the almighty ruler of the
  world, and he sends all suffering 2) God acts
  justly, not capriciously and 3) all suffering is
  punishment for sin." Soelle, Suffering, 24

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.6 "In the face of suffering you are either with
  the victim or the executioner - there is no other
  option. Therefore that explanation of suffering
  that looks away from the victim and identifies
  itself with a righteousness that is suppose to
  stand behind the suffering has already taken a
  step in the direction of theological sadism,
  which wants to understand God as the torturer."
  Soelle, Suffering, 32

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1. Christian Masochism

• 1.7 "When Christians try to explain all suffering
  in and of itself having theological significance
  we end up vacating the cross of its significance
  because we fail to remember that what is
  important about the cross is who was crucified
  there. Moreover such accounts of suffering tempt
  us to masochistic accounts of the Christian life
  that cannot help belie the joy characteristic of
  the Christian orientation." Hauerwas, Suffering
  Presence, 32 I Peter 3.14-18

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.1 "The ideal of a life free from suffering, the
  illusion of painlessness, destroys people's
  ability to feel anything.... The more people
  anticipate the elimination of suffering the less
  strength they have actually to oppose it."
  Soelle, Suffering, 4

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.2 "Apatheia is a Greek word that literally
  means non-suffering, freedom from suffering, a
  creature's inability to suffer.... Apathy is a
  form of the inability to suffer. It is understood
  as a social condition which people are so
  dominated by the goal of avoiding suffering that
  it becomes a goal to avoid human relationships
  and contacts altogether. In so far as the
  experiences of suffering, the pathai (Greek for
  the things that happen to a person, misfortunes)
  of life are repressed, there is a corresponding
  disappearance of passion for life and of strength
  and intensity of its joys." Soelle, Suffering,
  36

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.3 "Without question there are tangible
  sociological causes for growing apathy. There is,
  first of all, the abolition of shortage of
  absolutely essential commodities. Hunger and cold
  as elementary forms of deprivation have
  disappeared from the industrial nations needs
  are satisfied. This private prosperity obscures
  public poverty and thus helps to cover human
  suffering. Apathy flourishes in the consciousness
  of the satiated. Increasing enlightenment and
  education are other reasons that some suffering
  has already been eliminated or become capable of
  elimination. Greater mobility and increased
  separation from primary relationships also change
  the relationship to suffering." Soelle,
  Suffering, 40

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.4 ". . . it could be that a much more
  appropriate reproach today would concern apathy,
  that 'Christianity has become a stranger to
  pain.'" Soelle, Suffering, 41

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.5 "...it is useful to reflect on our reaction
  to someone suffering suffering makes the other a
  stranger and our first reaction is to be
  repelled. Suffering makes people's otherness
  stand out in strong relief, but that otherness is
  exactly the condition necessary to force
  recognition of them and of ourselves. For
  example, I suspect that one of the problems with
  suffering is that it alienates us from ourselves
  - 'this thing is happening to me is not me.' But
  it is exactly the ability to make the suffering
  mine that is crucial if I am to be an integral
  self." Hauerwas, Suffering Presence, 25

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.6 "When a being who is free from suffering is
  worshiped as God, then it is possible to train
  oneself in patience, endurance, imperturbability,
  and aloofness from suffering. The more a person
  draws himself back, the smaller he makes himself,
  the greater are his chances of remaining free
  from suffering!" Soelle, Suffering, 43

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.7 Kitamori's Theology "He sees God as one who
  suffers because of sin and yet cannot maintain
  his wrath, who reconciles wrath and love in pain
  because he loves the object of his wrath, which
  always entails 'suffering.' Kitamori criticizes
  the blindness to pain that prevails in theology
  and sketches a picture of discipleship in which
  people 'serve the pain of God by their own
  pain.'" Soelle, Suffering, 43-44

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2. Christian Apathy

• 2.8 "To 'serve the pain of God by your own pain'
  is to lead suffering out of its private little
  corner and to achieve human solidarity.
  Everyone's natural reflex is flight from
  suffering but even when it succeeds it is at the
  same time the perpetuation of universal
  suffering." Soelle, Suffering, 45

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DEFINITIONS OF SUFFERING
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1. Stanley Hauerwas

• 1.1 "Boeyink is on the right track when he
  suggests that we 'ordinarily mean by suffering an
  anguish which we experience, not only as a
  pressure to change, but at a threat to our
  composure, our integrity, and the fulfillment of
  our intention.'" Suffering Presence, an essay
  called "Reflections on Suffering, Death, and
  Medicine", 27

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1. Stanley Hauerwas

• 1.2 "Suffering has as its root sense the idea of
  submitting or being forced to submit to and
  endure some particular set of circumstances."
  Hauerwas, Suffering Presence, 28
• 1.3 "Suffering should not be sought, but it ought
  to be accepted, at least in certain forms."
  Hauerwas, Suffering Presence, 26

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1. Stanley Hauerwas

• 1.4 "Suffering is not morally significant only
  because things happen to us that we cannot avoid,
  but because the demands of morality cannot be
  satisfied without asking the self to submit to
  limits imposed by morality itself. In this sense,
  without allowing ourselves and others to suffer
  we could not be human or humane." Hauerwas,
  Suffering Presence, 25

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2. Simone Weil

• 2.1 "There is not real affliction unless the
  event that has seized and uprooted a life attacks
  it, directly or indirectly, in all its parts,
  social, psychological, and physical. The social
  factor is essential. There is not really
  affliction unless there is social degradation or
  the fear of it in some form or another." Weil,
  Simone, Waiting For God, 119

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2. Simone Weil

• 2.2 "Affliction is an uprooting of life, a more
  or less attenuated equivalent of death, made
  irresistibly present to the soul by the attack or
  immediate apprehension of physical pain. If there
  is complete absence of physical pain there is no
  affliction for the soul, because our thoughts can
  turn to any object." Weil, Simone, Waiting For
  God, 118

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Suffering Theodicy
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1. Definitions

• 1.1 Theodicy "...is derived from the two Greek
  words meaning 'deity' and 'justice' and refers to
  the attempts to justify the goodness of God in
  the face of the manifold evil present in the
  world" Van A. Harvey, A Handbook of Theological
  Terms, 236
• 1.2 The center of the dilemma 'either God is
  able to prevent evil and will not, or he is
  willing to prevent it and cannot.' The situation
  is compounded by the Christian affirmation that
  Creation is good and that the 'evil' event of the
  crucifixion reveals God.

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1. Definitions

• 1.3 Theological evils involve -sin and suffering-
  "For according to Christianity the end for which
  human beings exist and which defines the telos of
  man's nature consists in a relationship to God."
  Hick, John, Evil and the God of Love, 16
• 1.4 "Moral evil is evil that we human beings
  originate cruel, unjust, vicious, and perverse
  thoughts and deeds. Natural evil is the evil that
  originates independently of human actions in
  disease bacilli, earthquakes, storms, droughts,
  tornadoes, etc." Hick, John, Evil and the God of
  Love, 16

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 2.1 Augustinian Theodicy Evil as privation of
  good stemming from misused freedom.
• 2.1.1 Evil is not an entity in its own right but
  rather a privation of good.
• 2.1.2 Its origin is free-will. Moral and Natural
  Evil

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 2.1.3 Metaphysical evil The fact of finitude,
  or of limited forms of existence, and the
  arbitrariness and imperfections thereof -
  'principle of plenitude' - the idea that the most
  rich and valuable universe is one exemplifying
  every possible kind of existence, lover as well
  as higher, ugly as well as beautify, imperfect as
  well as perfect.

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 2.1.4 Aesthetic In the sight of God all things,
  including even sin and its punishment, combine to
  form a wonderful harmony which is not only good
  but very good.

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 2.2 Irenaean Theodicy
• 2.2.1 Human beings as originally immature beings
  upon whom God could not yet profitably bestow his
  highest gifts - Adam and Eve as children Sin
  not damnable revolt, but rather as a calling
  forth to God's compassion on account of their
  weakness and vulnerability.
•  

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 2.2.2 Cognitive freedom in relation to God
  safeguarded by God's ambiguous self-revelation -
  Spiritual growth teaches good and evil and
  therefore accepted gratefully from God's hand.

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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches
Augustinian Irenaean
Releases God's responsibility. God is responsible, doing it for good.
Evil as non-being Not philosophical, but rather theological.
God's non-personal relationship to creation - hierarchy, punish. Man created for fellowship with God.
Origin fall of angels/people. Eschatological justification for evil
Centrality of fall Fall not important for Theodicy.
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2. The Two Main Types of Approaches

• 3. Parallels
• 3.1 Future Completeness
• 3.2 God's ultimate responsibility for the
  existence of evil Aug implicit in freedom /
  Ire explicit
• 3.3 Logical limitations of divine omnipotence,
  but not a real restriction.
• 3.4 Devil and Community of evil powers.
• 3.5 Neg. evaluation of the world.

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BIBLICAL VIEW OF SUFFERING

• The OT Response to Evil Suffering

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1. Retribution Theology

• 1.1 "Righteousness brings prosperity and
  wickedness misfortune in the life" (IBD)
• 1.2. Controversy concerning the exact nature of
  retribution theology
•  1.2.1 Koch argues that there is no real doctrine
  of retribution, but rather 'fate-producing deed'.
  "Each deed is like a seed which produces a sphere
  of influence for good or ill and each deed of man
  will in the end yield its own fruit (cf. Ps 1
  Hos 10.12-13a). Yahweh is not thought to be so
  much a judge over this process he is rather the
  midwife who brings to completion what the
  individual has initiated." Gammie, "Theology of
  Retribution in the book of Deut," CBQ, XXXII
  (70), p 1

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1. Retribution Theology

• 1.2.2 Gammie, himself argues for a range in Deut
  a) Impersonal principle operative in society
  according to which an evil deed will inevitably
  bring guilt upon the wrong doer. b) The faithful
  assured that YHWH will operate. c) A personal
  Theocentric conception. d) Dissolution of the
  idea 8.1-9.6
• 1.2.3 Ps. 89.31-37 as punishment in light of
  covenant. Also Deut 28.
• 1.3 "The retribution scheme is undergirded by a
  world view which believes that a moral order in
  the world is the only foundation for a sensible
  and tolerable life." Beker, Suffering and Hope,
  34

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1. Retribution Theology

• 1.3.1 "The notion of retributive justice is an
  integral component of a rational and harmonious
  view of the world, in which all parts work
  together to contribute to an orderly cosmos."
  Beker, Suffering and Hope, 34 parallels to
  Egyptian "Maat".
• 1.3.2 "The notion of retribution is deeply
  ingrained in human nature. It seems to be an
  integral part of the meaning we give to life -
  our innate sense that unless retributive justice
  is honored, our world collapses into chaos, and
  good and evil deeds are no longer recognized for
  what they are. Moreover, our conscience dictates
  that our contribution to a world of order rather
  than disorder commits us to the principle of
  retributive justice." Beker, Suffering and Hope,
  36

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1. Retribution Theology

• 1.3.3 "The law of retribution represents an
  egalitarian principle and enables society to move
  away from punishment and suffering as irrational
  fate or as demonic possession, toward a standard
  of equitable justice and order. And so the
  concept of retributive justice is directly
  related to our hope for the future suffering is
  not an irrational blow of fate, but a deserved
  punishment for evil and injustice which calls for
  satisfaction. Therefore, retribution preserves
  the moral order and guarantees a more stable
  future. It imposes with the expectation that its
  punishment will lead to repentance or at least to
  cessation of evil acts." Beker, Suffering and
  Hope, 36

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2. When Suffering lacks Meaning

• 2.1 Exemplary Sufferers
• 2.1.1 Abel (Gen 4)
• 2.1.2 Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11)
• 2.1.3 Naboth (1 Kgs 21)
• 2.1.4 Job

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3. Laments

• 1. Praise in the minor key.
• 2. Extent 6 "confessions" of Jeremiah Book of
  Job Lamentations half of the Psalter.
• 3. Form in Psalm 80 Communal Lament
• 4. Message of Psalm 88 Individual Lament

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4. Ecclesiastes

• 1. Qoheleth seems to doubt not only God's justice
  but also his omnipotence.
• 2. The Qoheleth approaches the problem of evil
  and suffering in a philosophical way,
  contemplating the world's reality in an almost
  detached way Eccles. 3.16-19.

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4. Ecclesiastes

• 3. "There is a fateful cycle in the world
  according to the Preacher - a cycle and rhythm of
  vanity which in no way reflects the justice of
  God. God seems so utterly transcendent and the
  world such a spectacle of contradictions in the
  matter of justice - a world in which
  arbitrariness rules and in which neither justice
  nor injustice make any basic difference - that
  the best advice for human inquiry and conduct in
  the world is to cease exploring ultimate meaning
  and to enjoy the good moments in life for what
  they offer." Beker, Suffering and Hope, 40
  Eccles. 9.1b-5

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5. Apocalyptic

• 1. The apocalyptic response to Israel's crisis of
  faith refuses to surrender the world as God's
  creation and to render the suffering of the
  righteous as meaningless. The crisis of faith is
  here embraced within a structure of hope.
  Although the apocalypticists still often views
  suffering as deserved punishment or as a form of
  divine testing and instruction, they attribute
  suffering basically to the activity of hostile
  powers and view it in large measure as undeserved
  suffering. And yet suffering is endurable for
  apocalypticists, such as Daniel, because they
  believe that God will vindicate their undeserved
  suffering and will soon achieve a final and
  complete triumph over the hostile powers that
  thwart God's redemptive purpose for Israel."
  Beker, Suffering and Hope, 41

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5. Apocalyptic

• 2. Apocalyptic Responses to Suffering and Hope
• 2.1 "A profound deepening of the power and scope
  of the evil in the world and its attendant
  suffering emerges. The power of evil rules not
  only the social fabric but also the
  cosmic-heavenly spheres, so that the struggle
  between good and evil does not only take place on
  earth but also in heaven." Beker, Suffering and
  Hope, 42

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5. Apocalyptic

• 2.2 "In the face of this deepening awareness of
  suffering, the hope in God's ultimate triumph
  over evil becomes increasingly transcendent."
  Beker, Suffering and Hope, 42

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5. Apocalyptic

• 2.3 "Suffering, however, is not just a fate to be
  endured, or hope an idyllic, utopian project of
  thought. Rather, a theology of martyrdom surfaces
  here, the solidarity of the faithful who, in
  their commitment to God's faithfulness, endured
  the onslaught of evil, and who surrender their
  lives to death for the sake of their hope in
  God's cause and its ultimate triumph." Beker,
  Suffering and Hope, 42