It will be enough for the exam to think of two types of suffering: human (or moral) and natural.

Human (or moral)
When the suffering is directly affected by something that a person has done. This might include something like rape, war or a lying.

Natural
When the suffering is a result of natural disaster like an earthquake or famine. BUT don't forget that these things can be more complicated... for example, when the New Orleans hurricane hit Americans so badly last year there was a lot of blame being laid at the door of the authorities who didn't really do enough to rescue the people caught in the aftermath.

There are a number of views on this. Make sure that you have at least two perspectives for the exam.

1. The Fall (Genesis 2 and 3).
According to the Bible, the eating of the fruit in the garden became a starting point for widespread evil and suffering. The one command to not eat from a particular tree was broken by both Adam and Eve under the influence of the Devil (here pictured in the form of a snake). The result was a shadow across all humankind. This is a foundational point when considering virtually anything in the Christian faith.

2. The struggle to evolve into higher civilised beings.
Evolution rests firmly upon the idea of survival of the fittest. This can be a callous and cruel fact of life. Many people who believe that this is how we came to be, feel uncomfortable with the natural consequence: we can do whatever we want because survival and self-interest is the most important thing in the world. This would mean that suffering and evil are normal so we should therefore just shut up and get on with coping.


Are these two views useful in understanding where suffering comes from?
One question you might get in the exam asks if there is any point in knowing how it came about. Do you think that there is any point in knowing? Is it simply enough to just get on with things?
Which of these two views do you think fits best with your own experience?
Are there any other views you can find that can explain why things are as bad as they are?

I have to be careful here. Some people say that suffering (even extreme examples...) is never pointless. I have tried to summarise them under these letters: FOSSIP. There is a very good reason for remembering this, but I don't want to say it or I might get into trouble (it has something to do with saying it backwards, but that's all I am saying).

F - faith: it builds your faith (or trust) in God

O - others: can be helped by you if you have experienced suffering.

S - success: cannot happen without it. No pain, no gain is what they say...

S - strength: lots of people who face suffering find that it makes them strong in unusual ways

IP - isn't pointless: there is a reason for you to go through it.

(to save repeating myself here, please take a look at the 'where does suffering come from' heading above)

Here are three views that people have:
1. It is a personal thing - e.g. the Devil is personal and real. He causes it.
2. It is impersonal - e.g. a mood or force that exists in communities and places.
3. Psychological - e.g. when someone has a damaged upbringing or loses their conscience through some event(s).

There are two areas that the exam board would like you to be clear on:

1. Questions about God's LOVE
- if God is omnipotent, then when someone get cancer, does it mean that He doesn't love me? He could stop it if He wanted, but He doesn't.

2. Questions about God's POWER
- if God is loving, He must surely be unable to act on it. That means that He isn't omnipotent OR omniscient.

Here are some notes from a lesson in Sep 08 (just click to get a bigger version):


Do you understand how these two things work? You must ask if you don't. Even if you don't totally agree with it, you should at least understand what the thinking is.

Don't forget to get to grips with the Muslim, Buddhist and Christian perspectives on this. They are slightly different. (See below).

To get to grips with a distinctive Christian point of view you should listen to the podcast interview with the Christian mum. At the end of the interview she talks about how she looks to Jesus Christ for help. The big ideas in Christianity are these:

1. God is totally in control...
2. God is still totally caring for us...
3. ...because he came to earth to suffer and die to save us.
4. Christians draw hope and comfort from the above three things.

According to Hebrews 4v15,16 in the New Testament:
15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Buddhists have a very particular view of suffering. They believe that suffering is something that comes from the desires we all have. The four noble truths are all about this and direct us to the eightfold path which is all about letting go of our desires and embracing a different perspective on life leading ultimately to nirvana.

A very helpful podcast interview with one of our Muslim students asks about the recent Pakistan earthquake which destroyed so many lives. She talks a little about how she feels about it and how she responds to Allah.

Muslims take their cue from Allah, who is described as 'most merciful, most compassionate'. This means that they will never stand by and let things drift. They do have a particular view that Allah sends us tests (like a giant assault course) which we cannot shirk but must trust and get on with it, however bad.

The afterlife hope of getting to Paradise is always a direct factor on Muslim thinking.