The Purpose of Suffering - Part 1 Revelation

Yesterday I explained how Sam Harris could not in a Biblical sense come to grips with a moral ground founded in God. During that post I pointed out some of the issues he raised in the article on CNN.com by John D. Sutter called, "Philosopher: Why we should ditch religion." In this article he draws comments from Sam Harris trying to make the case on why we should ditch religion. Sam makes some comments related to suffering. These are recaps from his 20+ minute video presentation on the TED web site. (There is a link to it in the link above if you want to see it.) Sam's case is an emotionally charged one. He is passionate about the need to combat repression and pain wherever it exist. In many ways Sam seems to see repression and pain as the highest moral tragedy. This is what guides much of his discussion on science determining what is morally right and wrong without the need for religion. Sam uses pain to point out problems with different religions around the world. His opening religion shot is the repression of women by Islam. He takes shots at religious groups that call themselves Christian but cause pain for others. He sees these things as either wrong and a distraction from bigger issues (also potentially painful) like, "nuclear proliferation and genocide and poverty and the crisis in education," For the most part I would agree with Sam that many of these issues cause pain. But that is where we part. Sam would blame Christians and in effect God for promoting or allowing so much pain. The reality is quite different. God created the world very good (Genesis 1:28) and when the new heaven and earth are made God promises in Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more pain. What happened in between these verses? Man fell and in Genesis 3:16-17 we see them both cursed with pain. Because they have eaten of the tree Adam and Eve are spiritually dead. God gives them physical pain to help them realize that something is wrong. Since they are separated from God this pain points to a need for something more. Often it is pain that is the tool God uses to strip away the blinders and help us to see that we are not self-sufficient. Some people argue that this is self-serving of God. But if God made us for Him then the best possible thing for us is God. Since God is the best thing for us if it takes pain to bring us to Him then that pain becomes the kindest and most gracious thing that He could give to us. Pain in the hands of God becomes a great revealer of our need for Him. Pain is God's to give not mine. My calling is to live a life focused on Him and help others to do the same.