C.S. Lewis on the Problem of Pain

[@kevinkleinhenz6511]

C.S. Lewis books are not the books you read if you are wanting to “finish” a book. You literally read a few sentences and then have to stop and meditate on what you just read. Deep and powerful.

[@cl20v87]

So true

[@annablackburn5474]

Makes me want to read the book. 😀

[@geridannels1701]

Thanks for the upload Hillsdale College

[@robertburke9920]

For a breakthrough understanding of the Book of Job, read the novel "Where Do We Go Now, LORD? - Burke." An excellent breakthrough. Enjoy!

[@tammy8028]

I think pain, in some forms anyway, must be a teaching tool. it is one effective way of not doing the same thing over and over, we hope, however it seems some of us, never learn, and as glutton for punishment.

[@fubaralakbar6800]

"God can't be good because there is pain" This argument assumes God is responsible for preventing pain. For humans to impose moral obligations on God is hubris on a staggering level.

[@bayreuth79]

It is not a question of imposing 'moral obligations on God', as you suggested, but a question of reconciling the absolute goodness of God with suffering and pain. It is a logical problem. An absolute goodness that either imposes or is content with the suffering and pain of its creatures without further qualification is obviously not absolute goodness, unless you are going to say that all of our language about God is equivocal (but then if you make that move it renders all our language about God meaningless). C S Lewis attempts to show that pain and suffering ultimately are a consequence of our misuse of free will. I accept the _privatio boni_ theory, i.e., that evil is a privation of being and is therefore not created or caused by God; it is an absence of being within a particular context.

[@stevenhenry1625]

​@@bayreuth79pain (both emotional and physicak) is an alarm that inforns us something is out of order and needs to be addressed. As such it is a good thing.

[@grantgoldberg1663]

It's not God's fault people are evil.

[@wiscobuckeye]

The problem of pain is actually a completely different question than the problem of evil. The problem of pain gets after why/how God allows suffering when no sinful person caused it. For example: cancer that kids a child, or lightning that hits a person out for a walk and kills them, etc. For many people, the answer that “hey, we live in a broken world because of sin” isn’t a sufficient answer to alleviate their questioning of God’s goodness and power.

[@stephenmiller8556]

Kamalien?

[@thomasburns9188]

Sounds like this message is coming from his notes and not his experience.

[@internetfairy1]

Surely pain is physical signal that something is awry and needs to be attended to. Not sure what it has to do with an invisible deity.

[@debbielwilliamson8546]

I'm not sure he is speaking of physical pain exclusively.

[@lilitincher4973]

Not all pain can be cured. God is more easily found in our weakness, in our most painful moments, than in our strength. For if we are strong we tend to relegate God to the back burner if you will, to the passenger seat, instead of letting Him steer. He suffered for us all pain that we can only imagine, and even then we truly cannot fathom. I believe you must have been looking for relief from physical pain. Instead, you found C.S. Lewis, and more importantly God. God is calling you. Hopefully, you are listening. And here I include myself, for even though I have accepted Christ as my savior, I am hard of hearing. In more ways than one. :)