How are happiness and suffering related to each other?
(1) Life is always a mixture of happiness and suffering. There is a Chinese saying: “the extreme form of happiness produces sorrow.” Just as happiness may lead to suffering, so does suffering lead to happiness.
What is the value of suffering?
Encompassing both physical pain and emotions such as grief and disappointment, suffering is almost universally considered bad. But, as Sir John Templeton emphasised, it also has value. Hence we aim to illuminate the complex and frequently neglected ways in which suffering is also good.
Why do humans like to suffer?
They found that we’re actually drawn to pain. “Pain helps people discover that the body is still full of possibilities,” Scott says. “It helps them understand their boundaries. Oftentimes, those boundaries are more expansive than they give themselves credit for,” leaving them with a sense of euphoric possibility.
Do you think some individuals are singled out for suffering?
But I don’t think this means that certain individuals are singled out for suffering. Every individual is liable to the possibility of suffering. But precisely because suffering is the result of freedom (misused), the “free” (undetermined) nature of the world means that some will likely suffer more than others.
Is a world with both love and suffering better?
I believe that God knows, in a way that we cannot know, that a world with both love and suffering is infinitely better than a world with neither love nor suffering, and that those are the only two possibilities. Love is worth what has to be for it to be. But I don’t think this means that certain individuals are singled out for suffering.
Who is liable for suffering?
Every individual is liable to the possibility of suffering. But precisely because suffering is the result of freedom (misused), the “free” (undetermined) nature of the world means that some will likely suffer more than others.
Does God allow suffering?
It tells us of many instances where God allows or was even involved in suffering: God giving Satan the permission to inflict Job ( Job 1.8-12 ), Joseph’s difficult time in Egypt ( Genesis 50:20 ), Jesus’ suffering on the cross ( 1 Peter 2:24 ), and the persecution of the early Christians ( 2 Corinthians 1:6-7 ).