Photo credit:  Jon Glittenberg | CC2.0, Flickr. 

Introduction

Human suffering poses an emotional and intellectual challenge. How does a good God relate to human suffering? If suffering is evidence of human failing — in not just a personal, but a primordial, sense, such as the biblical story of the fall — what hope is there for relief and healing? However, Jesus reveals a God who suffers because of the primordial failing. So all of our human suffering, whether we acknowledge it or not, happens because we are participating in God’s own suffering. Jesus invites us to more fully partner with him in his own unique, personal suffering for the broken world that he is setting aright.

Suffering: Topics:

This section on Suffering is organized in the following way: Suffering and God explains why God is good despite human suffering. African American Faith connects to the deep, living Christian tradition of resistance to human evil and hope in Christ. Grieving collects resources for healthy grieving, both biblical and otherwise. Mental Health spotlights how Jesus and our experience of him intersect with various mental health needs. Church and Shoah is about Christians who were for and against Nazi Germany; it is drawn from our Church and Empire resources; we place it here because of how often people raise it as a question connected to human suffering. General Reflections highlights other resources that may not be Christian per se, but are thoughtful and helpful to consider.