Why We Hurt
Categories: Buddhism, World Religion
Written By: Stiegemeyer
In last Sunday’s adult Bible class, our pastor was talking about the meaning of suffering. In philosophy, the problem of evil/suffering is called theodicy. For religiously oriented folk, the question is really about the nature of God. Here are three propositions which orthodox Christians hold to be true:
- God is perfectly good
- God is omnipotent (all powerful)
- There is suffering in the world
The dilemma centers on explaining how all three of those propositions can be equally true simultaneously. Any two of them together can make sense, but all three together seem to defy reason.
There have been many writers over time who have engaged this tantalizing subject. As a pastor, it is one of the most relevant discussions imaginable. I think that “why” is the largest word in all of human language. But rather than trying to offer a “solution” in this format, I want only to make an observation.
The other evening, I caught a bit of a show on TLC called Miami Ink. If you’re not familiar, it’s a reality program about a tattoo parlor and it’s clientele. In a recent episode, a young man (20-something) came to get a lotus flower tattooed to his upper back. As far as I recall, he’d had some recent personal tragedy or loss and, in his anguish, he found solace in the teachings of Buddhism. Hence the lotus tattoo, a significant Buddhist symbol.
The lotus flower is rooted in the mud and the stem rises up through the murky water to present a beautiful blossom above it all. So, according to Buddhism, can the soul rise out of suffering to a state of bliss by means of certain teachings and practices.
The young man explained that his upbringing offered him no meaningful way to deal with the problem of suffering. Furthermore, it seemed to him that Buddhism was the only world religion that focused on overcoming suffering.
I felt very sad that this young man’s religious upbringing was so vacuous that a godless philosophy appeared to be the answer. The truth is that Christianity addresses the problem of suffering in the most direct way imaginable. Instead of mind tricks to fool the self into a state of serenity, God in Jesus Christ, immerses Himself in human pain, even to the point of death itself. Further, he takes upon Himself the root of pain which is sin. Jesus became an object of the Father’s wrath precisely to deliver us from all evil. Serenity/peace/wellness/shalom is not just a state of mind for the Christian. It is, in fact, a status awarded to us on behalf of the sacrifice of Jesus. A status you will, in the glorious resurrection, experience bodily and not just mentally or spiritually.
Significantly, because we are not slaves to that cruelest of philosophies, Karma, Christians have addressed the suffering of others very differently than adherents of eastern religions. We address it with acts of mercy.
But here is my exhortation to you. Be a doer of the Word. Love your neighbor in deeds and not words only, like God does. John 3:16 does not say that God loved the world so he had a warm and fuzzy thought about us. He did something, something hard.
At times, I am troubled by the talk of an “invisible” church. Does that mean that there are invisible Christians? I know that we cannot see the condition of a person’s heart and in that sense, faith is unseen except only to God. Nevertheless, you can’t say that you love humanity, unless you love actual people. With works of mercy.
To those who seek transcendence, the only way to rise above it all is to be raised with Christ, joined to his resurrection AND ascension by the washing of Holy Baptism.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:26 am
i love the flower
March 25th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
It is funny to me that while Christ was so inclusive Christians love to be so exclusive. They constantly need to prove theirs is the greatest religion in the world and they do so by denouncing other religions they know nothing about.
I was raised Southern Baptist and was only ever instilled with a guilt over every sinful thing I was said to be, and superiority that I was saved while billions would burn in hell. Was this really a message of love? Tolerance? Forgiveness?
I find huge contradictions in any religion that would claim theirs is a loving god when he would condemn the VAST majority of the world’s population to eternal suffering for failing to acknowledge his existence (ego).
The life of the Buddha, a man and not a demigod, continues to inspire people to live a life of deep self-exploration, peace, absolute tolerance, and non-violence: things that Christ taught. And unlike the Judeo-Christian-Muslim god, there have been no wars waged in the Buddha’s name, no atrocities, no genocide, no Inquisitions, or acts of terrorism. No countries have been conquered or peoples decimated to spread the word of the Buddha.
Perhaps if Christ had just been a man instead of the son of God then fewer atrocities would’ve been carried out on his behalf.
The Buddha’s sole purpose was to end human suffering and to those who practice, either as renunciates or just meditate occasionally, they know the peace that exists in the present and they commit less violence and breed less intolerance than any Christian I’ve ever known.
The Buddha was more “Christ-like” than any Christian I’ve ever met. I would strongly suggest you read more of what the Buddha said especially if you intend to make comments about his teachings. The Buddha is more similar to Christ than different, in fact Christ was a Buddha.