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Christianity Today

May 23, 2013

Suffering and Problem of Pain

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow suffering and evil? These are questions central to the Christian faith, and questions that have not gone unexplored in the cannon of Christian philosophy. Job, Augustine, C.S. Lewis, and others have contributed to the ongoing dialogue surrounding this issue. For some, stories of personal suffering, persecution, and martyrdom provide a rallying point and reminder of the pain Christ faced at the cross and the price of our sin; others suggest suffering is a character-building endeavor. One thing is sure: suffering is an important element of the Christian faith. As the apostle Paul wrote: “ I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:8, NIV).

To Serve Is to Suffer

If the apostle Paul knew fatigue, anger, and anxiety in his ministry, what makes us think we can avoid them in ours?

When My Son Was Arrested for Murder

Finding faith under unthinkable circumstances.

Yancey Reflects at V Tech

A sermon given on the Virginia Tech campus two weeks after the shootings.

More on Suffering and Problem of Pain

Grieving with the Good Friday God

Shannon Polson sought healing from her father's death by retracing his fatal journey into the Alaskan wilderness.

Suffering Servants

Chronic pain and depression taught Joni Eareckson and Ken Tada to put each other's needs first.

God Behind the Veil

His ways are hidden from ordinary eyes, but not from the eyes of faith.

National Tragedy and the Empty Tomb

Not even senseless murder can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The Media and the Massacre

True compassion requires turning off the news.

On the Death—and Life—of Innocent Children

The 20 slain in Connecticut are not alone, nor without hope.

How We Hide Our Suffering

An excerpt from 'Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free.'

What Jesus Might Say About Sandy

The problem with many storm theologies is that they assume Jesus never happened.

Ajith Fernando: On the Anvil of Suffering

Offered his dream job in the United States, Fernando opted to stay in war-torn Sri Lanka, a decision that has made all the difference for the cause of Christ

Could God Have Created a World Without Suffering?

Dinesh D'Souza's latest volume of apologetics updates a natural law argument.

Good News: Jesus Is Not Nice

The chaos of grace and the grace of chaos.

Profiling Christians Who Have Suffered Under Chinese Communism

A non-Christian reporter profiles martyrs of the Middle Kingdom. A review of 'God Is Red.'

A Wordless Presence

Where spit, blood, and sweat are to be found, so is God.

The Gospel at Ground Zero

The horrors of 9/11 were not unlike those of Good Friday.

What Faith Is: Accepting Conditions

Eternity is inevitable, one way or another. We may want to get used to it.

Tempted and Tried

Temptation and the triumph of Christ.

God of the Schizophrenic

Rediscovering my faith amid the ravages of mental illness.

Tough Calling in Africa

Two doctors who would rather serve where surgical equipment is dated and wards are overflowing.

One Wedding and Six Funerals

What it can mean to participate in the life of God.

Suffering and Rejoicing in a Haitian Tent Camp

What I learned in this church surpasses anything I've seen at a stunning cathedral.

The Leavers: Young Doubters Exit the Church

More than in previous generations, 20- and 30- somethings are abandoning the faith. Why?

Q&A: Deanna Favre

The wife of NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks about her faith amid suffering.

Joni Eareckson Tada on Something Greater than Healing

Now facing breast cancer and chronic pain, the author, speaker, and advocate talks about the blessings of suffering.

In the Shadow of Mount Hood

Meeting God in the mystery of grief.

Tragic Humanism

Terry Eagleton argues that evil is not as mysterious or as explainable as we think.

A Gifting Child

Emily Colson says 'no one remains neutral' about her autistic son.

Mary Beth Chapman vs. God

In a new book, Steven Curtis Chapman's wife is brutally honest about her lifelong feud with the Creator, especially after losing their daughter to an accident in 2008.

My Top 5 Books on The Problem of Evil

Picks from John Stackhouse, author of 'Can God Be Trusted?'

Saved by an Atheist

Christians gave Albert Camus good reasons not to believe. He gave me a reason to return to faith.

Boundaries in Grief

Why medicine should never trade places with a time to properly mourn.

The God Who Became Blood

What my dysfunctional prostate taught me about Jesus.

The Lord Who Acts Like It

Where did we get the idea that the church should be a place that makes people feel comfortable?

The Cry of the Oil-Soaked Pelican

How the birds mired in the Gulf oil spill teach us to properly grieve.

World War II Bomb Revisits Past

The Christian's duty to promote peace is now.

Judgment in the Gulf

Woes and blessings of the oil spill.

Pastor With No Tongue Still Has a Lot to Say

The Lutheran pastor believes that he's been able to reach more people than if he had not had cancer.

A Badly Broken Boarding School

The story behind the cover story.

A Candle in the Darkness

The president of Compassion International tells his story of childhood abuse and deliverance in a West Africa boarding school.

Sexual Slavery on Main Street

Trafficking of teenagers in the U.S. is getting worse. Here's what some Christians are trying to do about it.