Suffering is Proof that God Exists

You’ve been there: you’re at work or school or somewhere and that one guy who fancies himself a philosopher says something like, “If there is a God, then why does suffering exist?”

Wow. How profound. You’re really breaking new ground there, Euripides. What’s next, a rousing lecture on the health benefits of marijuana? How about you list all the positive qualities of the current DNC platform with a straight face. Or even better, talk about how much you’re looking forward to the next Indiana Jones. Clearly you are a learned contemplative with a firm grasp on reality.

This subject popped into my head recently for two reasons. One, the apologetics of suffering came across my feed in some fashion; two, it’s Lent, and suffering is celebrated by the church. So allow me to disabuse not only the straw hippie who thinks he just proved God’s nonexistence, but also bring some spiritual meaning to your suffering in a way that attempts to draw you closer to Christ this Lententide.

The idea that suffering ≠ God is self-defeating to a creature who obviously has the capacity for suffering, and that suffering precludes a full understanding of the God he wants to deny. Put another way: denying the existence of the thing you wish didn’t exist is presuming that the thing you wish didn’t exist exists for the sake of the denial, for that’s the only way for you to make sense of suffering; however, by denying the thing you believe is incompatible with suffering you are denying suffering itself, which is logically absurd. Put another way: you are a suffering thing; without God, suffering does not make sense. But here’s the shocker: without suffering, God doesn’t make sense.

If God did not exist, then there would be no humanity. If there were no humanity, there would be no original sin. If there were no original sin, there would be no purpose to suffering, and humanity would be (at worst) a neutral creature. But if there were no purpose to suffering, if suffering could even theoretically be eradicated, then there would be no purpose for even the concept of God. Death itself could eventually be solved, and should have been solved by now. Since it is self-evident to anyone who has half a brain and has read a book in their life that humanity is not, in fact, a neutral creature, then our suffering must mean that God exists. Because we cannot eradicate suffering and death, and we are most often the cause of it. Therefore, we are rebellious and counterproductive to the creation as a creature.

The whole argument that my rhetorical spaghetti-monster friend wishes to purport is an alternative universe in which suffering does not exist. That is the saddest part of atheism (and people who liked the last Indiana Jones): they pretend suffering does not actually exist, and deny the only way to make sense of it.

But God suffered. Oh boy, did he suffer. He suffered in order to invite you into his death and by your drowning and dying rise again along with him. Saying, “If there is a God, then why does suffering exist?” is exactly the same as saying, “If there is a God, then why did he suffer like that for me?”

Actually, that last question is more perplexing than the first one ever will be. I can take on the moronic atheist all day … but supplying a reason for God’s love shown to me in the suffering of Christ?

That leaves me at a loss for words. I can only lift high the cross and celebrate his suffering for my sake.

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1

John J. Flanagan on March 9, 2022 at 9:27 am

Feeble attempts to answer the age old question as to why there is suffering always leads to a loss for words. We cannot wrap our heads around it. It cannot be explained away. But people suffer, and like Job, they wonder why it happened to them, while sparing their neighbor. Christians of faith accept suffering, but privately wonder if they are being punished by God, or being spiritually and physically corrected, or under His discipline, or perhaps being tested? It is hard to be “joyful” while suffering, yet this is what Holy Writ demands. It still leaves one uneasy. I saw a movie about Paul the Apostle, imprisoned in Rome. As a mixed group of Christian prisoners, men, women, young children, were being led to the Lions, where they would suffer martyrdom, the Apostle tells them to be strong, that although death would be painful, it would happen quickly, and they would rise to be with the Lord. These words may have been of some comfort, but didn’t take away the anxiety.. In that scene, a young boy, holding his mother’s hand, looked at the Apostle, stared back in quiet, unspoken fear, and shuffled off to his death. Lord knows how many times scenes like this played out in real life. Some people are able to suffer in silence, but not all of us. Some of us just can’t help complaining, and shouting, even though we love and trust Our Lord and Savior, and I think Jesus knows we will do what we must, even if we cannot go quietly into the night. Soli Deo Gloria.

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2

V Krogen on March 9, 2022 at 11:45 am

❤💔

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Skipper on March 11, 2022 at 12:15 pm

interesting take… 🤔

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  Skipper on March 11, 2022 at 12:49 pm
  
  i think the apriori or the axiom of the initial question might be that we as human beings are entitled to happiness, and that we also deny the reality of life which includes pain and suffering, from the very beginning.
  in addition we need explanations for what we experience as something bad — because we’re in need of purpose; and sometimes we need a scapegoat, someone to blame for our bad decisions.
  but nobody is responsible for that but us.
  interestingly usually nobody asks why (a) god let all the good things happen to them.
  we often deny the human share in those bad things — either bad things may be induced by us humans, or it’s the consequence of our human acts, sometimes long ago.
  for instance, if i live near a volcano or in an area with earthquakes, nobody is to blame; except those who decided to build a house there, despite the fact that terrible things might happen.
  you can go on with such things, hunger, war, famine etc. often are man–made.
  we’re looking for deeper explanations where there are no deeper explanations — and by that we also often deny our own responsibility.
  when natural disasters happen, nature takes just its course — in other words, excuse my french, shit just happens.
  now, why do we expect life to be fair?
  and why do we blame the living g–d for that?
  why do we need to shift the blame to him?
  so, the original question tells more about the person asking it than about (a) god.
  but the way we deal with bad things shows our character.
  
  that doesn’t mean, however, that pain is easy to bear.
  it’s not.
  and often enough we need others helping us to cope with it.
  nevertheless, the question “why” leads nowhere, and it’s also not helpful.
  the only answer — at least on the long run — is to accept it, is to deal with it, and carry on with life.
  
  but probably that’s just me…
  
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