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The Problem of Pain
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 231.8
EAN: 9780060652968
ISBN: 0060652969
Label: HarperOne
Manufacturer: HarperOne
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 176
Publication Date: 2001-02
Publisher: HarperOne
Release Date: February 06, 2001
Studio: HarperOne
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Editorial Review:
The Problem of Pain answers the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a "less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind. --Jill Heatherly
Why must humanity suffer? In this elegant and thoughtful work, C. S. Lewis questions the pain and suffering that occur everyday and how this contrasts with the notion of a God that is both omnipotent and good. An answer to this critical theological problem is found within these pages.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Of Human Suffering
The question or 'problem' that C.S. Lewis sets out to answer in "The Problem of Pain" is one that has confounded believers and non-believers alike: if God is good and loves his creation, why does he allow such pain and suffering to exist? How can that be good and exist within his creation? While Lewis' ponderings may not seem like straightforward answers to those questions, he paints a picture of a God revealed through his creation where even pain and evil can exist.
C.S. Lewis is ... Read More
Rating: - Pain: A Spiritual Journey
Punctuated with a thin veil of lyricism and argued from a Christian perspective, C. S. Lewis does not only explore the psychological ramifications of experiencing pain (suffering) but also provides an intellectual discussion geared at reconciling theological tenets about the relationship between God as the essence of love and individuals stricken by sorrow. His views are very theoretical since the book was written many years before his beloved wife died. However, the book raises interesting questions ... Read More
Rating: - Pay No Attention To The Humbugs Behind The Curtain
Lewis believed we should try to enter into the meaning, the intent of the authors we read, instead of bringing our own biases and immediately subjecting them to our own categories of thought. We cannot help but enrich our minds if "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself." Therefore, if you've stumbled upon this book for whatever reason and feel inclined to read it then I'd urge -- pay no attention to the humbug critics, at least until after you've read what could be a life ... Read More
Rating: - Timeless
Lewis deals with a timeless issue in this book: why is there suffering and pain? In the UK, this issue has come centre stage in moral debates. Should a being being permitted to exist if its life is destined to be one of "useless" suffering.
There was an article in the paper about a year ago about a couple who had a child with cystic fibrosis and wanted through IVF to conceive a child free of this nasty disease. Through the "miracle" of science, they were enabled to screen out any embryos with the ... Read More
Rating: - A God of Love?
This book is a theological and logical argument why God can be all loving and yet there can be such awful pain in the world. The initial argument that "If God is loving and there is evil in the world implies that something is wrong with God", is methodically and logically taken apart. There are arguments for the Christian about how they should live given this logical argument, but the non believer or searcher can take the arguments and come to a very balanced view of God Almighty.
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