Synopsis

The existence of human suffering, on both the global and the personal scale, presents a challenge to faith which many people find insurmountable. How can a God of love allow people to suffer if he has the power to prevent it? In this talk we will explore how belief in a loving God can be reconciled with our experience of suffering. We will consider how suffering came to be, what reason or purpose it might serve, and what that can tell us about the world we live in, and ourselves. Finally we will look at the example of one bible character who suffered like almost no other, and see what lessons his experience might have for us.