Courtney McGrailWe bring much suffering and evil into the world by the abuse of our freedom, writes Prof. Eamonn Conway
Prof. Eamonn Conway
The YouTube clip of the RTE programme in which Stephen Fry attacked religious belief has attracted more than five million hits and 50,000 ‘likes’, and the controversy over his remarks has continued. Fry expresses outrage at the suffering of the innocent, which, in his view, makes nonsense of the notion of a loving and compassion God.
The reality of suffering, especially of the innocent, has to be taken seriously by theists as well as by atheists and generally is. We see this, for instance, in the Book of Job, and the psalms.
The great theologian Romano Guardini, on his death-bed, said that at the Last Judgement he would not only allow himself to be questioned, but would in turn also ask questions: “Why, God, these fearful detours on the way to salvation, the suffering of the innocent, why sin?” Similarly, John Shea, in his poem, A Prayer of Anger, says:
“On the final day of fire/
After You have stripped me/
(if there is breath left)/
I will subpoena You to the stand/
In the court of human pain.”
Fry suggested that life without belief in God is “simpler, purer, cleaner and more worth living”. But is there any evidence that atheism, as a belief system, is any better than religious faith at helping people to make sense of suffering? Has atheism inspired as much self-sacrifice as religious faith has in alleviating suffering?
An honest acknowledgment of the reality of suffering doesn’t necessarily lead to atheism, as Fry seemed to suggest. Often, those most ready to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in to alleviating suffering, as distinct from simply lamenting its existence, are committed believers motivated by their faith.
Proximity to human misery can strengthen rather than weaken relationship with God because, as Pope Francis has said, “the joy of faith (can) slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress” (The Joy of the Gospel, 6).
Here’s what Christians have come to believe about suffering. God does not need or want us to suffer; God wants us to have life and to live it to the full. We bring much suffering and evil into the world by the abuse of our freedom, but at the end of the day God created a world in which this is possible, and we must reckon with this when we speak of God as all-powerful and all-loving.
A world in which people are free to love and therefore also to abuse their freedom, we believe, is better than a world in which no freedom exists. But human freedom comes with a huge price tag, often with the innocent suffering most.
There is also suffering that cannot be accounted for by the abuse of human freedom. Ultimately, the existence of suffering and evil remain incomprehensible mysteries, and accepting this fact is connected with accepting that God is an incomprehensible mystery.
The only answer we Christians have to the mystery of suffering is Jesus Christ. Through him we come to realise that suffering is not part of God’s plan for creation, and that the God is as repulsed by human suffering as we are. Jesus spent his life, and ultimately gave his life, to alleviate suffering, whether caused by sickness or by sinfulness. As his disciples, we are required to “touch the suffering flesh of Christ in others” and to heal it as best we can (The Joy of the Gospel, 24, 270).
We are finite
Faced, however, with unavoidable suffering, what can we do? Suffering is easier to deal with if our general attitude is one of accepting that our lives are in God’s caring hands, and, that anyway, we are finite and dependent creatures.
Ultimately, our lives belong to God who cares passionately about us. If surrender to God generally characterises our attitude to life, then trusting God in times of suffering will be easier, as it was for Jesus.
His daily prayer, which he taught us, was “thy will be done”, and this made it easier to pray in Gethsemane “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mk 14:33). We can also see our sufferings as a participation in Christ’s redemptive activity, which, although its success is guaranteed, remains a “work in progress”.
All very well, but does this really help as we look in to the eyes of a suffering child, as Stephen Fry has challenged us to do, and still profess belief in a loving God?
This is exactly what Pope Francis did in the Philippines when Glyzelle Palomar, a 12-year-old girl who had been rescued from the streets, broke down, as she asked him why God allows children to suffer and be victims of horrific crimes. Pope Francis replied: “Only when we too can cry about the things that you said are we able to come close to replying to that question: ‘Why do children suffer so much?’”
He continued: “Certain realities in life we only see through eyes that are cleansed through our tears.” Then he embraced Glyzelle.
As Christians we cannot explain the reality of suffering; nor can we take it all away.
We can ensure that our eyes are open to it and that our hearts and hands are ready to tackle it. In so doing we believe Christ is in us and we meet Christ in those we embrace and are held in the mystery of his love.
Prof. Eamonn Conway is a priest of the Tuam diocese and Head of Theology at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick.