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Daniel

interesting quote up there from Rev. Hamilton. I wonder if "suffering" is in the eye of the beholder? That is, where is the line between "suffering" and "inconvenience" or whatever. Or - is pain intrinsically bad/evil? I mean, I certainly don't want it to happen to me and all...
In the last few years I have learned to appreciate that there is something deeply true in the emphasis on cross-bearning and 'sharing the sufferings of Christ' - which the NT Apostles (especially Paul) and the early church fathers seem to take for granted - that The Roman Church especially has been able to basically maintain in the face of a desire-oriented consumer culture.

Greg Hazelrig

I agree with your assessment of why we suffer. I preached on this topic not long ago and used the free will argument for the most part.

I also have a problem with people saying that everything happens for a reason. Some things are simply coincidence. And when they say that God is in control, they often mean that He pulls the strings on anything they can't explain. I do believe that He is in ultimate control, but that because of free will, He allows us to make our own mistakes as well as successes.

Brett

thanks for the thoughts. I just posted about suffering on my blog, and have a totally different perspective. At the heart of your argument is that we deserve not to suffer, that God owes us His mercy. We are no longer amazed by God's grace.

Brett

We can have a meaningful discussion and present our arguments and agree to disagree without getting mad at each other.

I believe that man has free will, but not like you mean. Our free will cannot trump God's will. God is completely sovereign and in control of every aspect of the universe, down to the smallest detail.

It is umcomfortable to think about, because we like to focus on the parts of God we like - Love, Grace, and Mercy. We like to ignore parts we don't like so much. If this happens we no longer worship the God who is, but the god we want him to be.

lucky

nice

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