I went to the Presbyterian Church this morning. This time, the passing of the peace part went a little more smoothly for me. Ordinarily, I dread that part, since it's social, and I tend to feel uncomfortable and alienated in social situations. But, this morning, I knew someone from last week, plus a couple of people told me that they recognized me from last week, which was good. (This is a small church.) So I didn't feel as alienated. I also liked how the pastor tried to shake hands with everyone before the service.
We had a guest speaker (I'll call him "Bob"), who works for a children's mission in Peru. He told us about kids who were loners or were violent on account of their painful experiences. One of the kids was violent, but, after talking with him, Bob learned that the kid's mother had tried to poison him and his brother. There was also a teenage girl at the mission, and she was a loner. The other young people and even the staff did not like her. But Bob learned from her that she had lost her mother. Her Mom bled to death in a hospital in Peru, for the doctors could not operate when the hospital lost electricity. As Bob noted, hospitals in Peru are poorer than those in the United States.
Bob said that Jesus calls us to love people, regardless of their flaws, for that is what Jesus did. Bob then asked why God allows suffering, and he suggested that God may permit it so that we could have the same broken-hearted attitude towards suffering that he has. In my opinion, theodicies in general are inadequate. My problem with Bob's theodicy is that it presents those who suffer as guinea pigs for our own personal growth---"our" meaning those who are better off economically.
But I would slightly rephrase Bob's theodicy by saying that suffering gives all of us an opportunity to band together and help each other. This shifts the approach from one of "We prosperous Westerners need to help those in the Third World," to one of "We all need to help each other." People in the Third World should get help from the prosperous West, but also from others in the Third World. In my opinion, it should not be a matter of "us" (the helpers) and "them" (the helped), but rather of "us." This should occur on an individual level, but systems that are conducive to the health and well-being of all should also be promoted and created.
I agree that suffering gives all of us an opportunity to develop an attitude and a lifestyle of compassion. Does God permit suffering to permit that to happen? Admittedly, there are casualties to this sort of set-up. I wonder why there are so many people who were born into lives that are so hard---maybe even unlivable---or who suddenly find themselves in those kinds of situations. I can understand why many atheists feel that no theodicy is adequate---that to come up with a theodicy as to why God permits suffering is to present suffering as if it's acceptable. But I hope that we can all come together on the goal to alleviate suffering in the world. Not everyone is called to go into foreign countries. I think I'd have a hard time in the Third World! But I think it's important for me to realize that there is a lot of suffering and death in the world. Realizing this is a step towards doing my part to address that suffering.