June 14th, 2008
Suffering - Age-old Problem And Present Reality
Suffering is a very old phenomenon incontrovertibly affects everyone. Ever since Eden’s gates closed upon the heels of our former ancestors, Adam and Eve, man has been a sufferer. Fergusson aptly noted that “the reality of suffering, especially that of the helpless or innocent, is a problem for anyone who posits the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent Deity” (Fergusson 1988, 667). In other words, “there is suffering, evil, pain, grief, death and depression in the world. It touches everyone’s life at some point” (Simundson 1980, 13). My paternal grandmother has suffered tremendously, burying four of her seven children in the order in which they were born at the time when they were breadwinners in the family. Child A, B, C and D (names withheld) respectively died at the ages of 27, 25, 30 and 42 years in 1968, 1972, 1980 and 1997.