Discussion points for Book Clubs
21 thought provoking quotes from Why All People Suffer

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1. "The ultimate message of the theology of suffering is one that provides the perspective that God loves us as only the Creator of the Universe could" ( Pg.270)

2. "God has a plan for you and even if you cannot see where it is going, trust Him and following where He leads you" (pg. xvii)

3. "God wants us to become like Him so we can share eternal life with Him "(pg. 66)

4. "There are no accidents for an omnipotent and omniscient God; everything is part of His Plan" (pg.162)

5. "Even the most limited people are part of the human continuum of diversity and were made with a specific purpose in mind" (pg. 101)

6. "God can carry out His plans without infringing on human free will in the following manner: God creates an environment that will motivate each person to act in accordance with his plans" (pg. 167)

7. "Evil exists only as a privation of good, and God withholds or takes away goodness either to redirect of to improve mankind in some way" (pg. 162)

8. "God’s purpose is always to rehabilitate us; it is never to destroy us." (pg. 16)

9. "There is no malice in God; only love ." (pg. 16)

10. "Suffering is our innate ability to sense the presence of evil; or, more accurately, the absence of good that is significant enough to threaten our existence physically, socially, psychologically, or spiritually." (pg.13)

11. "Suffering is not evil; it is an evil-detector." (pg. 11)

12. "Suffering needs to be persistent and uncomfortable to warn us of the threat from evil and motivate us to take action to eliminate it" (pg. 11)

13. "Suffering has a way of turning a person inward, toward where God resides." (pg. xvii)

14. "At its deepest level, suffering is a call to conversion by God" (pg. 18).

15. "Suffering is not something to overcome, it is something to be heeded" (pg. 19)

16. "When we encounter those who suffer, we should not see them as sinners or complainers, but as instruments of God’s mercy and specifically as messengers of what was revealed t them" (pg. 16)

17. "This is the ultimate role of suffering: to facilitate our return to our heavenly Father, Who loves us more than we lover ourselves and in Whose presence we will find joy and fulfillment." (pg. 10)

18. "Understood properly, suffering gives us hope for the Beatific vision and the motivation to attain it." (pg. 270)

19. "The (Beatific) Vision incorporates all that is good and true in the universe: the beauty of mountain vistas and sunsets at the beach and the warm embrace of the person who loves you best, all wrapped together is a never-ending kaleidoscope of joy." (pg. 17)

20. "Joy is not in opposition to suffering it is the outcome of successfully meeting its challenges and completing its tasks "(pg. 9)

21. "To be joyful is to experience perfection, to share in the divine nature; in some sense, to become like God" (pg. 8)

 

 

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