Why All People Suffer

Suffering is uncomfortable and we are all always trying to get rid of it Most of us realize that to fix something it is necessary to know what is wrong and that leads us to ask plaintively, "why me, Lord?" The purpose of this thread is to help others see the reason for their suffering.

God teaches us his will for us through the four tasks of suffering. He teaches us to be virtuous by making the alternatives uncomfortable and obvious through easy to understand feedback loops. If we eat things that are not good for us we get sick. If we drink too much, we have a hangover the next morning. If we treat someone badly, they suffer and we see it and feel badly ourselves and over-time we learn to be just. The important thing to note here is that we can learn from each other and don't need to repeat the suffering incidents that the sufferer has witnessed to. Society has often looked at those who suffer as being cursed for some unknown or undesired sin or as whiners when they complain about it. But the simple fact remains that God highlights truth and the road to righteousness by making the alternative paths uncomfortable for the one suffering. That person now is the messenger of what he experienced and his accounts can give pause to people about to make the same mistake, the goal of this thread is to outline for each other what we learn through our suffering. This will not only remind us of God's love for us, it will also help us find our way toward sharing in the diviine nature. Keep in mind, it it not easy to discern your own messages of suffering. Feel free to identify the situation and ask for help. It is anticipated that someone will have experienced something like what happened to you and will be able to help you discern the message based on their own life experience. If you are not comfortable sharing you own concerns, you can still learn about the providence of god from the witnesses of those that suffer. I will start off by explaining what advanced dementia on the part of my mother and two grandfathers was that life on earth was never meant to be permanent or perfect; that is reserved for those who are perfected on earth. the fact that the end of life is often so painful teaches us that we need God when there is no where else to go for relief

A central tenet of Why All People Suffer is that God can use evil, even moral evil, to bring about good. This is because evil is not the opposite of good as many suppose, but is in fact the absence of good, much like silence is the absence of sound or darkness is the absence of light. This view is consistent with Judeo-Christian theology that recognizes that in the first book of the Bible, God created everything good for its intended purpose. Evil therefore can only exist through corruption of something's form, misuse or disfunction, or disordered choices where some lower good is chosen over a greater good (the definition of sin. Evil, then represents opportunity for growth in goodness, as we attain what we lack. The Greek philosopher Epicurus speculated that there could be no God because a benevolent but all powerful God would not allow evil to oppose Him. Epicurus failed to realize that there is no inherent evil to oppose God and in fact, evil is just an unrealized opportunity for good to emerge and that God regularly brings good from evil. This forum is dedicated to finding examples of this and bringing them to light. God does everything for the purpose of man's salvation in union with Him and Providence, his saving plan incorporates everything that has existed, exists, or will exist to meet that end. Even the greatest evil, the crucifixion of Christ, brought forth the resurrection and the salvation of man. . The preference for posts in this forum are for those examples of good coming from evil; the rebirths and redirections that many of you have experienced, the examples of disasters bringing out the best in people, the "silver linings" we often find in bad experiences. For myself, I offer the fact that this entire work, which I am hopeful will help others who are struggling to make sense of their suffering, came from a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Of course, if you are having trouble seeing the good that might come from your suffering, post it here as well and perhaps someone will help you see the good that you might be missing or is still to come based on their own similar circumstances. Granted, we are not omniscient as God is so we may not be able to definitively find the good that comes from every evil act or situation but that won't stop us from generating hope when we see examples of the goodness of God and his plan for mankind