Sensul suferinței în Sfânta Scriptură

Abstract

There is almost no thinker in the history of mankind not to be interested in the issue of evil and suffering that accompany man’s life from his birth to his death, just like the shadow never separates from the body. Everybody has tried to unlock this mystery, to reach a deep understanding of it, to uncover its meanings, to identify ways to remove it or, at least, to make it less of an experience. The theme of suffering is recurrent in the texts of the Book of Scripture, touching upon a most complex theological topic and undertaking some of the most unexpected significances: suffering as a punishment for evil doing, suffering as a future reward, suffering as an experience of God’s presence, suffering as medicine both for the body and for the soul, suffering as proof of faith, suffering as a form of purification both of the body and of the soul, suffering because of or for another, Christ’s suffering, suffering as a confirmation of the Christ etc. Illness, pain and the fear of suffering make up a common semantic space in many of the texts in the Book of Scripture. Therein the legitimate question coming from those who less understand the mystery of faith and of man’s relation to God: if God is suffering,good, why does He consent to the suffering of the innocent?