Why is there suffering in the world?

My daily thoughts on BBC radio Solent this week are about something that has been concerning me a lot recently - why is there pain and suffering in the world? Although I don't think I have an answer, I have found some things helpful when thinking about this question.

Click on the link for the recording, text pasted below.

Tuesday 26th April
Wednesday 27th April
Thursday 28th April
Friday 29th April

Day 1

Earlier this month it was announced that Lord Rees, the astronomer royal and recent president of the Royal Society, had been awarded the 1 million pound Templeton prize for making “exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension”. This quickly provoked a vitriolic response from well-known atheist scientists such as Richard Dawkins and Harry Kroto, the latter referring to spirituality as “congenital wishful thinking”.  However interestingly, as I have been following this story over the last couple of weeks, I’ve actually found more articles critical of Dawkins and Kroto, than articles surprised that a famous scientist finds spirituality important.

I think this is because people are beginning to tire of the rhetoric that says science and spirituality are opposites or incompatible. I am a scientist who happens to think that science is one of the most important activities that humans engage in, however I do not think it provides the only lense through which we see life. Take for instance the recent earth-quake and Tsunami in Japan. Science provides excellent explanations for why these natural disasters happen and indeed why they must happen in order for there to be life on this planet. Science can even get a certain distance in explaining a bit about the human tragedy - perhaps why people live in such places and why we react the way we do when disaster strikes. However seeing a disaster just in terms of plate tectonics, fluid dynamics, sociology or psychology seems cold and callous. Yes of course the rationality provided by science is important, however when faced with unspeakable human tragedy we need the comfort and hope provided by faith, religion and spirituality far more than we need any textbook of physics.

Day 2

As a child I really enjoyed the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Joseph and the amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”. Of course, along with the fun songs, this musical is memorable for telling the biblical story of Joseph - a young boy who is sold into slavery by his brothers before a series of adventures results in him becoming the powerful governor of Egypt. In this position he successfully predicts the coming of a famine and is able to oversee the storage of grain so that Egypt does not suffer the effects of this natural disaster. The story finishes with a happy ending when Joseph is reconciled with his brothers after they come pleading for help because of the effects of the famine.

The story of Joseph is an exciting, feel-good, rags to riches tale. It is particularly alluring because it reminds us that no matter how bad things might seem there is always the possibility – the hope – of future success and happiness. Interestingly, in the case of Joseph, personal qualities or planning only contribute a very small part to his success because the main events seem to be engineered by God who has a much bigger plan in mind. The story of Joseph is thus powerful because it reminds us that even apparently hopeless situations do unexpectedly turn to good through causes that are beyond our control. In a small way I find this quite a comforting thought - knowing that however bad or confusing a situation might be, everything doesn’t depend entirely upon me, there are other forces at work, and there is a much bigger picture that often I simply cannot see.

Day 3

Perhaps one of the most unfortunate characters of all time was a bloke called Job. He was a wealthy landowner in the middle-east with seven sons, three daughters, many servants, oxen, camels and flocks of sheep. However, during the course of just 24 hours his children are killed, his animals destroyed, he catches a terrible disease and his wife first mocks and then deserts him. These misfortunes kick off one of the earliest recorded philosophical exchanges as a number of his friends gather to discuss what he had done wrong to be so unfortunate, and what he should do to fix the situation. But, after a 15,000-word dialogue Job and his friends are still at a loss to explain why suffering occurs in the world. At this point God enters the conversation: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?” God reminds Job and his friends that they are only men with a very limited understanding.

I find it funny how many people think that being religious means thinking that you have all the answers.  This is not my experience. Instead for me Christianity is not really about answers, but rather about stories that help me come to terms with both the world and myself. The stories in the bible are not there to tell us what to do, but rather to provide guidance for how to approach and think about problems. Today’s example, the story of Job, reminds us that we are limited beings and in fact cannot know everything – something that we certainly need to be reminded in this current age of science and technology.

Day 4

I found the events in Japan on March 11th truly shocking. I watched with absolute horror the television footage of the Tsunami overtaking cars, smashing buildings, swallowing up farmland and destroying lives. This event reminded me that no matter how sophisticated humans become, we are still at the mercy of natural forces that are simply beyond our control. It is interesting to note, however, that although the earthquake in Japan was stronger than the one in Haiti a year ago, there were only a couple deaths in Japan from the actual earthquake whilst 316 thousand people died in poverty stricken Haiti. Similarly the early warning systems in Japan saved many thousands of lives, so that compared to the 230 thousand people who died in the 2005 Boxing Day Tsunami, the Japanese death toll has actually been an order of magnitude lower. These statistics suggest to me that along with uncontrolled natural forces, poverty and injustice also play a very large role in these terrible disasters.

As a Christian I do not believe that the bible gives us an answer to suffering, but it does tell us some stories that help us come to terms with what we find around us. The story of Joseph reminds us that bigger plans are often at work, the story of Job tells us that we cannot always expect to understand why things happen, and the story of Jesus tells us that we have a duty to care for the poor and come alongside those who are suffering. It is for these reasons – these stories – that I think spirituality and religion are extremely important and do contribute to our lives in an essential way. Although the rationality provided by science tells us how the world works, it is the spiritual stories that help us understand the much bigger picture of we call life.