Why Do We Suffer?

I was discussing the reasons for our suffering with a palliative nurse practitioner. I presented the reasons given in The Urantia Book, as well as a few of my own thoughts about suffering. When I said that the subject might make a good article, she said I should write one and let her read it. This is it.

Beliefs about why we suffer probably date back to the ancients’ belief in gods. Their gods were believed to be like them, with human emotions such as anger, and they had god-sized egos that had to be satisfied by worship, and even human sacrifice, if they were offended. 

Even the ancient Jews practiced human sacrifice. This is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Moses supposedly supported the substitution of human sacrifice for animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice was still going on in the temple of Jerusalem when Jesus visited, to be recognized as a son of the commandment when he was 12. He was sickened by the slaughter of the animals whose blood was poured on the altar. Sadly, the idea of God needing sacrifices carried on into Christianity.

The Atonement Doctrine evolved from concepts held by some of the early church fathers like Augustine of Hippo. The doctrine as it stands in Christian theology today was formulated by later church leaders such as Anselm and John Calvin. Traditional Christian theology holds that we inherited Adam’s sin and that God could only forgive us if an innocent person died a terrible death on a cross. 

But even after this supposed forgiveness, we still suffer. Apparently, being forgiven does not mean that we won’t suffer. We are still considered sinful beings and suffer because of our sins and our imperfect world. 

But is suffering just an abomination without value?

The Urantia Book lists some of the positive results of enduring and overcoming suffering.

"The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities. Consider the following: 

"Is courage—strength of character—desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments.

"Is altruism—service of one’s fellows—desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality.

"Is hope—the grandeur of trust—desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.

"Is faith—the supreme assertion of human thought—desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe.

"Is the love of truth and the willingness to go wherever it leads, desirable? Then must man grow up in a world where error is present and falsehood always possible.

Is idealism—the approaching concept of the divine—desirable? Then must man struggle in an environment of relative goodness and beauty, surroundings stimulative of the irrepressible reach for better things.

"Is loyalty—devotion to highest duty—desirable? Then must man carry on amid the possibilities of betrayal and desertion. The valor of devotion to duty consists in the implied danger of default.

"Is unselfishness—the spirit of self-forgetfulness—desirable? Then must mortal man live face to face with the incessant clamoring of an inescapable self for recognition and honor. Man could not dynamically choose the divine life if there were no self-life to forsake. Man could never lay saving hold on righteousness if there were no potential evil to exalt and differentiate the good by contrast.

"Is pleasure—the satisfaction of happiness—desirable? Then must man live in a world where the alternative of pain and the likelihood of suffering are ever-present experiential possibilities." 3:5.5-14 

Others too have seen the positive side of suffering:

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." – Helen Keller

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." – Kahlil Gibran

“Suffering is part of our training program for becoming wise.” — Ram Dass

While the preceding quotes specify the benefits of suffering, I don’t feel that they are the ultimate justification for suffering. If God had made us and our material universe perfect, couldn’t we still have happiness? 

The question I have asked myself is this: “What purpose might an imperfect universe and its imperfect mortals serve?” 

An important thing to note is that ours is not a static condition—we and the universe are evolving. I think the answer to my question involves this evolution. We are told that the evolution of the universe is bringing about the emergence of God the Supreme, and we are a part of that.

If we do not reject survival, our soul will proceed to the mansion worlds, where we will be reunited with our Thought Adjuster, the inner spirit who tried to guide us throughout our mortal existence. At some point as we ascend through the levels on the way to Paradise, our soul will fuse with that spirit; we will become as one. We will bring the gift of personality to the union, and the Adjuster spirit will bring the gift of eternal life. 

The Urantia Book’s authors tell us that our ascension inward to Paradise is a phase of the growth of God the Supreme. While this is wonderful, does it totally explain our human suffering? Maybe there is another aspect to consider.

Couldn’t we as perfect beings have fused with our adjusters and proceeded toward Paradise without all the suffering we experience here? 

The answer is that, as we encounter and overcome many of life’s problems, our souls grow. The character of our souls bears evidence of the trials and tribulations that we have dealt with throughout our lives. 

Such a character cannot be created, because experience cannot be created—it must be experienced. 

So it seems that God did it the only way it could be done; he made us imperfect and gave us an imperfect universe to grow through by enduring our trials. All the while we are uplifted and comforted by our faith, God’s love, and Jesus’s love for us.

Come, let us suffer together that we may be wise and rise together to the portals of Paradise.