The Relationship between Sin and Suffering
Is there a reason for sin and suffering? It is obvious the two are directly related in the Bible. In the Old Testament we see Saul/Paul feeling the wrath of God when he killed innocent people, as a king. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden when they took fruit from a tree which God told them not to do. Today though, the relationship between sin and suffering is not so clear. We see poor, starving people in Africa. They suffer terribly, but there is no evidence that they haved sinned to the extent of being starved to death.Sin and suffering have been interpreted in different ways by different aspects of Christianity. Conservative Christians believe the Adam and Eve story to be literal history, and suffering is a direct consequence of their breaking of the covenant that Adam had with God. The Old Testament gives us an overall understanding of sin. Some beliefs include turning away from God and putting yourself before him. Not fufilling God's will or goals or rebellion or disobedience towards God. A classic view of sin is highlighted in Jeremiah (17.9) : "Sin is that which sets up in place of God. It is an inner attitude of going against what is right, with it's basis in the heart." Is sin fre
Augustine was the man who adopted this theory, he believed that because of Adam and Eve's sin, "Original sin" was created. Irenaeus contradicts this by saying that we had not fallen from a perfect state. It seems clear-cut in the bible, when somebody did something wrong they were punished, examples include Adam, Saul and Jacob. Using these examples of sin and suffering in the bible, (do bad things : get punished) we can not understand what is happening around us today. Saddam Hussein has massacered thousands of Kurdish and Iranian people, like Saul did with his empire and yet God has not made Hussein suffer. Innocent street children in India walk the streets scaveging for food and compared to Hussein's sins they have hardly broken God's law. This isn't quite an accurate argument. Even in the bible people suffered and did not do much to deserve it. It is likely the message the bible is trying to tell us is that, even if we suffer greatly in life, if we stick by the rule of God we will receive what we deserve in heaven, taking things like what Hussein has done into account. The Westminister Larger Catectism summarises the Biblical teaching of sin itself. It takes Paul's argument : "The wages of sin is death" in Romans.(6.23) Like this verse, many books in the Bible see the punishment for sin being death and going to hell. Another punishment for sin is Ali
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 920
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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