In the past couple of weeks, two readers reached out to me asking if I had ever written anything about how theology about suffering is misused in coercive ways within the Church.
Thank you, Paul for your always insightful and compassionate work. It is a gift to me and to the church. (I am saving this message – there is a lot of stuff here that I hope to include in a book proposal I’m working on over the next year!)
“What is more, caught up as we are with our own needs, the sight of a person who is suffering disturbs us. It makes us uneasy, since we have no time to waste on other people’s problems.” -Pope Leo
Wonderful! I am reading The Odyssey this summer in preparation for the movie, and Fr. Edgelord's (perfect way to refer to him) view of suffering is more aligned with the pagan Greek gods debating whether Odysseus has been through enough awful stuff to deserve help, as opposed to anything in Scripture. Many years ago, I read in a magazine an argument for why Christians should read Homer, and the writer said, "Reading these, you see why the gospel was such good news to the Greeks." But there is no good news in how this priest has framed things. The ways in which God chooses to use a broken world for our ultimate good are often murky, but suffering in itself is not a good thing.
I am tired of the idea that suffering is somehow good. I'm seeing more and more though that at least in the US it's likely not even Catholic theology, rather deeply anti-Catholic rhetoric enmeshed in overall Catholic culture from "Dr" Dobson and his ilk. My theory is that much of that jived with the heavy-handed Baltimore Catechism which enforced rules over discernment. It's easy to tell others to suffer.
Whenever I hear another say "thathorriblethingthathappenedtome" must have been God's will, I literally shudder in reaction to the lie. One that is ingrained deeply, and definitely, most certainly not part of God's will for us. Learning the truth of personal freedoms, the permissiveness of God's will and the real and holy things that please God are a part of the spiritual life that one must enter with great awe and wonder. Thank you for opening the door!
Thank you, Paul for your always insightful and compassionate work. It is a gift to me and to the church. (I am saving this message – there is a lot of stuff here that I hope to include in a book proposal I’m working on over the next year!)
Great Job on this article! You nailed it! 😉
“What is more, caught up as we are with our own needs, the sight of a person who is suffering disturbs us. It makes us uneasy, since we have no time to waste on other people’s problems.” -Pope Leo
Wonderful! I am reading The Odyssey this summer in preparation for the movie, and Fr. Edgelord's (perfect way to refer to him) view of suffering is more aligned with the pagan Greek gods debating whether Odysseus has been through enough awful stuff to deserve help, as opposed to anything in Scripture. Many years ago, I read in a magazine an argument for why Christians should read Homer, and the writer said, "Reading these, you see why the gospel was such good news to the Greeks." But there is no good news in how this priest has framed things. The ways in which God chooses to use a broken world for our ultimate good are often murky, but suffering in itself is not a good thing.
I am tired of the idea that suffering is somehow good. I'm seeing more and more though that at least in the US it's likely not even Catholic theology, rather deeply anti-Catholic rhetoric enmeshed in overall Catholic culture from "Dr" Dobson and his ilk. My theory is that much of that jived with the heavy-handed Baltimore Catechism which enforced rules over discernment. It's easy to tell others to suffer.
Indeed, Paul! Indeed!!
Whenever I hear another say "thathorriblethingthathappenedtome" must have been God's will, I literally shudder in reaction to the lie. One that is ingrained deeply, and definitely, most certainly not part of God's will for us. Learning the truth of personal freedoms, the permissiveness of God's will and the real and holy things that please God are a part of the spiritual life that one must enter with great awe and wonder. Thank you for opening the door!