7 votes

Who was the target audience of the Book of Job?

Now the question of who is the target audience for Job is a tricky one, because there is the audience that Job intended, and the audience that God intended. Since the book is not addressed to a group ...
Paul Chernoch's user avatar
7 votes

How does Reformed Theology consider passages that may imply that God is the "subject of sufferings"?

The point Edwards makes here is that since God accomplishes his purposes in all things, even evil things, he cannot be said to be carried away by emotions and thus experience involuntary ecstasy or ...
Nathaniel is protesting's user avatar
7 votes
Accepted

Do Evangelical Christians interpret James 1:2 and Romans 5:3 to mean that we should enjoy our problems?

Evangelical theologians teach that these two passages do not instruct us to "enjoy" trials in the sense of getting pleasure out of them. Rather, we are to have joy despite the trials, ...
Nathaniel is protesting's user avatar
6 votes

The uniqueness of Christ's suffering

The suffering caused by the physical cross and by the soldiers was only a tiny portion of Christ's suffering. His suffering and death was vicarious, meaning, he suffered in our place, Christ died for ...
Andrew Shanks's user avatar
4 votes

The nature and extent of the atonement of Jesus during the crucifixion

The Greek phrase "wrath of God" is οργη θεου. The phrase appears only twice in the New Testament. John writes that the wrath of God will be visited upon those who do not believe in His Son (3:36). ...
guest37's user avatar
  • 5,637
4 votes
Accepted

Why sleep put apostles into temptation?

TL:DR; Sleep does not cause temptation, prayer prevents it. How does sleep put the apostles into temptation? It doesn't. The most likely source of your question is that the cause and effect ...
KorvinStarmast's user avatar
4 votes

According to Catholicism must we all suffer in life?

Sometimes people focus too much on Christ's sufferings and not how much he poured out His love on the cross. Redemption by Christ was not so much achieved by how much He suffered, but how much He ...
jvarela's user avatar
  • 176
4 votes

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?

The righteousness of God is mentioned twelve times in the bible. This is the measure of good and evil. Nothing else can be. Matthew 6:33; Romans 1:17; 3:5; 3:21; 3:22; 3:25; 3:26; 10:3; 10:3 (again); ...
Nigel J's user avatar
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3 votes
Accepted

The uniqueness of Christ's suffering

Reading your comments to the various fine answers already posted here tells me that your unstated question is "what has Jesus's suffering to do with being born again", rather than looking ...
GratefulDisciple's user avatar
3 votes

The uniqueness of Christ's suffering

The idea isn't that there was crucifixion or death or any number of people who have died and will die horrible deaths, but rather that it was Jesus the Messiah who had died. Who was Jesus the Messiah ...
SLM's user avatar
  • 13.1k
3 votes
Accepted

According to Catholicism must we all suffer in life?

According to Catholicism must we all suffer in life? The short answer is yes. 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 68.2k
3 votes

Protestants, why do some Christians suffer so much more than others?

Jesus warned his disciples that following Him would not be easy: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will ...
Lesley's user avatar
  • 29.8k
3 votes
Accepted

Is suffering a proof against intelligent design?

No I don't really have references for this I will just answer it by logic alone. The atheist is making quite a few assumptions to make the leap from suffering to no Intelligent Designer (or indeed God)...
komodosp's user avatar
  • 146
3 votes
Accepted

Are there philosophical explanations for why God would allow animals to suffer due to non-human causes?

Are there philosophical explanations for why God would allow animals to suffer due to non-human causes? St. Thomas Aquinas has something to say about it! The problem of animal suffering is the ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 68.2k
3 votes

I feel really guilty killing insects, even though it isn’t a sin

Taken to an extreme, each time you inhale, lots of micro-organisms in the air die in your lungs. If you know that killing insects is not a sin in the Bible but it feels like a sin to you this must ...
Mike Borden's user avatar
  • 14.8k
3 votes

I feel really guilty killing insects, even though it isn’t a sin

Your feeling of guilt about even unintentionally killing insects has got nothing to do with Catholicism, but has much in common with Jainism, Buddhism, and religions that believe in reincarnation. ...
Anne's user avatar
  • 27k
3 votes

How do Christians respond to this claim in the Qur'an?

The question seems to be based on an Islamic view that Christians are wrong to address God as "Father" because "he give them bad things in life if he was as loving as father he wouldn't ...
Anne's user avatar
  • 27k
3 votes

How do Christians respond to this claim in the Qur'an?

If I understand you correctly you are stating that the Quran makes the following claim: God cannot be the Father of Christians because He allows bad things into their lives and if He was a loving ...
Mike Borden's user avatar
  • 14.8k
3 votes

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering? The short answer is no. The problem of evil (and good) is much more complex than that. Physical ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 68.2k
2 votes

The nature and extent of the atonement of Jesus during the crucifixion

The word in the New Testament that is translated as "atonement" in the King James Version is καταλλαγή and it appears only once (in Romans 5:11) as "atonement" in English, but is translated as "...
guest37's user avatar
  • 5,637
2 votes

The uniqueness of Christ's suffering

It is abundantly clear from the scriptures that the physical sufferings of Jesus Christ during crucifixion are not those that are vicarious : Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the ...
Nigel J's user avatar
  • 23.8k
2 votes
Accepted

Does God feel and appreciate the resiliency of our suffering?

To experience suffering is to configure one's self to / with Christ ... already in the act of Baptism, which brings about a configuration with Christ, and then through his Sacrifice...the Church is ...
KorvinStarmast's user avatar
2 votes

Who was the target audience of the Book of Job?

As Nigel J suggested in his comment, the book of Job is addressed to every single person on earth. Its “target audience” is every human who has ever lifted his eyes to heaven and cried out, “Why me, ...
Lesley's user avatar
  • 29.8k
2 votes

Does Malachi 4:1 and Jude 7 prove that hell is temporary?

Before we delve into what Malachi and Jude said, remember that two verses plucked out of the Bible can never establish whether a doctrine is right or wrong. These things have to be put into context ...
Lesley's user avatar
  • 29.8k
2 votes
Accepted

What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on the 'animal cruelty' argument for veganism?

What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on the 'animal cruelty' argument for veganism? I find it hard to imagine that any Christian denomination would take such a stand as defending veganism ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 68.2k
2 votes

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?

No. While this is probably debated at some level, the standard of good and evil is not how good a thing makes you feel or any subjective measurement, but is based solely on the Word of God. There is ...
Isaac Middlemiss's user avatar
2 votes

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?

This reminds me of a point I made when I converted, to the man who witnessed to me. Your question in slightly more formal terms is... "Is Christianity divinely-inspired utilitarianism?" This ...
ConnieMnemonic's user avatar
2 votes

Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering?

Love: it's evident that love feels good and promotes behaviors that make others feel good. Therefore, love ranks very high on the "wellbeing scale". I have seen love cause the lover ...
Mike Borden's user avatar
  • 14.8k
2 votes

If God knows which people will go to Heaven, why not only create those people?

I applaud you for asking tough questions but there is a logical break in your question that I would like to try and point out. "He could instantly implant all the spiritual growth, experiences, ...
Mike Borden's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote

Protestants, why do some Christians suffer so much more than others?

People often try to search for meaning and spiritual causes for problems and suffering. Some take the perspective that trials and suffering are a punishment of God, while others see suffering and ...
Hjan's user avatar
  • 357

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