The Problem of Pain

By Valerie Tarico








The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.


Marjorie’s Story







Joey’s Story






What’s Wrong With a Little Comfort?








Anonymous said...

Very well-written. I might have to pick up this book.

Anonymous said...

Something I've noticed about a lot of dewy eyed 'Jesus Loves Me' Christians is the fact their lives would make them stand out as unfortunate in a play by Euripides.

I can only assume that without the care of the LORD they believe it would have been a lot worse. Though quite how that *could* happen without them being killed escapes me.

Love and hugs

Grandpa H

spirula said...

As a pain researcher and supporter of the theory of evolution, once again evolution predicts what the creation/god myth cannot. Pain is an integral part of survival. Sensation of pain or similar reflexes (meaning conscious vs unconscious pain pathways) confer a selective advantage compared to individuals that lack these senses. As a result, pain sensation evolved early in the animal kingdom, and has become virtually ubiquitious within it. It is, therefore, valuable to survival, not a punishment from some deity.

A vivid example of this are the rare humans that, for whatever genetic reasons, fail to develop pain fibers. They live a short and often disfiguring life.

Sarge said...

I have chronic pain, greater or lesser extent every day. Just got the "cage" off my leg a while ago, and walking sure is interesting.

Harlequin said a very interesting thing, when I'm earning my pension (in a hospital stay for bleeding, bone chips, etc) the "witnessers" are always on hand to urge you to "offer it to god" no matter what the policy is.

I was once stationed with two brothers who had survived a very terrible fire at a catholic school, if I remember correctly it took place in Chicago and it was back in the 'fifties'. There was a very great loss of life, and these two had survived, lost friends, cousins, and siblings, actually watched them die terrible deaths.
They were told that the ones who died were 'too good' for the world, so god took them. The ones badly burned were given an opprotunity to 'give back to god' what he had given; suffering. Firemen actually were just grabbing children and throwing them out the windows, I was told. They might survive the fall, they would never survive where they were. Lots of pain, physical and otherwise originated that day.

One of the brothers I knew was an atheist, largely because of this, the other was the most devout and fanatical catholic I ever ran across. Othe catholics said that Tomas de Torquemada and Brenardo Gui would have put an arm around his shoulders and said, "we admire your avidity, but hey, you're just a bit over the top, calm down..."

Zen said...

Talking about kidney failure or other degenerative diseases, I think, the most of cases are caused by junk food that full with cholesterol, antibiotics, and hormones (as well as caused by heredity or pollution). I bet Marjorie is not vegetarian because she is not Adventist I guess. So it is not “god” punishment but it is caused by her stupidity in eating. “You get what you sow”. She eats junk food then she gets sick.

Although I am agnostic, my mind is still open with the karma concept and reincarnation (LOL!) as further idea of karma concept, especially for Joey’s case. At least, karma or reincarnation doesn’t need “god” influences to make it happen (although the sickness caused by the “bad actions” from “previous birth” sounds similar with “original sin”).

Sometimes I think we only think about the pain of human fellows. How about “other” fellows, I mean the pain of cows and chickens in the horrible livestock farming? Livestock farmer is just like a cannibal says to me: “I’ll grow you up and then I'll eat your flesh!”

This world is full with pain and agony. All beings are in pain and misery. Maybe, as long as we torture livestock, the disease/sickness will torture us too. Hey, I talk about Thomas Paine 200 years old idea to stop animal “slavery” (read: unethical treatment to animal). You know that Thomas Paine talked much about the cruelness of “African” slavery and unethical treatment to animal.

I myself dream about the death in my sleep without the pain caused by disease or sickness, so that I am vegetarian. My “common sense” tells that the body of a plant is genetically very different with our body. So a disease of a plant can’t infect us. But animal’s genes, especially mammals and birds, are genetically close with our genes. So if an animal has a disease (for example; mad cow or bird flu), maybe it will infect us too if we eat its flesh. My reason tells: Better to prevent than to heal. That’s why I become vegetarian agnostic. Trying to prevent the threat of the pain physically, at least, in my own body.

Others can eat whatever they like to eat but I would prefer to be herbivore not omnivore or carnivore. I am very healthy now and enjoying my life but I am scared to death to imagine the pain resulted by disease or sickness, physically or emotionally. I hope I can die peacefully in my bed when I sleep without suffering pains or diseases. “So help me God” (oops, sorry, this was Thomas Paine’s popular words when he wrote the Age of Reason).

Pageviews this week: