Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2022 4:49:56 GMT
Chapter 16 - Apathy
Job criticizes his friends for a failure to show empathy and comfort a person in need.
*Religious Apathy*
I believe that there is a tendency for the religious (Judeo-Christian ethic) to fail to show true empathy for those who are embittered by suffering. I believe that the root of this is the religious insistence that the existence of suffering is justified. Either the sufferer deserved it, or the sufferer needs the suffering in order to level up. No matter what, the suffering must be sanctioned by God, therefore an acceptable component of reality. When viewed through this lens, it is impossible to have true empathy for the embittered sufferer, since the sufferer knows that their suffering is NOT an acceptable component of reality.
*Personal Regret*
There was a man on my mission in Taiwan who had resentment towards God. He had suffered from a car accident that completely disabled him in all four limbs. As a missionary, I tried to tell him that he was wrong to blame God. I told him that what he was going through was just a trial and that it would all get fixed in the next life. Thinking back, I don't think my angle of marginalizing his pain helped him at all. What he probably needed was a big hug and lots of empathy instead. I wish I could go back in time and tell him, "I know how you feel. Sometimes things happen in life that don't make sense. Some things just plain suck. It doesn't make sense how a loving God could ordain any of this. If you want to blame him, you have every right too. I just hope you can find peace despite your pain."
NEXT: Chapter 17 - Complain
Job criticizes his friends for a failure to show empathy and comfort a person in need.
*Religious Apathy*
I believe that there is a tendency for the religious (Judeo-Christian ethic) to fail to show true empathy for those who are embittered by suffering. I believe that the root of this is the religious insistence that the existence of suffering is justified. Either the sufferer deserved it, or the sufferer needs the suffering in order to level up. No matter what, the suffering must be sanctioned by God, therefore an acceptable component of reality. When viewed through this lens, it is impossible to have true empathy for the embittered sufferer, since the sufferer knows that their suffering is NOT an acceptable component of reality.
*Personal Regret*
There was a man on my mission in Taiwan who had resentment towards God. He had suffered from a car accident that completely disabled him in all four limbs. As a missionary, I tried to tell him that he was wrong to blame God. I told him that what he was going through was just a trial and that it would all get fixed in the next life. Thinking back, I don't think my angle of marginalizing his pain helped him at all. What he probably needed was a big hug and lots of empathy instead. I wish I could go back in time and tell him, "I know how you feel. Sometimes things happen in life that don't make sense. Some things just plain suck. It doesn't make sense how a loving God could ordain any of this. If you want to blame him, you have every right too. I just hope you can find peace despite your pain."
NEXT: Chapter 17 - Complain
