I am not a good christian according to the Church’s standard. I don’t like going to church every week, although I don’t mind. Actually, I don’t even agree with the teaching that christians should go to church every week. However, Christmas and Easter are the two occasion that I believe all chritian should go to church. It is OK not go to church on normal days, but not on these two important days. That is the mininium requirement of being a christian.
Last night I went to a Good Friday retreat. The event was for young adults and the topic is on suffering. Father Justin had a talk on what suffering can benefits us and we can embrace suffering for Jesus. We listened to a suffering story by surviving POW prisoner in Vietnam and did a group sharing. Other than the presentation of the core message, there were also the usual activities of any retreat, like an ice breaker, Rosary, praise and worship.
The message of the night is about the usual fuzzy warm feeling about God’s love. We did not talk about the question of why suffering exists. I can see a positive altitude on suffering can help us coup better with suffering, especially those we can do nothing to change. It is true that suffering may benefit us, but it still does not explain why it should exists in the first place. It seems suffering has no intrinsic value but only instrumental value, it only serves the function to bring us closer to God. However it does not follow that is the only way or the best way. An almighty God should able to accomplish the same task without suffering.
One popular church saying is that God will not let us suffer that we cannot take. Maybe those who survived the suffering can thank God for the test to make him a better man, but what about those who can’t make it out. The POW prisoner did not regret his horrible experience in the POW camp that brings him closer to God. But what about his fellow prisoners who never get home. There over 2500 American soldiers captured by Vietnamese, after 5 years of in prison, only 300 are still alive, the mortality rate is over 80%. It is undisputed that those only who have faith can survive the suffering. But where is the meaning of the suffering of the dead whose life are lost in vain.
The take home message of the retreat is that suffering can make us a better person and closer to God. I do agree with this message, especially when it applies to others. There must some people really bothers you in your life, they did not intended to hurt you but it happens there are faults in their characters. If they can become a better person and closer to God, their problems, and yours, should go away. In this case, wishing them to suffer is not out of hate nor revenge, but sincerely for their own good so that they can learn some lessons from God.
It is always a tendency that we want to play ‘God’ to think and act just like Him!
Because there is also a tendency that the writer likes to ‘personalize’ topics on faith and philosophy, I want to wish you all the best to your effort in attaining good out from the bad.
Suffering exists because people need to work for attaining eternity. Just remember this teaching — thank you!
Actually, according to my philosophy and many philosophers’, thinking rational is what can bring you closet to God. Ration is the inner light give to man by God. Suffering exists become imperfectness, as an engineer, our job is to fix the problem and get rid of the suffering. The goal is to find alternative means to archive the same benefit of suffering without the cost, just like search for alternative energy to run cars.
今日我都有返教會。雖然平時星期日多數都返，但久不久會偷懶一日，但學你話齋，不會是今日。
不過，我今日聽完道，都幾失望，因為那個應邀前來講道的牧師，言之無物，只是一堆口號，聽後毫無得著。例如：上帝好偉大，偉大到不得了，又好愛我們，不惜差遣祂的獨生子耶穌道成肉身，釘十字架，洗淨我們的罪……耶穌死後四十日後復活，戰勝死亡，戰勝黑暗，只要信靠祂，將來就可上天堂……人身縱有錯折，縱有失落，也毋須放在心上，想一想將來有得上天堂，享受永恆的福樂，就會覺得現在的問題，只是小問題，不值一提……
這樣的講道，真係好無誠意，完全不用接受神學訓練，都可以講到出來。要知道，今日在座，九成九都是信徒，而非外人，上述內容，真係聽到爛。
Ha… I know how to make one of those boiler plate peach too. Sometimes, I wonder maybe I should switch job to become a priest, you know some of them make good money.