The Problem of Pain
by C. S. Lewis
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Book Summary Information
Author: C. S. LewisBrand: Harper Collins Publishers
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-02
ISBN: 0060652969
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: HarperOne
Book Reviews of The Problem of Pain
Book Review: lewis rips the band-aid off...
Summary: 5 Stars
the problem of pain is classic lewis: an inimitable combination of deep philosophical thought, razor-sharp wit, the ability to poke fun at himself and a heart that is truly amazed by his God.
his premise is not to make pain or suffering any less distasteful, but to show that back of it all is the love of God. the book can really be broken into three sections. 1) the divine heart 2) human suffering 3) speculative ponderings.
the first section (ch. 1-3) gives the basis for all of lewis' further thoughts and arguments: the ultimate goodness and omnipotence of God. this section defines what true goodness and benefit are in the light God's being. lewis shows that our common conceptions of "happiness" and "what is good" may be less accurate than we think. he distinguishes true kindness from what may be called mere pity.
some highlights from the first couple chapters:
-"love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness" - the idea in context being that God loves us too much to simply give us everything we think we want. (anyone with children ought to be able to understand the truth of that statement).
- "try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free will involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself."
- "the election of man, from nonentity, to be the beloved of God, and therefore (in some sense) the needed and desired of God, who but for that act needs and desires nothing, since He eternally has, ans is, all goodness."
the second section (ch. 4-7) is about the actual suffering of humans and how that plays out against divine goodness. lewis discusses the fall of adam with a lot of poetic license and conjecture on the way things were before the fall... can't be taken as fact, but some very provocative ideas. also there is a fascinating discussion on the humility of God in receiving us even when we come to Him only as a last resort; He will have us on any terms.
here are a handful of quotes from this section:
- "all sadness which is not either arising from the repentance of a concrete sin and hastening towards concrete amendment or restitution, or else arising from pity and hastening to active assistance, is simply bad."
- "the proper good of a creature is to surrender itself to its Creator - to enact intellectually, volitionally, and emotionally, that relationship which is given in the mere fact of its being a creature. when it does so, it is good and happy."
- "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
- "the human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it."
the third section (ch. 8-10) is very speculative, as all the chapters concern things which no human living on earth has had actual experience of: heaven, hell, and pain in animals. lewis' thoughts on hell are excellent, revolving around the idea that if the fulfillment of our humanity is in submitting to our Creator, then entering hell is ceasing to be human, but continuing existence in some more wretched state. the thoughts on heaven are equally as fascinating. the chapter on animal pain is a unique discussion in Christian theology (i can't remember ever hearing someone talk about it as a theological issue). there are also, albeit highly speculative, great possibilities suggested for what animal pain can and can't mean. also the thesis of humans "transforming" animals in a way vaguely similar to how God transforms man will at least set your gray matter in motion. however, where lewis really falls short in this section is his upholding of "theistic evolution". sadly, lewis believed that God used evolution to create the world and the species. this belief, however, skews the whole understanding of goodness and pain. if pain was part of God's creative process, it is not an evil or a temporary necessity in a fallen world, but rather death is a manifestation of the divine being, part of God's essential nature: clearly a problem for all the rest of the ideas in the book.
some excerpts from section 3:
- "to enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; to enter hell, is to be banished from humanity."
- "the demand that God should forgive such a [wicked] man while he remains what he is, is based on a confusion between condoning and forgiving. to condone and evil is simply to ignore it, to treat it as if it were good."
-"there are rewards that do not sully motives. a man's love for a woman is not mercenary because he wants to marry her, nor his love for poetry mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise, less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. love by definition, seeks to enjoy its object."
aside from the theistic evolution, a wonderful book. lot's of food for thought. chew away!
Summary of The Problem of Pain
Why must humanity suffer? In this elegant and thoughtful work, C. S. Lewis questions the pain and suffering that occur everyday and how this contrasts with the notion of a God that is both omnipotent and good. An answer to this critical theological problem is found within these pages.
The Problem of Pain answers the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a "less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind. --Jill Heatherly
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