I suspect its common to question the "reasons" for such misfortunes as cancer, to look at them in terms of responsibility and guilt. This piece beautifully articulates those questions. Well done.
Thank you Peter. The conception of human failure/sin as illness rather than moral "rule-breaking" is an important one, I think. I suppose there are some who would feel it a great injustice against them by a vicious god or an indifferent universe, but most people (I would guess) respond as you suggest, which makes suffering perhaps the most efficacious means of long-term repentance. Here's hoping.
Stunning, thank you so much. Such a poignant perspective. It has always struck me that in our society endless growth is considered a good, whereas transposed to the human body you get rapidly dividing cells that form tumours….
And yet … the sin of many may impact the health of those who were only trying to put bread in their children’s bodies. The whole of creation is crying out for the kingdom of God to come upon the earth. We are not sinners because we sin but rather we sin because we are sinners. (Paraphrase of JD Walt’s thinking.)
How much of me is really not,
all heart and mind pervasive rot?
I suspect its common to question the "reasons" for such misfortunes as cancer, to look at them in terms of responsibility and guilt. This piece beautifully articulates those questions. Well done.
Thank you Peter. The conception of human failure/sin as illness rather than moral "rule-breaking" is an important one, I think. I suppose there are some who would feel it a great injustice against them by a vicious god or an indifferent universe, but most people (I would guess) respond as you suggest, which makes suffering perhaps the most efficacious means of long-term repentance. Here's hoping.
Stunning, thank you so much. Such a poignant perspective. It has always struck me that in our society endless growth is considered a good, whereas transposed to the human body you get rapidly dividing cells that form tumours….
This is brilliant. Thank you for sharing it with us.
And yet … the sin of many may impact the health of those who were only trying to put bread in their children’s bodies. The whole of creation is crying out for the kingdom of God to come upon the earth. We are not sinners because we sin but rather we sin because we are sinners. (Paraphrase of JD Walt’s thinking.)