Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 15:1 (Spring 2024)
Article: The Problem Of Human Affliction: Towards A Theology Of Suffering
Author: Kelsey B. Hamilton

STR 15:1 (Spring 2024) p. 33

The Problem Of Human Affliction: Towards A Theology Of Suffering

Kelsey B. Hamilton

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Abstract: Intellectual discussions on the problem of evil and human suffering abound. Counselors, however, do not minister in the realm of the abstract, but with embodied image bearers who experience affliction. This article surveys human suffering which does not clearly emanate from active, volitional sin, incorporating the biblical narrative of Job as an illustration. As a result, exclusively cognitive attempts to construct a theodicy or rationalize away suffering often fail in counseling and practical ministry contexts. Rather, ministers of the gospel do well to humbly listen, withhold their own explanations for suffering, and assist the afflicted as they integrate their felt experience with their embedded theology.

Key Words: counseling, finitude, Job, lament, pain, practical theology, suffering, theodicy.

Suffering poses a universal problem to the human race and, by extension, to those who minister and counsel inside and outside the church. Theologians often agree that a discussion on suffering demands attention due to its relevance for ministry as well as apologetics.1 Theologian Os Guinness writes, “Suffering is the most acute trial that faith can face, and the questions it raises are the sharpest, the most insistent, and the most damaging that faith will meet.”2 Professor and pastoral counselor Phillip Zylla argues that “The biblical depiction of suffering is not a philosophical category but a confluence of situations and realities to be confronted in compassionate protest.”3 A robust theology of suffering will necessarily intersect with numerous fields of study due to the inherent connection of pastors and counselors with the afflicted.

STR 15:1 (Spring 2024) p. 34

Towards developing a theology of suffering, this article will summarize definitions, origins, and responses to human suffering, weaving a case study from the life of Job throughout.4 Fyall’s work in biblical theology summarizes the narrative succinctly:

The book opens (chs. 1 and 2) with a patriarchal figure named Job who is a wealthy landowner in “the land of Uz.” As well as being wealthy, he is notably pious and a man of integrity. Yet in the prologue to the book, in a series of hammer blows he is deprived in quick succession of his possessions, his family, his health and almost his sanity. As if this were not bad enough, we l...