Bart Ehrman's in his book God's Problem changes his direction in chapter five: The Mystery of the Greater Good-Redemptive Suffering. In this chapter Ehrman examines he possibility of redemption through suffering and the concept of Bring about a greater good by sin and suffering than without them. My agreements with this chapter are as follows:
1. Bart makes that statement "We cannot dispute the facts, unless it is the 'facts' that are in dispute". Agreed, but the things that he thinks make the facts in dispute don't really challenge them. Nice saying though.
2. Bart makes mention of the fact that the thought of hell sometimes still makes him wake up at night i n a cold sweat -- it should.
3. Bart bemoans the fact that he is very grateful for many things in his life but without God he has no one to express gratitude to. I wonder if he realizes that God may not give two cents for his gratitude.
4. I agree with the fact that in some cases suffering occurs so that God can be glorified -- Bible says so -- Jesus says so in John 9. It can be a hard concept but that does not make it untrue.
5. Much suffering does not have a silver lining -- even for Christians -- in fact some suffering seems to be downright senseless.
6. There is a quote I agree with at the end of the chapter that should cause all Christians to rethink how they thank God and why. "To think that other people suffer horrible diseases so that i can appreciate my good health is atrocious; to say that other people starve so that i can appreciate my good food is egocentric and cold hearted; to say that i enjoy life so much more now that I see people around me dying is the self-centered raving of an adult who hasn't matured beyond childhood." Man has a point.
Next: Disagreements with Chapter Five
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