The Problem of Pain

Ever since I was a tiny tyke and my mom read the Chronicles of Narnia to us I've been a fan of C.S. Lewis. I was entranced by the world he created and being of fan of playing "Let's pretend" I would often stroll through that imaginary world in wonder. As my scope of reading developed and broaden, I ventured into the non-fiction world of dear old Clive Staples. (Really, who gives their child a middle name of "Staples" ? Too cruel.)

I think my first nonfiction of his was The Great Divorce, which actually isn't too much of a jump from nonficiton since it's an allegory. I completely missed whatever points he was trying to get across, but I liked it nonetheless. Then I took forever forging through Mere Christianity. It was quite excellent, but I honestly can't recollect a single thing from that book.

Anyhow, on to the book which is supposed to be the topic of this post: The Problem of Pain. I wanted to read this book because I hoped it would help me answer the following question: How can a loving God could allow pain in this world? I wanted to the answer not for myself, but for others. Well, the problem is that it's a great book...but only for those who believe there is a God. That aside, I appreciate Lewis is complete honesty and the fact that he's able to step back and get the non-emotional picture. When people ask this question it's generally coming from an emotion-filled place where they tend to be bitter toward the idea that a loving God allows pain. (It's totally naturally, but very difficult to get the real answer to that question as their in a place where they, in fact, don't want to hear the answer, whatever it might be.) Although I'm an emotional person and like that about myself, it's extremely helpful to find someone who can think beyond the emotional typhoon and inner turmoil that is so extremely biased by one's personal place in that moment. I can tell that he really thought about this topic and that he doesn't deal with it lightly. He's brave enough to say the tough stuff, without fear of the critics.

I have to admit that though I would recommend this book I had a really hard time connecting with the concepts in the last chapter. I had to reread it and then read it out loud to get my mind around some of what he was saying. Despite my mental dullness, I like how Lewis gets me to think about stuff. He's good at tweaking perspective just enough so that you take a look at a concept from the other side of the street. He presents ideas in a way that is logical and well articulated, yet he doesn't shove it down your throat. He lays it out there and lets you decide for yourself what you think.

While he didn't entirely give me what I was hoping for, I'm glad that I read it.