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Suffering and the Search for Meaning: Contemporary Responses to the Problem of Pain
Suffering is a philosophical problem, but it is much more. It is deeply personal. Why is this happening to me? How can I respond to friends and family in pain and loss, and to people in my care? Richard Rice guides readers through the seven most significant theodicies--approaches that have been used to make sense of suffering in light of God's justice or control. He considers the strengths and weaknesses of each option, while always guiding us toward greater understanding and compassion. Rice goes further by offering guidelines for constructing a personal framework for dealing practically with suffering, one that draws from philosophy, ethics, theology and real-world experience. Intending for each of us to find a response to our suffering that is both intellectually satisfying and personally authentic, Rice provides the resources for meeting this challenge. He weaves together the theoretical side of the theodicies with personal stories of people who have experienced great suffering. While no framework can perfectly account for the problem of pain, we are left with the overarching insight that suffering never has the final word.
170 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2014
32 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Richard Rice
31 books4 followersRichard Rice (PhD, University of Chicago Divinity School) is professor of religion at Loma Linda University. He is the author of several books, including Suffering and the Search for Meaning, Reason and the Contours of Faith, and God's Foreknowledge and Man's Free Will, and coauthor of The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 31, 2015
Summary: This book surveys seven different approaches to the question of why pain and suffering if there is a God. This serves both as an introduction to the subject of theodicy and provides pastoral and personal resources for responding to people in pain, including one’s own suffering.
Suffering raises profound questions for every human being. For the Christian or other theists, it raises the question of how we are to understand a good and powerful God allowing evil and suffering. But even for the atheist, who can only say that suffering is, there is still the profound sense of the “wrongness” of suffering and why one thinks it wrong. Then there are the times where suffering becomes real in our lives, or for someone who we care deeply. At times, the numbness, or the outrage of suffering leaves one thinking no answers make sense. Yet few of us wish to live our lives believing it is really all senseless. We try to make some sense out of suffering, or are in the position of walking along others as they make their own sense out of it.
This is a book for those times. What the author does is survey seven approaches to this question that have helped Christians over time. The approaches are:
1. Perfect plan theodicy: that all suffering is a part of God’s perfect plan
2. Free will defense: that suffering is a result of human free will used badly.
3. Soul-making theodicy: this approach finds meaning in how suffering changes us for the better.
4. Cosmic conflict theodicy: this approach recognizes the role of the devil in directly or indirectly causing suffering.
5. Openness of God theodicy: God doesn’t foreknow the choices we make, only the possibilities, but how we actually exercise free will is only known to God when we act. This approach has much in common with the free will approach.
6. Finite God theodicy: God is not all powerful, the “when bad things happen to good people” approach.
7. Protest theodicies: These are expressions of outrage against terrible evil claiming no God could permit such evil.
For each approach Richard Rice outlines the basic contours of that approach, why it is attractive as a response to the question of suffering, and what the drawbacks of the approach are.
His concluding chapter, titled “Fragments of Meaning” explores how one uses this material to help the suffering, whether the suffering is “theirs” “ours” or “yours”. Each is a unique situation with unique pastoral requirements. He suggests that in formulating our own theodicy the twin questions of What kind of world did God create? and What kind of God created the world? are key to the theodicy we form. Rice would suggest that most will form a bricolage, an understanding drawn from the fragments of different theodicies rather than favoring only one. For the author (who favors open theism but evenhandedly presents each view) his own bricolage consists of these four statements:
1. God is Lord and God is Love.
2. Suffering is real and suffering is wrong.
3. God is with us when we suffer
4. Suffering never has the last word.
What I most appreciated about this book was the conciseness and clarity of explanation of the different views as well the pastoral sensitivity that realizes that these are not “answers” we give, but resources on which we draw as we try to make sense out of our own suffering or walk alongside others. For those looking for the “right” answer, this is not the book, but as the author observes, in Job, even God does not really “answer” Job.
Suffering raises profound questions for every human being. For the Christian or other theists, it raises the question of how we are to understand a good and powerful God allowing evil and suffering. But even for the atheist, who can only say that suffering is, there is still the profound sense of the “wrongness” of suffering and why one thinks it wrong. Then there are the times where suffering becomes real in our lives, or for someone who we care deeply. At times, the numbness, or the outrage of suffering leaves one thinking no answers make sense. Yet few of us wish to live our lives believing it is really all senseless. We try to make some sense out of suffering, or are in the position of walking along others as they make their own sense out of it.
This is a book for those times. What the author does is survey seven approaches to this question that have helped Christians over time. The approaches are:
1. Perfect plan theodicy: that all suffering is a part of God’s perfect plan
2. Free will defense: that suffering is a result of human free will used badly.
3. Soul-making theodicy: this approach finds meaning in how suffering changes us for the better.
4. Cosmic conflict theodicy: this approach recognizes the role of the devil in directly or indirectly causing suffering.
5. Openness of God theodicy: God doesn’t foreknow the choices we make, only the possibilities, but how we actually exercise free will is only known to God when we act. This approach has much in common with the free will approach.
6. Finite God theodicy: God is not all powerful, the “when bad things happen to good people” approach.
7. Protest theodicies: These are expressions of outrage against terrible evil claiming no God could permit such evil.
For each approach Richard Rice outlines the basic contours of that approach, why it is attractive as a response to the question of suffering, and what the drawbacks of the approach are.
His concluding chapter, titled “Fragments of Meaning” explores how one uses this material to help the suffering, whether the suffering is “theirs” “ours” or “yours”. Each is a unique situation with unique pastoral requirements. He suggests that in formulating our own theodicy the twin questions of What kind of world did God create? and What kind of God created the world? are key to the theodicy we form. Rice would suggest that most will form a bricolage, an understanding drawn from the fragments of different theodicies rather than favoring only one. For the author (who favors open theism but evenhandedly presents each view) his own bricolage consists of these four statements:
1. God is Lord and God is Love.
2. Suffering is real and suffering is wrong.
3. God is with us when we suffer
4. Suffering never has the last word.
What I most appreciated about this book was the conciseness and clarity of explanation of the different views as well the pastoral sensitivity that realizes that these are not “answers” we give, but resources on which we draw as we try to make sense out of our own suffering or walk alongside others. For those looking for the “right” answer, this is not the book, but as the author observes, in Job, even God does not really “answer” Job.
March 12, 2025
Possibly the most thought provoking book I’ve read in a long time. This is a must read book for everyone who has suffered or one day might (aka literally everyone). It gave language to difficulties I had with basic evangelical theodicy and provided intriguing new insights on suffering and its relationship to God. I felt challenged, encouraged, and deeply moved by the different theodicies, and it also deepened my trust in God and his love for us. Highly recommend!
February 22, 2023
for my suffering class, great to learn different perspectives on suffering
August 15, 2015
Really clear, quick survey of the various ways people try to make sense of meaning and why this is important. It ends with a very useful rubric for thinking about this and the reminder that it is very personal and people usually pull from a range of options to help themselves.
April 24, 2022
A fairly brief introduction to various approaches to responding to the problem of pain / theodicy. Written from a Christian perspective, covers perfect plan, free will, soul making, cosmic conflict, open theism, finite God (process), and protest (no God).
A lot of interesting tidbits, some significant redundancies in materials repeated throughout the book when summarizing topics, explaining the purpose of the book - but still valuable.
Author doesn't insist on one argument over another but suggests that each may bring comfort to various individuals at various times in their lives.
A lot of interesting tidbits, some significant redundancies in materials repeated throughout the book when summarizing topics, explaining the purpose of the book - but still valuable.
Author doesn't insist on one argument over another but suggests that each may bring comfort to various individuals at various times in their lives.
September 7, 2021
This book really got me thinking. I appreciated learning about all the different responses to pain in this world. This book would be helpful for the intellectual who is trying to understand why God allows pain.
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March 18, 2024No rating because I feel like it’s a type of book you can really rate
I enjoyed it for it being a book i would never pick up on my own. Really opened my eyes and made me contemplate some of my religious viewpoints when it comes to suffering. Would recommend it!
I enjoyed it for it being a book i would never pick up on my own. Really opened my eyes and made me contemplate some of my religious viewpoints when it comes to suffering. Would recommend it!
Read
January 5, 2022Read for my Core 200 intro to Christian Philosophy class. We read chp. 2-6 and 8.
August 25, 2023
Brief, solid, and helpful introductory survey.
Read
September 23, 2024y’all pls don’t be concerned that I’m reading this, I just love theology and miss school
October 18, 2024
Great, simple book that gives a nice overview of several different Christian theology explanations for suffering.
October 1, 2025
Read this to learn more about why people search and rely on religion. I think this gave me a great introduction and launching board to learn more in the future.
April 16, 2017
This is a great primer on the topic of theodicy. Plain language make it easily digestible for most readers. It can challenge ones beliefs in a healthy way. The downside to this book is it is just a gloss on the topic. If you want a deep study, go elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews