Weathering the Storm: Suffering and the Bible

We all suffer although the occasions and intensity are unique to each one of us. Our culture can appear to honour suffering when the media alert us to others' pain. Yet, at one and the same time, we seem to be voyeurs, overwhelmed by the volume of hurt endured across our world.

Knowing about suffering is far from understanding its meaning. Categorising facets of human experience as painful can be important but this can fail to help us plumb the depths of the mysteries attendant for people of faith.

This module aims to explore some of the ways that biblical texts handle issues of suffering. Those who reflected on the destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent deportation of a nation into exile in Babylon were wrestling with understanding God's faithfulness.

"Through the eyes of those theologians we look again at how they evaluated their leaders," says Kristin De Troyer, the module co-ordinator. "The suffering of the innocent often shaped their response," she continues, "so through considering the Book of Job and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah we open new vistas that take on fresh perspectives when we read, in conjunction, Elie Wiesel's Night."

Having, during the Residential Study Week, looked at (amongst others) Deuteronomistic thinking about suffering, students will be invited to give detailed consideration to the suffering of the innocent, ideas of immorality and resurrection, and Jesus' suffering. To conclude, there is opportunity to reflect deeply on the place of the Flood story and what it says about God, humans and suffering.

Using literature, music and film, this module will engage those who want to think deeply on suffering, hand-in-hand with biblical scholars and, of course, the texts themselves.