On Evil,Sin,and Suffering: Toward a Hermeneutic of Their Relation

Abstract

Historically, evil, illness, and suffering have been interpreted in religious communities as having the imprint of Providence. Many traditions continue to hold to this worldview. But increasingly with the burgeoning of technology and the advent of palliative care, more and more religious persons struggle to maintain this belief. Suffering as such no longer holds the kind of “purifying effect” that it once was thought to have. Indeed, particularly with our capacity to mitigate physical suffering with drugs such as methadone and morphine, the belief that all suffering has a purpose seems to have lost its appeal. This article examines and challenges the underlying assumptions that continue to undergird religious communities—particularly sacramental ones—that evil, illness, and suffering are linked to notions such as sin and healing.