Mapping the Issue of Suffering and Evil

The question of evil can never be put to rest once and for all because of human suffering, whether inflicted on us, or by us, by society or by natural phenomena. We are accustomed to a version of Christian teaching for which suffering can be turned into good. Some Christians might even say that suffering is necessary to turn evil into good. Is this true? We will start looking into this question with the help of a 2015 critical success and best seller, A Little Life, by the American author Hanya Yanagihara. Its main character is a talented and successful lawyer in New York City who struggles to cope with a traumatic past. This powerful and harrowing novel gives us an invaluable insight into the psychology of trauma and how it differs from suffering. Trauma resists resolution and can total derail a person’s life often beyond recovery. This opens the question of whether a meaning can be found even in situations and lives where suffering is too much.

The Saint Thomas Theological Education Programme 2024-25 resumes on September 15 with a series of talks on The Question of Evil and Suffering and The Theology of Healing by our Theologian In Residence, Fr Luigi Gioia. The dates and titles of the talks are available for download. The lectures will be livestreamed on YouTube and video-recorded. If you want to receive weekly updates about the programme please register  online.

The Adult Education program at Saint Thomas Church offers sound Christian teaching presented with intellectual vigor, teaching that is grounded in Holy Scripture, mediated by the catholic tradition that is the inheritance of Anglicanism and set forth in the Book of Common Prayer. For more information about our theology program and to receive links for weekly Sunday Theology Talks, please contact Fr. Gioia.

“Sharp Faith” Theology Talks

• Theology Events
• Theology Talks
• Webcasts