Talk:KCU/03/Ballers

Instructor's Feedback on First Draft

As a first draft, this falls very short. The reason is that you have copied & pasted one dialog partner for most of the draft. (You also didn't cite the web address you got it from: http://www.9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID34418%7CCHID776334%7CCIID2221308,00.html)

This resource is pretty good. But, you can only use part of it & incorporate it into your own outline & your own development of the topic.

Things to improve:

1. Do more research to see how different people deal with the topic of suffering.

2. Come out with your own outline after learning from the different resources you find in your extra research

3. Write your own discussion & incorporate these resources as dialog partners

4. Look for all relevant biblical evidence & cover them in your discussion

5. Look up technical commentaries on the biblical evidence: e.g., commentaries from the NIV Application Commentary Series, the Word Biblical Commentary Series, the New International Commentary on the New Testament Series, &/or the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Series.

Here's some web resources that may be helpful:

http://www.sbts.edu/Resources/Publications/Journal/Summer_2000.aspx

http://www.drcloud.com/Articles/HPG_8_Suffering_and_Grief.htm

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/32/

http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_value_of_human_suffering

http://www.christianresponse.org/articles/3/suffering-and-solidarity

http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg60-28.htm

http://www.christianity.co.nz/suffer5.htm

http://biblia.com/jesusbible/job2.htm

http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/80-285.htm

http://ministryhealth.net/mh_articles/016_principles_of_suffering_outline.html

http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/topics/sufferng.html

http://www.9marks.org/CC_Content_Page/0,,PTID34418%7CCHID776334%7CCIID,00.html

Here's a helpful forum contribution from a student in the Christian Heritage online class (Missi Balch), which you may use as one of your dialog partners:

When I read this question, the book of Job came to my mind immediately. Anytime I think things are going bad in my life I just remember Job. He suffered beyond imagine. Yet, he remained faithful to God. This is what got him through his time of suffering. We can all learn from him. “Suffering is the heart of the book of Job. Since all men and women know the experience of suffering, the book has universal appeal” ( Dillard & Longman III, 1994, p. 199).

A lot of people think they suffer because of something they did. There are churches who teach this. Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, basically tell Job he is suffering because of something he did. They tell him to confess his sin and make things right with God. They say

 11     Surely he recognizes deceitful men; 
      and when he sees evil, does he not take note? 
12 But a witless man can no more become wise 
      than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. [b] 
13 "Yet if you devote your heart to him 
      and stretch out your hands to him, 
14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand 
      and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, 
15 then you will lift up your face without shame; 
      you will stand firm and without fear. 

They assume Job did something wrong. I think this happens often today. We hear of someone who is suffering and think perhaps they deserve it. This is not healthy thinking. It can leave the person feeling isolated and full of guilt. Suffering can be a healthy experience. Suffering can be good for us or it can be bad for us. It depends on how we handle the situation and the outcome. For example, Henry Cloud tells a story about exercise. The analogy has benefit. He tells of the way exercise stretches the muscle past its abilities and then they rejuvenate themselves and thereby become stronger and better. The process is painful, but any good athlete will work past the pain in order to grow. The same holds true for other pain such as that associated with loss of a loved one, loss of a job or ideal to name a few. Cloud states “The same God who designed and created our muscles designed and created our souls. He also created the process of growing them and rebuilding them from their fallen, crippled state” (Cloud & Townsend, 2001, p. 207).

Job wanted to know why he was suffering. God answered him indirectly. The book of Job “does disabuse one common belief, the so called doctrine of retribution” (Dillard & Longman III, p. 209). This belief says if you sin, then you will suffer. I hope not! I am a sinner as is every other person on the earth. If I will suffer every time I sinned then I would have a miserable life. I understand that in this fallen world there is suffering. The Bible tells us we will go through many trials and tribulations. How then can one stay focused and actually thrive among the suffering? ; By being stretched and then recreated and rejuvenated. If we suffer and do not learn from the experience, then it is going to bring us down.

Cloud and Townsend tell us that we need love of other people to help us get through suffering. I agree. The friends ought to be Christians though. “Suffering is an indispensable mark of every true Christian and church” (http://www.christianresponse.org/articles/3/suffering-and-solidarity). When we are supported by the church, the pain of suffering can be minimized. We can find strength through passages of scripture like those found in Job and many others. We can also find strength in the church body. “The (church) community provides encouragement from God’s word. An applicable portion of Scripture, spoken at the right time and in the right manner is a wonderful source of comfort and assurance. It reminds the sufferer of God’s ongoing care and presence and thus offers new hope” (http://www.christianresponse.org/articles/3/suffering-and-solidarity). My husband told me an old proverb that says sunshine everyday makes a desert. No one is happy all the time. We suffer, feel pain, heartache, and grief. There are many reasons for our suffering, but it is not because of something we did (of course unless you step out in front of a car or something like that). Everyone will experience something in their life which will cause them either physical, mental, or spiritual suffering. We need to stay focused on the Lord, seek love and support from other Christian friends, and stay firm to push through the suffering. James 1: 2-5 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”.