Many children have suffered abuse. It can be physical and sexual abuse. Many children suffer neglect and other forms of cruelty. This causes physical and emotional suffering. The result can be low self esteem and behavioural problems. Many feel unwanted and do not achieve. Some children suffer in care because their parents can’t cope. The results of all of these things can be mental illness and physical pain. Since children are vulnerable many abuses have occurred over time. Many children are virtual slaves. Adults have let them down.
We should realise that a child may be resilient but just as many do not cope. Despair leading to suicide is a reality.
Examples of Genocide
In the holocaust millions of people died as a result of a cruel plan from Hitler. Jews were starved in the ghetto. Then they were put in concentration camps. Then they were made to take a shower. They were then gassed. If they were not killed then they were put to work. They died from starvation and over work. If they survived they would suffer nightmares and feelings of guilt for having lived while their friends died. Many could never speak about how much pain they had experienced.
Examples of Natural
Suffering.
Examples of natural suffering would be tornados and hurricanes. The world exists with volatile and unpredictable suffering. A flood is not a bad thing but the consequences can be to cause suffering. We need to notice the difference between suffering caused by nature and that caused by man.
Suffering caused by Man
Here the suffering is caused by the misuse of free will.
Buddhism
All suffering is caused by greed.
Christianity
We suffer because we have free will. That is how we were created by God.
What we do need to say is how remarkable people are at coping with their suffering. It is not about saying I do not suffer therefore most people can be happy as well. We need to know that for some their pain will utterly transform their feelings about life. There will be those for whom there is no hope and we need to recognise that fact.
We all are capable of empathy and perhaps anyone who does not see another person’s pain is ignorant of what suffering really is.
War
War is one of the most terrible places where we see examples of innocent suffering. Today citizens and children die in greater numbers than soldiers. In many wars soldiers rape and hurt the enemy to cause suffering and humiliation to the other side. In war we see suffering on a grand scale. Examples are the two World wars and the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese .
In war gas can be used and torture and bombing of cities.
Individual Suffering
Many people have suffered in their life. Each person will experience suffering at some time. All will lose a parent eventually. Anyone who says that not many suffer has not experienced the world. Starvation happens each day. Disease happens to people each day. Rape happens to many each day. The problem for us is to recognise that because we may not experience suffering that does not mean it does not happen. Anyone who thinks it is about a balance of suffering and happiness is mistaken. One in four suffer at some time from a mental illness. Stress and fear take their toll on individual lives. Many live in unhappy circumstances. Yet in Christianity we see that to truly understand suffering we have forgiveness. Jesus said to forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. This is an interesting point about suffering. Many who live to see the suffering of others and do not die suffer more because they relive all the pain every day they live.
