Suffering

Definition and Meaning

Suffering (Korean gonan, 苦難) denotes pain and hardship. In Christianity the term covers the full range of human affliction, such as illness, poverty, persecution, and loss. It often refers specifically to the suffering Jesus Christ endured on the cross, that is, his Passion. Theology takes up two related questions. The first is why suffering exists in a world governed by a good and omnipotent God (theodicy); the second is how believers ought to accept suffering.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Old Testament at times explains suffering as chastisement for sin. The Book of Job, however, deals with the suffering of a righteous man who does not know its cause, and the laments of the Psalms voice cries uttered in the midst of pain. The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:4–6 is read in the New Testament as referring to the death of Jesus on the cross.

The New Testament teaches that believers share in the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 4:13). Paul compared present sufferings with the glory that is yet to be revealed (Romans 8:18) and confessed that the power of God is made manifest in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). James 1:2–4 teaches that trials produce patience.

Amid persecution by the Roman Empire, the early church regarded martyrdom as a witness to the faith. During the Reformation, Martin Luther set forth the "theology of the cross," which holds that God is hidden in the cross and in suffering.

Practice in the Korean Church

Each year during Holy Week, Korean churches meditate on the Passion of Christ through special early-morning prayer meetings and sermons. Certain figures are frequently cited as examples of faith amid suffering. One is Ju Ki-cheol, who refused to take part in Shinto shrine worship during the Japanese colonial period and died in prison; another is Son Yang-won. During the Yeosu–Suncheon Incident of 1948, Son forgave the young man who had killed his two sons and adopted him as his own son; he was later martyred during the Korean War.

Emphases in the understanding of suffering differ by denomination and tradition.

• The Reformed tradition, including the Presbyterian churches, holds that suffering, too, lies within God's providence, and explains it as part of the process of sanctification by which believers are shaped into holiness.
• Pentecostal groups, such as the Full Gospel churches, tend to emphasize illness and poverty as conditions to be overcome through divine healing and prayer. Some critics argue that this approach, like prosperity theology, treats the meaning of suffering too lightly. Adherents respond that they are emphasizing God as the one who delivers from suffering, and that this message gave hope to people living in poverty after the war.
• Minjung theology, which took shape in the 1970s chiefly among theologians associated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, interpreted the suffering of the oppressed common people (minjung) in connection with the sufferings of Christ.