Why do men suffer?

[KingdomRose]

I agree with most of your post.

Just on the point of Adam's sin. I believe that Eden was just one of many lands on earth. And in the East was a smallish garden of Eden. Only there was life perfect. Outside were the thorns and land which did not readily yield food. When Adam sinned, they were thrown into the larger world, which the fossil record shows, animals were eating each other since the Cambian.


Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

I don't believe anything which Adam did punishes us today. Sooner or later someone would have sinned, and mankind would have been banished from Eden. There must have been other rules like "Thou shalt not kill each other in an argument". It just so happened they broke the Tree one.

And because newborn babies sooner or later sin "for that all have sinned", they reap the reward for THEIR OWN SINS not Adam's ones.
It was only through Adam that sin entered the world, and 900 years later "death by sin". Think of it, a lamb died, Abel died long before Adam died, so death entered the world not strictly from Adam. Abel's death was not caused by Adam. Paul makes a point, and I think we sometimes make much more of his writings than he ever intended.

Thank you for responding to my comments.

I had hoped to make somewhat understandable the point that sin was the result of imperfection, brought on Adam because he deliberately rebelled. We cannot help our sinful state, because of the genes we inherited from him. This kind of sin is covered by Jesus' corresponding ransom (I Timothy 2:6). Having said that....we ARE responsible for our own sins that are DELIBERATE. Jesus' ransom does not cover intentional, willful disobedience. So we'd better make sure we listen to Jesus and do what he says. (John 15:14)

See Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-29.

 

[PureX]

People moan about how their children raised them, and then raise their children exactly the same way.

They don't pay attention to the actuality of their own being.

As for hope, I am a big optimist. I really think that the more hope the better. It is not hoping for a new xxxx but rather looking at the blessings which each day brings and being grateful for these.

Even if I were to die now, nothing could erase all the blessings I have received so far. And I recognise these as coming from God, even if it is just through Him designing such a beautiful, colourful, aromatic, opportunity filled world, where every minute we can enjoy things that no others in history have seen before. Think of the world in a drop of pond water that nobody saw till recently, or the furthest galaxies which Hubble saw for the first time, or fish from the bottom of the ocean, or new scientific discoveries, or new electronic robots or.....

I think the eastern philosophical view would be to let go of hope in the sense of hope being a "desire for a better tomorrow". And thereby, instead, let us live in the moment. Because as you pointed out, that's where the joy and gratitude is to be found: in our awareness of the gifts of the present.

But we humans tend not to do this naturally. We tend to get caught up in our past resentments and our future plans, losing all awareness of the gift of our being, in the present moment. So eastern philosophy teaches that we need to practice at maintaining this awareness of our present being. And this becomes a central theme of much eastern tradition and practice.

 

[iouae]

They don't pay attention to the actuality of their own being.

The person one cannot get away from is oneself.

I know many folk say "Be yourself".

But if one is a big worrier, a grudge holder, envious of others, an addict, having an inferiority complex, etc. then the last person I would want to be is myself.

So we look around for role models to copy. Jesus and Socrates come to mind, or whoever one admires.

To me, one's whole life's goal should NOT be "Being oneself" but should rather be "Become better than your current self".

If one can end the day having learned and changed something about oneself, then that was a good day.

 

[PureX]

The person one cannot get away from is oneself.

I know many folk say "Be yourself".

But if one is a big worrier, a grudge holder, envious of others, an addict, having an inferiority complex, etc. then the last person I would want to be is myself.

Those traits are rarely innate aspects of us. They are the result of misperceptions that have been internalized by us, and that need to be expunged. They are our reaction to a false reality that we have accepted as being true. This is why the practice of rigorous honesty and humility are essential to achieving authenticity.

So we look around for role models to copy. Jesus and Socrates come to mind, or whoever one admires.

To me, one's whole life's goal should NOT be "Being oneself" but should rather be "Become better than your current self".

If one can end the day having learned and changed something about oneself, then that was a good day.

But in fact, it's you who is setting that goal, according to your own nature. It's you who is imaging what Jesus, or Socrates, or whomever was like, and it's you who chooses to pursue it. It's you who is deciding what "God wants you to be", and is striving to achieve it. So ultimately, it's you who is determining who you are striving to become, and will become.

And if we are not being rigorously honest and self-aware in this process, we can easily idolize our own sicknesses, and end up chasing them into our own abyss. It happens to many of us.

 

[iouae]

But in fact, it's you who is setting that goal, according to your own nature. It's you who is imaging what Jesus, or Socrates, or whomever was like, and it's you who chooses to pursue it. It's you who is deciding what "God wants you to be", and is striving to achieve it. So ultimately, it's you who is determining who you are striving to become, and will become.

I have heard many Christians seeking the Lord's will for their lives.
I have also seen many folks make some strange decisions saying it is the will of the Lord.

There probably are some, mainly ministers for whom the Lord has a specific will.

But my belief is that God gave us brains, and God gave us His Bible, and God gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us - BUT I NEVER am looking for the one and only "will of the Lord". My belief is that God can bless us in whatever decision we have sensibly arrived at. And even when we make the poorer decision, God will still guide us through the slightly longer and harder route. Often, our mistakes are made when we are not listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

I don't believe our future is predestined, but rather that we make it together in partnership with God.

I think this sounds in agreement with what you wrote above.