Responding to Suffering

Luciano Cozzi Ph. D.

Description

The presence of suffering raises many questions. This book provides clear answers and gives great hope in a language we can all relate to.

Suffering comes in many forms and is an inevitable part of life. But how do we face it? It raises many deep questions about life and what we might find within ourselves. It leaves us confused, looking for something to hold on to. In the midst of suffering, we need comfort and reassurance. When the questions overwhelm us, where can we find answers? We need a point of reference, an anchor that holds us safely to shore. This book explores the complexities of our questions about suffering with the understanding and compassion of personal experience. It provides concrete and practical answers in a meaningful way that we can all relate to.

If you want to help others respond to suffering in a way that glorifies God, this book is for you. Dr. Cozzi’s case study on the apostle Paul struck a powerful chord with me when he writes about the three triads of Paul’s suffering. In Christ, Paul “had found ample reason to rejoice” in spite of his suffering. I am recommending this book because it is saturated with a rock-solid biblical theology on suffering. Responding to Suffering by Dr. Luciano Cozzi will be on my list of endorsed readings for my students.

—Jeff Christianson
President, International Association of Biblical Counselors
Founder, The BiblicalCounselingAcademy.com

For anyone seeking a thoroughly biblically and truly hopeful word from a fellow traveler who knows adversity and sufferings, I could not recommend more highly Luciano Cozzi’s book, Responding to Suffering. Well informed, avoiding sentimentality and easy answers, Dr. Cozzi shares with us a comprehensive and Christ-centered perspective on our Lord God’s good purpose to compassionately lead us all through those deep valleys of sorrow and sufferings that confront us in this fallen world.

—Gary Deddo, Ph.D. (University of Aberdeen)
Professor of Theology, Grace Communion Seminary

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Pain
• Faith
• Theodicy
• Trial (disambiguation)
• Suffering
• Minister (Christianity)
• Philosophy
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religious
• Christian Ministry

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 23 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664283923
• Langue: English

Extrait

Responding to Suffering
LUCIANO COZZI, PH.D.


Copyright © 2022 Luciano Cozzi, Ph.D.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
The poem, I Would Have Pulled Joseph Out… is by Kimberly D. Henderson ©2017, and is used here with permission from the author.
 
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8391-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8393-0 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8392-3 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921132
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 12/22/2022
Contents
Preface: Why This Book
ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS
Facing the Problem
The Questions of Habakkuk
The Face of Fear and Confusion
FACE TO FACE WITH DENIAL
Denial of the Existence of God
Denial of the Power of God
Denial of the Goodness of God
Denial of Evil
Some Christian Approaches
Case Study: I Used to Believe in God
Case Study: How Can God Be All Powerful?
ESTABLISHING A BIBLICAL FOUNDATION
Foundational Truths About Humanity
Foundational Truths About the Presence of Evil and Suffering
Group Discussion
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL AND SUFFERING
Lessons from the Trials of Job
The Origins of Evil in the Angelic Realm
God’s Relationship to Evil
Humanity’s Relationship to Evil and Suffering
Group Discussion
THE REDEMPTION OF SUFFERING
He Suffered for Us
The Ultimate Defeat of Evil
Group Discussion
THE PURPOSE OF SUFFERING
Case Study: The Apostle Paul
Suffering Can Teach Us
The Corrective Purpose of Suffering
Suffering as Disciples of Christ
All Things Will Work Out for Good!
Group Discussion
RESPONDING TO SUFFERING
Unbiblical Responses to Suffering
A Proper and Biblical Response
Group Discussion
OUR RESPONSE AS HELPERS
Helping Others in Pain
Group Discussion
 
Selected Bibliography
About the Author

If you want to help others respond to suffering in a way that glorifies God, this book is for you. Dr. Cozzi’s case study on the apostle Paul struck a powerful chord with me when he writes about the three triads of Paul’s suffering. In Christ, Paul “had found ample reason to rejoice” in spite of his suffering. I am recommending this book because it is saturated with a rock-solid biblical theology on suffering. Responding to Suffering by Dr. Luciano Cozzi will be on my list of endorsed readings for my students.
Jeff Christianson
President, International Association of Biblical Counselors
Founder, The BiblicalCounselingAcademy.com
Responding to Suffering is full of wisdom gleaned from Scripture, from personal experiences, and from counseling others. It’s easy to read, but gives a depth of understanding that will be helpful to those who are suffering, those who counsel them, and all who struggle to make sense of what is “not the way it’s supposed to be.” It gives perspective, not platitudes. I highly recommend it!
Michael Morrison, PhD,
President, Grace Communion Seminary
For anyone seeking a thoroughly biblically and truly hopeful word from a fellow traveler who knows adversity and sufferings, I could not recommend more highly Luciano Cozzi’s book, Responding to Suffering . Well informed, avoiding sentimentality and easy answers, Dr. Cozzi shares with us a comprehensive and Christ-centered perspective on our Lord God’s good purpose to compassionately lead us all through those deep valleys of sorrow and sufferings that confront us in this fallen world.
Gary Deddo, Ph.D. (University of Aberdeen)
Professor of Theology, Grace Communion Seminary
This well written book helps individuals and groups come to a greater understanding of suffering. It informs us and empowers us biblically, showing us that we are called to participate with Jesus in serving those who suffer. Based on the author’s personal experience as a counselor, pastor, and fellow traveler on the road of personal suffering, this book is a needed resource for the church to equip the saints to participate with Jesus in this compassionate service.
Eric Larison
Pastor, Grace Communion of Central New York
Executive Director, NYS Association for the Supervision of Curriculum Development

To my wife , Suzanne, and to all the “giants of the faith”—the many people who in their struggle with suffering have been great models of faith and endurance. I know their reward will be great.
Preface: Why This Book
If we only pause for a moment from our hectic lives and take time to look around us, we will unavoidably face one of the greatest paradoxes of life. On the one hand, we see incredible beauty and joy. On the other hand, we find pain and anguish. It is as if the goodness of this life was placed before us to make us think of how wonderful it could be, but then pain calls us back to a stark reality and reminds us that we are only temporary, frail, imperfect humans.
Sooner or later, in one way or another, we all experience the sting of pain. You can see it in the eyes of the young father who is walking out of the doctor’s office with a look that says it all, asking himself what will happen to his family when he’s gone. You can find it in the sinking heart of the parent who sees a police officer walking reluctantly to the door holding a small plastic bag in his hand. You can see it in the tears of a lively spirit trapped inside a crippled body that cannot respond. You can find it in the fearful eyes of the oppressed and abused, or almost touch it in the thick loneliness which envelops a middle-aged woman in the evening, when no one is around to share a life with her. You can find it in the tears of a mother who is looking at her innocent son hanging disfigured on a rugged cross and gasping for each breath in indescribable agony.
As the evils of this fallen world strike their hardest blows through pain, anguish and death, we find ourselves confused, and grappling for something to hold on to. Where can we turn for comfort and hope when God seems so far and unreachable, when the questions are so much greater than the answers we can find? When we hold the hand of a loved one who is dying, where can we find the strength to be there? When life seems like a long nightmare, where can we find the resilience to survive?
To address the problem of suffering in our world is to address a colossal issue; something bigger than we are. It is attempting to explain what ultimately reveals itself to be inexplicable in human terms. It involves our entire human existence, and the meaning of it all. It challenges and shakes our most profound beliefs and brings us face to face with the real issues of life. To approach the vastness and the depth of this topic with the thought of either giving or receiving the ultimate answer would be nothing short of deception. It would be like attempting to frame God into a nicely defined formula. It just cannot be done. On the other hand, to avoid the topic entirely and not search for the answer in Scripture would be just as wrong, as we cannot find the answers to the problem of suffering in our human experience alone. Thankfully, the Bible does not present just another human view, but God’s own perspective on this issue, revealing what we could never otherwise know, and opening the door for us to catch a quick, fleeting glimpse of a whole universe we could not know in any other way.
What God has revealed may not provide all the answers we would like, but it gives us what we need to learn to trust Him through our experiences in life. It may not take away the pain, but it is quite sufficient to reassure us that in Christ everything will turn out to be good. It is at the presence of the cross, in fact, where we can find the most profound meaning of life, as well as the hope and the comfort we need.
In this book, we will summarize much of what can be learned about this vast topic, but we must acknowledge that it is still, and will always be, a work in progress. What I have learned and shared here comes not only from my own experience in what I often call the valleys of death, but also from the lives of others to whom I had the privilege and honor to minister in the name of Jesus. They are the ones I call the giants of the faith : People who, in their sufferings, have taught me so much more than any book or any mentor I have ever had.
The goal of this book is to explore the complexities of this topic, not in a sterile and detached manner, but remaining fully aware of how we are called to minister to those who are in the grips of pain, seeking answers to their big questions. We have been called to the role of helpers and comforters, to the pri