Hmmm....a world in which pain was not a problem...which is what many of you are really asking when you ask, why or why not me...an CH...or cancer...or anything we do not especially like. It is, as we say, the million dollar question, with so many horrible answers. It's hard to sift through them all, including our own plight, without some kind of map.

God did it or did not do it, Satan did or did not, karma did or did not, s**t happens...these are the roadmaps we use to try and navigate our way through this world. Some work much better than others and seem to fit our understanding of how the natural order operates. Some fail miserably and leave us crying again, why me, when the pain and adversity hit.

I am by nature a skeptic (yes, in the classical Greco/Roman sense) and a True Believer (Christian and all that comes with it) because I have found this roadmap works best in a post-Copernican, post-modern, post-everything world and still gives me an answer when I am crying, or headbanging, or just plain satisfied with today.

Many people call this roadmap faith. For me, faith (your roadmap) must fit what we know about the world (sufi's and true Kantian believers, as well as Nihilists aside) and what God has revealed of His nature (which is why those mentioned paranthetically are mentioned parenthetically-they reject revelation as truth) and which works for us in all circumstances.

The short of it: thanks, all ya'll, for your support, and for allowing us Christians to be who we are without condemnation. We do get an awful lot of that these days...even us good guys.

And yes, I am a professional theologian, in case you were wondering. Recommend: The Problem of Pain; CS Lewis

Yeah it is a good post. This place is sort of a long distance "fellowship."

Stick around.

Charlie

Parenthetically means an aside, or set apart from the sentence, as in a set of parentheses ( ). It also means, at least in the context of the sentence, that what is set apart can be taken completely out of the sentence and the remainder of the sentence will still make sense. When set apart by a comma or a set of commas, it is then more commonly called a subordinate clause. More than you wanted to know, huh?

Thanks Wimsey your previous post makes sense now 
I'm not too good on big words, Just a humble carpenter here .

I don't think, a world in which pain was not a problem ,is Quite right more an acceptance of a of pain allowing us to get past our own self pity and get on with our lives with out the wallowing . The pain will still be a problem but without feeling sorry for our selves it leaves us free to manage our pain  better ... sorry don't think that makes much sense but I know what I mean.