Essay Example: The Purpose of Evil and Suffering

Victor Frankl, in his book Mans Search for Meaning, describes a painful yet inspirational struggle of how to hold on to hope at the time he was detained as a prisoner in German concentration camps during World War II (Frankl, 2017). He made a significant contribution as a doctor in these camps by unravelling psychological thought that remained an important reference point for the last fifty years. His training as a psychiatrist helped Frankl understand the degree of his ordeal and in effect allowed him to establish a remarkable perspective on the psychology of survival (Frankl, 2017). In his argument, Frankl pointed that how we respond to evil and suffering gives an opportunity for an individual to express their unique identity (Frankl, 2017). He also argues that time of persecution gives an individual an opportunity to create from suffering a transformative and positive event, one that can turn fate into destiny (Frankl, 2017). In this paper, a critical analysis of Frankls assertion is given in greater detail as well as to what extent Jesus life and death conform to or develop further this assertion. Besides, this paper offers a discussion on how the death and life of Jesus can be used as a template or model for our approach to confronting evil and suffering.

After handling a multitude of cases of trauma and suffering from victims in the German concentration camps, Frankl came up with the will to meaning concept that he believed to be the basic motivation for human life (Frankl, 2017). The concept became a turning point that has changed the way we understand our humanity in the face of suffering. In different instances, Franklin asked his patients who had undergone a multitude of persecutions of varying degree, great and small, why they could not commit suicide Frankl, 2017. However, from their responses, Frankl found out that the patients cited numerous reasons that made them hold on to life. Some patients cited the love for ones children to protect and care. Others claim to have a talent that they are still yet to exploit fully while others pointed that they have memories worth preserving (Frankl, 2017).

From their responses coupled with his experiences in Nazi concentration camps, Frankl managed to come up with the theory of logo-therapy (Frankl, 2017). In this theory, Frankl believed that human survival and the need to continue living amid challenges and suffering is motivated by the search for a life purpose. People in the face of persecution and suffering get a glimpse of the reality and the meaning of one's life. It is during difficulty that a person gets to know who exactly they are and an expression of their unique identity is demonstrated. This discovery became Frankls modern existential analysis, which describes human nature as being directed towards a dialogical exchange with his or her inner and outer world (Frankl, 2017).

Based on his personal experience, Frankl perceive that the will to meaning is the ultimate motivational power in an individual life (Frankl, 2017). Preceding the search for meaning, he discovered that individuals attempt as much as possible to overcome the world of suffering from its facts, discovering one's own identity and relating ones own life by experiencing its quality and feelings (Frankl, 2017). These motivational forces are the fundamental existential motivations that helped Frankl derive a new understanding of both the existence and the background for psychotherapy that characterized his psychiatric practice.

The life and death of Jesus conform to a great degree to the concept of logo-therapy advanced by Frankl. Just like Frankl, Jesus went through intense persecution during His time on earth. Right from His birth, Jesus lived a lowly life that many particularly, the Pharisees and Sadducees, objected and criticized (Bader-Saye, 2007). Jesus was misunderstood as He was labelled an outcast whose intention was to usurp power and establish His reign over the Jews. At the age of thirty-three, Jesus began his ministry after He was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus faced the first major opposition when He was tempted by Satan after undergoing a forty-day fast (Williams, 2009).

As revealed in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12, 13, and Luke 4:1-13, Jesus true identity and purpose was demonstrated when Satan attempted to change His stand and mission in life in the wilderness (Williams, 2009). During this time He remained faithful and obedient to the Word of God. From the beginning, Jesus knew His core mission was to save the human race from the bondage of sin. He knew too well that His life, death, and resurrection was part of Gods plan of salvation. His clear understanding of life purpose enabled Him to stand firm in the face of suffering and lived a life that was in perfect obedience to Gods law. He demonstrated this in his relationships and interactions with others. For instance, he healed the sick and visited people the society considered outcasts including the tax collectors and even the prostitutes (Williams, 2009).

Through His life, Jesus managed to express a flawless life that one can realize when there is a well-defined will to meaning in life (Manninen, 2013). In this way, Jesus lived a life completely different from what Adam and Eve model in the Garden of Eden, a life that was characterized by disobedience. A strong conviction and zeal to accomplish His mandate in spite of the persecutions enabled Jesus to triumph the obstacles that Israel had failed to overcome (Manninen, 2013). In the face of the same persecutions in the wilderness on their way to Canaan, Israelites were disobedient and unfaithful to Gods commands. In essence, Jesus adopted the concept of logo-therapy to accomplish His mission. He had an inner pull to complete His mandate by thriving in difficult circumstances (Koslowski, 2011).

The life of Jesus shows that the suffering and persecution we face is part of the plan to help us discover our purpose in life (Koslowski, 2011). For instance, the story and discoveries made by Frankl were only made possible through the persecution and suffering he went through in the concentration camp. He was made a prisoner where he was stripped naked and tortured mercilessly along with other prisoners. His family members, parents, siblings and his wife died brutally in the camps (Frankl, 2017). During his time in the camp, Frankl lost every possession, he was subjected to constant cold and brutality, suffered from hunger and almost every hour he was threatened with extermination. Through these experiences, Frankl was able to discover the concept of logo-therapy which according to him implies that to live is to suffer, and on the other hand to survive is to find meaning in the suffering (Frankl, 2017).

In the same manner, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law persecuted Jesus by questioning His moral authority as the promised Messiah (Pool, 2011). When He told them about prophecies made in the Old Testament about His coming, they could not believe. Instead, they rejected Him. They opposed His ministry by question His claim to be the son of God. In their understanding, the teachers of the law believed this amounted to blasphemy. They knew only God had powers to forgive sins and Jesus was unable to do so whatsoever for He had no powers or any authority (Pool, 2011). It was because of this claim that Jesus went through intense persecution that in the same way Frankl argues helped Jesus demonstrates the will of God in a dark and sinful world that needed a saviour to redeem human race from eternal damnation.

Jesus could bear any torment brought His way for He knew where He came from and whence He was going (Williams, 2009). This was His overriding guiding principle to live an obedient life that was in full submission to Gods command even in the face of persecution. He was persecuted by His people by being subjected to intense torture that ultimately led to His death. He was betrayed by one of His disciples and handed over to be persecuted by the Roman soldiers. It was here where He was beaten, stripped and crucified on the cross as the final punishment for blasphemy (Williams, 2009).

In conclusion, it can be seen that through it all, Jesus demonstrated that life is to suffer and the true meaning of life is realized through suffering. Jesus demonstrated in His teachings that no one is exempted from suffering in this world, just as He went through it Himself, we will go through it too. He told His disciples that to live a fulfilled life one has to lay his or her life for others; by meeting the needs of others and helping them achieve their goals. Therefore, Jesus Himself served as an example of how to live for others to the extent that he was willing to die for those He came to save.

References

Bader-Saye, S. (2007). Security check: Does God protect us? The Christian Century 124,

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Frankl, V. E. (2017). Man's search for meaning: A young adult edition. Boston: Beacon Press Books.Koslowski, P. (2011). The origin and the overcoming of evil and suffering in the world religions.

Dordrecht: Springer.Manninen, B. A. (2013) The Problem of Evil and Humans Relationship with God in Terrence Malicks The Tree of Life. Journal of Religion and Film 17, 1:1-23

Pool, J. B. (2011). Evil and divine suffering. Cambridge, England: James Clarke & Co.

Williams, R. (2009). "Suffering" In God, actually: Why God probably exists, why Jesus was probably divine, and why the rational objections to religion are convincing. 215-245. Oxford: Monarch Books.