Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: arm@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Alexander d Macalalad) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Healing. Message-ID: Date: 14 Nov 90 08:34:28 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University Lines: 33 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I find it rather disturbing that some people have suggested that sickness is caused by sin. Besides flying in the face of modern medicine, this statement gives a distorted view of God (IMHO). One easy refutation is the observation that animals can become sick as well, and that disease can afflict every living organism. Unless people are willing to admit even bacteria as moral agents, I think we can safely conclude that sickness can be caused by many things other than sin. The more interesting question is why this type of thinking is so strong not only in Christianity, but in other religions as well. Why are sickness and suffering equated with punishment from God and/or a consequence of sin? Certainly we find much of this philosophy in the Bible, but such simple- minded analysis falls flat when confronted with stories like Job. I suggest that sickness and suffering are rather just a part of the process of life. And as a part of life, we can use it as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. A meditation on the beatitudes might be helpful. Alex Macalalad [The statement that sickness is caused by sin can be taken in two ways. One is that specific illnesses are caused by the sin of that person. The other is that the existence of sickness as a phenomenon is caused by the existence of sin in general. The second is probably easier to defend. The concept is that the Fall affected the entire world. Humans were intended to be the rulers and caretakers of creation, and when we became unable to carry out this role, creation as a whole suffered. The issue of sin and suffering is a large one, which I don't intend to treat completely here. But I think the general impression one gets from the Bible is that sin always has consequences, but those consequences are not always limited to the sinner, and indeed in some cases the most visible consequences fall on others. --clh]