The Problem of Pain / by C.S. Lewis

Best known for his popular Narnia novels, C.S. (Clive Staples) Lewis was also renowned for his accumulation of Christian Apologetic works, compiling an impressive body of speeches, letters, diatribes and exegesis' during his time as a tenured Oxford professor. First published in 1941, The Problem of Pain deals with the existensialist dilemna of suffering in the midst of an omnipotent and benevolent creator.

Most rationally-minded individuals will acknowledge that man in the state of nature indelibly experiences suffering (meant to imply privation of pleasure), whether through bodily discomfort, mental strain or emotional distress, at varying levels during the span of one's lifetime. But what is the nature of such a contradictory symptom of existence, especially in relation to theological doctrines of an ordered universe and sovereign deity? As intuitive and articulate as he was, Lewis rarely lent the individual the benefit of the doubt; and this occasion was no different as the 'problem of pain' isn't so much about a 'problem' as it is about frame of reference.

Contrary to opinions voiced by contemporary psychologists, therapists and popular evangelicals, Lewis remains decidedly more metaphysical (read: abstract) when confronting this particular issue. His dissertation, while reflecting notions passed on by Aristotle--"To perceive is to suffer", or even Kant whose treatment of happiness depended largely on man's morality, conceives that inherent suffering not only exists and serves a purpose, but is a necessity in proliferating the dogmatic principles of redemption and eternal life. Dissecting the issue from a broad-minded, almost cosmic view of 'pain' as universal tribulation in biological existence, he progresses into the realm of contemporary experience only after firmly establishing the basis for man's predilection toward such stimulus. Within the context of pain as personal affliction, persons undergo pain not as a by-product of individual weakness or frailty, nor to necessarily augment positive experience, but, in part, to further realize omnipotent "love" for what it is--perfected love. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love . . ." (p.61). (231.8 LEWIS)