The mystery of suffering

In "The Mystery of Suffering: How Should I Respond?" Kenneth Overberg shares three important points about Jesus and suffering. In his first point he calls it, "Jesus resisted and eliminated suffering". This refers back to the Gospels stories where Jesus would heal those who were sick and dying and preach about how everyone should help and care for others. He didn't want any of his followers to suffer so he go around helping as many as he could by either healing or telling them to help. Kenneth's second point is, "Jesus rejected suffering as punishment for sin". This point is about how Jesus died for us so we didn't have to suffer for our sins. He yet again didn't want to see his people suffer so he sacrificed his life to absolve everyone from there sins. The third point Kenneth says is, "Jesus trusted a compassionate, present God", which refers to God as Jesus' daddy or Abba. God was a loving and compassionate father to Jesus and Jesus knew that he could trust God. Jesus knew that God was with him where ever he went and that He would help him do what he needed to do for his people. Jesus knew that God was there for him and that He is here for all of us.

In "A Theology of Atonement/Ransom" it portrays an image of God being angry, demanding, and even bloodthirsty. The Hebrews looked for new insight about God after the crucifixion of Jesus but still only saw His as evil. They focused on all of the suffering and pain went through and only looking at God from this view. They thought that they needed to suffer so God would love them. Fearing God was then a way to look at God that has stuck for a long time. People need to see that God is not someone to fear but someone to ask for help and to love. In "A Theology of Incarnation" it is the total opposite of the previous viewpoint. Here people see God as a blessing. They see the divine all power God who is here to help and love all of His creations. This is the viewpoint of many people today including myself. I see God as someone who loves everything and everyone no matter what they have done. He is all forgiving of sins and will not punish those who have done wrong.

Jean Donovan 5

5. Jean Donovan was such a great woman for dedicating her life to help those who were less fortunate than her in El Salvador. She committed all her time and efforts to help them. A great quality to describe Jean would be caring. She loved all the children and families that she helped down there. She couldn't leave El Salvador because she cared too much for the people that she continued to help. Jean was also very compassionate to others. The main reason as to why she couldn't leave El Salvador was because she saw how the people were living and knew she needed to help them. When she saw poor, sick, and injured people all she wanted to do was to help them, especially the children. Bravery is another quality that Jean had. She continued to live in El Salvador even though she knew each day she put her life at risk. She knew how dangerous it was for her but she had the bravery and courage to continue to live there to help the victims in El Salvador. A fourth quality seen in Jean would be strong willed. Her family and friends back home would constantly try to talk her out of going back down to El Salvador. They would beg and plead with here because they knew that while she was down there she could die. Even though she had everything someone would want back home she knew what she needed to do. She was determined and dedicated to helping the people in El Salvador knowing her own life was at risk. Jean has such admirable characteristics, which are obvious to anyone who hears her story. In my own life I hope to also obtain these qualities even if they are not to the same degree as Jean. But bravery is a quality I wish to embody the most. In the future I hope to be brave and stand up for others and myself. I want to always do the right thing like Jean Donovan did.