Some Thoughts About Suffering

    Since it was Easter recently, it got me thinking about suffering and how much Jesus had to go through.  First of all, (and most obviously) he had to experience crucifixion. Not only that, but he was betrayed by one of his own followers, rejected by his own people and denied by one of his best friends. If this isn’t an example of suffering, I don’t know what is. I don’t know if I would be able to handle one of my close friends betraying me, let alone being put on trial and consequently being killed for my beliefs.  Since Jesus is the center of Christianity, his suffering puts the concept of the suffering of believers at the center of Christianity.  Suffering is the most common human experience. What is unique about Christianity is how believers respond to suffering.  The main belief among Christians is that people should embrace suffering because it shows them what values are the most important in their lives, and it allows them to become fully human.

      Since suffering is such an important concept in Christianity, it seems like you can’t be fully Christian until you experience your own suffering.  You are part of the faith because you believe and follow all of the religious practices, but your faith isn’t completely authentic yet because it has not been put to the test. Oftentimes, we hear stories about Christians in third world countries who are literally being hunted down and massacred for their faith. All of these terrible and unmentionable things are happening to their friends and family members, and yet people still continue to practice Christianity. This is the epitome of suffering in today’s world. Usually, when we envision suffering in terms of Christianity, this is what we think of. Obviously, this is not the only way to suffer. People suffer from many things such as the loss of a loved one, sickness, loss of a job or a house, and for numerous other reasons.  It is how they deal with these crises that define the rest of their lives. For many Christians, suffering strengthens their faith and brings them closer to God.

       Currently, I have not faced any true suffering.  The worst thing that I am going through right now is trying to finish everything that needs to be done before the end of the semester. Does this mean that I am not fully a Christian? Or will I not become one until I have truly suffered? It is something that I have been questioning. I think that some people would say that I do need to suffer before I can completely and truly embrace Christianity. Also, what about the people who live their whole lives relatively free of suffering? Are they not considered to be fully Christian because they did not experience a traumatic event that changed the way they viewed life?

Gnosticism: The Possession of Knowledge

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06592a.htm

   In our class discussion on Wednesday, part of our notes were about the two strands of the nature of
Christian life. The first strand was the "Gospel as a mystery or as plain news: Gnosticism". I was wondering what Gnosticism was, so I decided to look it up. In case you were also wondering what Gnosticism is all about, this article provides a brief description and history of it.
   Gnosticism is essentially "salvation by knowledge".  Unlike Christianity and most other religions, the soul is not saved by faith in God, but instead by the possession of a higher knowledge of the "mysteries of the universe". Gnostics believed that not everyone had this knowledge, however. Only certain people possessed it, and if you happened to be one of those people who did not, you were out of luck.
    An interesting aspect of Gnosticism is that it borrowed terms and ideas from other religions. They did this to explain their knowledge. When Gnosticism came in contact with Christianity, it borrowed Christianity's terms and sacraments. However, Gnosticism also claimed that it was the only true form of Christianity and that common people could not obtain the knowledge necessary to be saved. This knowledge was only for the elite who somehow were special enough to possess the knowledge. It's funny how Gnostics could never explain exactly how one becomes special enough to obtain the knowledge.

I hoped this helped explain a little more about what Gnosticism is.