SUFFERING
Why all this suffering? What do I do about it?

REINHARD KÖRNER OCD

Christians have frequently suffered from a distorted and ambivalent image of a God with two sides, one light, loving and forgiving, but the other dark, threatening and punishing, and the side encountered may be entirely arbitrary, or at best dependent upon personal behaviour and taking appropriate action to avert God's wrath and punishment.

Dr Reinhard Körner, a Carmelite well-known across the denominations in Germany for his many published books on topics of spirituality and for his retreats and courses at the house of his Order at Birkenwerder, north of Berlin, is a leader of a movement in Germany away from such an image and its consequences, including the ascription of suffering to God.

No-one in the history of humanity has yet found a satisfactory answer to the question of suffering. Dr Körner makes no attempt at slick answers, but rather wrestles honestly with the theological issues-not just from a theoretical point of view, but from personal experience of grave illness. Protesting against any notion of a God who keeps a score of rights and wrongs and who has to be appeased and 'bought off' through sacrifice and suffering, Dr Körner preaches the God of unconditional love whom Jesus proclaimed and addressed as Abba, 'dear Father'. He points the reader to Jesus, as a pattern and example for suffering humanity.

Fairacres Publication 150

ISBN-13 978-0-7283-0168-9
ISBN-10 0-7283-0168-7

Price £3.00

This publication belongs in the series Life is for Living