The Problem of Pain

I like to read and I read a lot. Lately, I've been reading an old chemistry textbook while I eat my cereal in the morning. A lot of what I read is not very substantive, like a Star Trek novel, children's book, or Japanese manga. Other material makes me think, or evokes emotion and spirituality, like scientific literature, the Book of Mormon, and a book I just finished, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks".

You may have noticed I'm willing to read a wide variety of material. It's all mostly for fun or curiosity, but every now and then I read something that changes the way I think about or perceive things. Along with the chemistry book, I've been reading "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis. I got to thinking about the role of pain and how we respond to physical and emotional pain after reading "Shaken Faith Syndrome", a speech by Michael Ash, and decided to give Lewis a shot. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to psychology and tend to rely on instinct when dealing with other people and stimuli, so when I read Ash's speech I felt smarter. It's such a nice feeling to read something and feel smarter afterwards. It's also nice to know there are smart people around sharing their knowledge with the world. My favorite part of his speech is the discussion of cognitive dissonance and different psychological responses to this dissonance caused by attacks, confusion, doubt and pain. He focuses primarily on dissonance in established belief cognitions. Just because I don't know the answer to someone's tough questions doesn't mean that their argument is correct. I may feel uncomfortable and I may start to doubt, but that is a normal response. We like to feel comfortable and will go to great lengths to get that comfort. Even abandon our established beliefs for novelty. However, it's nice to know that we can also respond by getting second opinions and studying matters thoroughly to find resonance. We can also pray to obtain answers from an all-knowing Heavenly Father. He wants us to find truth and will show it to us if we ask for it.

"The Problem of Pain" is Lewis' attempt to describe the purpose of suffering during this mortal existence. He doesn't include physical suffering but, rather, everything else. How do we respond when things hurt? Do we hide? Do we ignore? Do we justify and cover up? Do we try to numb ourselves with chemicals? He argues that pain exists to remind us that deity exists. The Book of Mormon and other Christian scriptures declare the same message: we tend to forget our dependence on God when things are running smoothly, but are quick to turn to prayer when things get dicey and painful.

I'm not a good writer and I apologize this post is a ramble. The bottom line is that I think more about what other people are feeling when I'm talking with them after reading these two pieces. I try to figure out if their responses are due to an inner conflict and if I'm part of that conflict. Their anger or snappy attitudes may not be my problem. It helps me to not take things personally and overreact. It helps me to resolve my own cognitive dissonances. It helps me to be happier.