Re: Why Suffering Before Adam sinned?

[cpayne]

Thank you for you replies. I hope you don’t mind if I ask the question more precisely. Since the Catholic Church allows for the possibility that the theory of evolution may be correct, lets assume for this discussion that it is correct. Given this assumption, it then seems to me that there must have been suffering and death for millions (perhaps billions) of years before God placed Adam and Eve in this world. Since there were no creatures with free will in this world before Adam and Eve it would seem there was no sin in this world until Adam and Eve arrived, yet there was suffering and death during this period. How does the Church explain this to be compatible with an infinitely good and all-powerful God? The Church must believe that it is compatible. If it were not, I would think, it would not allow evolution as a plausible theory, unless we just have to accept it on faith alone.

Thanks,
frankkirby

It seems possible that the death brought about by sin is specifically spiritual death, and along with it awareness of our own mortality. (Some early fathers, especially in the Orthodox tradition, as well as the early Augustine, thought something like this.) Physical mortality as such, as in the case of animals–even with suffering–could have existed before sin. How is this compatible with God’s perfection? Well, any physical system at all such as creation, if it involves living creatures, seems like it would have involved the death of something. I admit that the question as you have refined it is a puzzle. But it is not something that would be worth rejecting either (1) God and His Church, or (2) the scientific awareness that has developed over the past couple of centuries. It is, however, worth contemplating. Like you, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’ll also check out those other threads.

 

[mlchance]

People seem to be unnecessarily equating the experience of pain with suffering. The two aren’t always the same. One can suffer without experiencing pain, as anyone who has lost a loved one knows.

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[Robertsxxx]

People seem to be unnecessarily equating the experience of pain with suffering. The two aren’t always the same. One can suffer without experiencing pain, as anyone who has lost a loved one knows.

– Mark L. Chance.

Your point?