[Serious] The Purpose of Pain

[zwanzig]

But it seems to me that negative emotions are unavoidable, given what it is to be a human being.

Bolding is mine.

How do you know this? This is something you are assuming since pain, struggle, and negative emotions are a part of your existence. Apparently God didn't give you that good of an imagination because you cannot comprehend a life where you are the same creature/species without your suffering.

If there was life without pain and suffering to push us forward, we would learn a different way. We would adapt and grow a different way. It's not something I can really comprehend either but I know enough about my limitations to not say "It's impossible" because my existence is based on pain and suffering .

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Sorry for the sidetracking further down the thread...I will abide by the serious tag.

I can recall being told to "offer up" anything bad we went through to god.  Maybe that's a Catholic thing, I don't know.  But it was some weird mental offering no matter if it was a physical pain or an emotional struggle.  I suppose it was a way to make us think what we went through was worthwhile.  Maybe it had a bit of the purgatory thing to it that you were working off some of your sin count if you offered up your suffering to god.  

Weird concept that the god that supposedly loves you also wants to be gifted with your pain.  But then, there's a lot of circling around and mental gymnastics to make things fit the narrative.

Another reason to leave it all behind.

This brings up a good point. That part of the gaslighting done by Christian religions in particular is that they are in actuality worshipping an entity that is evil and sadistic, feeding on the suffering of humanity. I know, that interpretation is not what they say and not a part of the lore. But any time I hear about things like this, or think about the human sacrifice in the Bible, it's hard to unsee it.