Problem Of Evil (Suffering) Essay

This paper will compare how the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hindus, and Buddhist answered the question of evil based on their worldviews. In the case of ancient Mesopotamians, the poem Ludlul bel nemequi seeks to address the problem of evil. The poem tells the story of a man who suffers illness and other social problems despite the fact that he has not committed any evils. In the poem, it is revealed that suffering is because of sorcery used by his enemies to make his life miserable (Naugle, 2002).
In Ancient Egyptian religion, the problem of evil is addressed by the passage referred to as ‘The Eloquent Peasant’. Based on the passage it is evident that suffering is mainly due to human actions on one another. This is evident in the passage since Khun-anup suffers because of the actions of Nemtynakht (Naugle, 2002).
Based on Hindu teachings, the problem if Evil and suffering is addressed in numerous ways, however, the most common explanation of suffering is karma. Adi Shankara, a Hindu philosopher, explained that God is just and suffering as well as other experiences an individual may have mainly results due to the actions of an individual in their past lives (Naugle, 2002).
Lastly, according to Buddhist the answer to the problem is that suffering is a normal part of life. This answer to the problem is supported by the idea that individuals cannot escape suffering since it is an important part of life. The reason for this observation is that the cycle of life from birth, sickness, and death are full of suffering (Naugle, 2002).
The main reason why the viewpoints differ in the different religions is that the different religions have a different view on the relationship between man and God. This greatly affects how the different beliefs try to reconcile suffering and the existence of a deity.

Work Cited

Naugle, David K. Worldview: The History of a Concept. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002. Print.