ABSTRACT
Religion has long supplied the solace, the comfort and support we needed in times of disaster and suffering. Sociologist Max Weber called the problem of suffering "the driving force behind all religious evolution". Some biblical writers argued that suffering was a test of faith, or that it could ultimately be redemptive: a lesson or demonstration in humility, a tutorial for getting us to see and embrace the real meaning of our lives, our destinies. Some biblical writers maintained that suffering is simply a mystery, that it doesn't make sense, however we look at it. A religious explanation, of any kind, can ostensibly help us take the bite out of disasters and suffering. It can lessen its impact, give suffering meaning. From the fourth century CE, the Roman Christian empire gave 'sufferers' – the sick, handicapped, poor – a new visibility and status. Religious beliefs are not universal or immutable. When beliefs cease to be effective or helpful, they get changed.
