Essay Questions

Explain the titular "Problem of Pain" and its importance.

The "problem of pain" is a common objection to Christianity from its critics and skeptics. The argument runs thusly: God is said to be both omnipotent and ultimately Good. If he is omnipotent, he is able to extinguish suffering on Earth. If he is Good, he wants to do so. Since suffering still exists on Earth, it follows that this sort of God cannot exist.

This objection is a critically important one for both Christians and non-Christians alike to discuss. Its import is enormous; the existence of God is obviously one of the most important elements in religion, and if it turns out that He is fake, then some major life choices need to be made. On the other hand, if the evidence seems to indicate that He does, in fact, exist, then major life choices need to be made by the other set of people. This philosophical question has been asked for millennia, and most answers have not been considered entirely convincing.

Into this messy theological debate steps Lewis, who takes his own attempt at the question. In The Problem of Pain, he explains this objection and addresses each of its components, finally concluding that the problem of pain is not so insurmountable an objection that it disproves God; in fact, it doesn't have any real impact on the question at all. Lewis's argument is more compelling than most, if only because he does not set out to prove God; his only goal is to explain why the problem of pain does not preclude the truth of Christianity, and he does so masterfully.

How does the historical context of this book impact its structure?

This book was written and published in England in 1940, just when World War II was beginning to dominate Western Europe. Understandably, most of the population of the Western world was beginning to feel nervous; just like during WWI, the terror and uncertainty of large-scale international conflict became the dominant cultural characteristic. People were wondering how God could allow such terrible things to happen, and it is likely that their faith was beginning to be shaken by the fierce grip of material reality.

In this light, The Problem of Pain appears to be a call back to reason during the onset of mindless terror. Lewis argues that, even though these events are terrible, it doesn't mean that God doesn't exist - quite the opposite, in fact. He spends most of the book objectively evaluate the various arguments on both sides, explicating God's nature (as well as a human can) and considering the nature of Hell. During this time, however, hope was a much-needed resource, and Lewis accordingly ends the book with a final chapter filled with hope: a contemplation of Heaven. Such an ending likely reassured those whose faith was wavering, and perhaps it even converted some unbelievers who were attracted by the insistence of a glorious future despite the depressing atrocities of the present age.