Pagan Suffering and the Problem of Evil

[icymist]

Suffering and harm are natural aspects of life; therefore, Paganism aims for pragmatic and virtuous ways to respond to these unavoidable realities.

Questions regarding the Pagan response to suffering and evil can best be understood as two separate issues, even if they are closely related. Suffering, or the experience of pain (whether physical or emotional/mental/spiritual), is an experiential reality, whereas evil is an abstract (metaphysical) concept. Because of this distinction, many in the modern Pagan community have distinct ways of approaching the problem of suffering versus the question of evil.Suffering is part of life. So areis loss, age, sickness, and death. Simply put, suffering is part of nature. We Humans cannot eradicate suffering any more than theywe can suspend gravity, and getting caught up in metaphysical explanations or arguments about suffering simply distract us from the real issue, which is finding ways to prevent unnecessary suffering and to alleviate or mitigate it when it does occur.

Evil, which can be defined as a metaphysical principle which that causes suffering or harm, is more problematic than suffering - for while suffering can be documented, evil, as a metaphysical principle, cannot. Evil, therefore, is a matter of faith, and among Pagans, no articles of faith are universally held. Therefore, while some Pagans might choose to believe in the existence of metaphysical principles like good and evil, others argue that such principles are useless or could even be harmful, for example if used to attack or malign others unfairly. Many Pagans prefer terminology like "positive" and "negative," or "order" and "chaos" as alternatives to the categories of "good" and "evil," regarding these categories as so heavily freightedsteeped inwith Judeo-Christian assumptions that their usefulness is limited.
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Pagan/Beliefs/Suffering-and-the-Problem-of-Evil.html