The Problem of Pain

By: C. S. Lewis

Narrated by: James Simmons

Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Why must we suffer?

"If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?" And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature.

©1940 C. S. Lewis Ptd. Ltd. (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Deep, real answers for the existence of pain

This book is an exploration of why a good God would allow for pain and suffering. It is not an easy book to listen to because Lewis explores the merits and fallacies of various theological ideas about the topic, which requires some foreknowledge of theological terminology and concepts. Because of this, I don't know that I would recommend this book for a new Christian. It is not that a new Christian could not benefit from it, but the vocabulary may cause a great deal of frustration.

This is one of the few books where I can say that I thought the first half was better than the second half. In the first half, the reality of pain is discussed as it relates to the nature of God. In the second half, Lewis begins exploring various beliefs on the subject of pain, and I thought he tended to wander a bit off topic at times and contradict himself. For example, in chapter nine, he discusses pain as animals experience it. One second, he says we can't really know about their pain or their immortality and the next he conjectures that the reference to the lion and the lamb lying down together in heaven was probably a common analogy of the time and shouldn't be taken literally, implying that animals probably do not possess immortal souls. I believe he overlooked quite a few verses in the Bible that imply otherwise. I deducted an "overall" star for that.

The narrator would have been a good narrator for a Shakesperean play but not for a C.S. Lewis book. Lewis had an off-the-cuff style and most narrators of his books reflect that. James Simmons' style was anything but off-the-cuff. He made it sound more like a lecture than like Lewis reading his own work. It's not that he's a poor narrator, it's just that a narrator with a more relaxed tone should have been chosen.

Overall, there are certain ideas that I will take with me from this book that I believe will help me in my moments of pain. I knew intellectually that God does not allow pain without reason, but the explanations of God's character relative to reasons he might allow for suffering will be something that will help me to emotionally understand Him. I would listen to this book again (or at least the first half) and I would recommend it to anyone who wonders why a good God allows bad things to happen to good people.

Brilliant Insight Again by C. S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis has an amazing gift of observing and relating God's love, and our purpose for which we are created, in a clear, practical way. His examples show how every experience fits together and makes me sit back and realize that we try to make everything so unnecessarily complicated with Good sometimes.

Some keen insights into suffering

As someone who has suffered greatly especially for the past 11 years since becoming paralyzed there were some keen insights from CS Lewis in this work especially as it relates to how God speaks to us in our pain. It is a megaphone to rouse a deaf world. If you are suffering or just want to learn more about the inevitable suffering we will all face this is a work I would recommend. My only caveat is there is fairly clear evidence within this book that Lewis did not believe in the inerrancy of scripture which is unfortunate and disappointing.

A Must Read

Would you listen to The Problem of Pain again? Why?

I will listen to it many times. I will do so because the subject matter and the philosophical/metaphysical lecture is very deep.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the mind of C.S Lewis, and this is a discussion concerning a huge problem I have with believing in a caring God.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This is probably a cultural issue, but the narrator spoke too quickly for the subject at hand with very little inflection. He also had an English accent which was hard for me to understand at times with the speed of the narration.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would not make a film of this book, but maybe I would create a story like Animal Farm to display the concepts.

Any additional comments?

I have now read and listened to this book. I think this is one of those occasions that reading along with the narration would be good. I can't remember if this was whisper sync enabled or not, but that would probably be great.

Please note that this is philosophy/metaphysics based upon Christian doctrine. If the thought of a deity in charge or of Jesus offends you this is probably not the book for you. If you are in this camp you may want to read Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis though.

My hope is that you would believe, but I would never try to convert anyone. Conversion must be based on logical thought and Christ's enlightenment.

great just fast audio, once slowed down its better

great, but had to listen at 0.5 speed or it was too fast. worth it.

Pithy and thought provoking

It's new chapter I found at least one point to take home and discuss with others. An interesting take on the reason for pain.

Better than any self-help book

This book could have been written yesterday. C.S. Lewis has wonderful insight to man's plight, pain.

Worth the effort to comprehend

This book follows a long list of logical suppositions, and (for me at least) requires a singular focus to fully grasp and absorb. The truths in it are just as difficult to accept as they are good.

It is worth the effort.

A bit heady but worth the listen.

The Problem with Pain is a fantastic book especially when paired with CS Lewis book The Great Divorce. I never really considered the spiritual side of pain. CS Lewis makes a great argument for why pain is a better proof for a loving God's existence then a merciless god without goodness or no god at all. While the recording was very well done the content was a bit too heady for just a casual listen so I bought the Kindle book for deeper study and thought. Good #audible book. Great author. Greater God.

Great read in time of sorrow!

Would you listen to The Problem of Pain again? Why?

I think it was great to remember why how positively we should deal with our sorrows.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Problem of Pain?

Personal Sadness and remembering that we are here for a short period.

What about James Simmons’s performance did you like?

Excellent