“Why do we feel guilty, even when we've done nothing to bring on illness or death--even when we've done everything possible to prevent it? Suffering feels like punishment, as cultural anthropologists observe; no doubt that's one reason why people still tell the story of Adam and Eve, which interprets suffering that way.” DeathSufferingLossGriefBibleGuiltIllnessPunishmentMourningAdam And Eve Book:Why Religion? A Personal Story Source: Why Religion? A Personal Story
“Shaken by emotional storms, I realized that choosing to feel guilt, however painful, somehow seemed to offer reassurance that such events did not happen at random.... If guilt is the price we pay for the illusion that we have some control over nature, many of us are willing to pay it. I was. To begin to release the weight of guilt, I had to let go of whatever illusion of control it pretended to offer, and acknowledge that pain and death are as natural as birth, woven inseparably into our human nature.” PainDeathSufferingNatureLossGriefGuiltMourningControl Book:Why Religion? A Personal Story Source: Why Religion? A Personal Story
“For those who find suffering inevitable--in other words, for any of us who can't dodge and pretend it's not there--acknowledging what actually happens is necessary, even if it takes decades, as it has for me.” LifeDeathSufferingLossGriefAcknowledgment Book:Why Religion? A Personal Story Source: Why Religion? A Personal Story
