SN:2022-02(7) IΠΑΣΧΩ IN 1 PETER 3:14-4:19

Fai Ebenezer is a Pastor/Teacher. He hails from Tatum, Nkum subdivision of Bui Division,
North-West Region of the Republic of Cameroon. He is a Ph.D. student at the Nigerian
Baptist Theological Seminary Ogbomoso. He majors in New Testament Language and
Literature, minoring in Old Testament Language and Literature and Philosophy. His
research interests though exegetical, are mostly Pneumatocntric. ebenefai@gmail.com ,
+2348164584514, +237675933329
I. INTRODUCTION
“If God who made the world is good, how did He ever allow Suffering to invade
the universe? If God is responsible for all that exists, is He also responsible for Suffering?”1
Another challenge is the positive confession movement, where some have rejected
Suffering and said it was not their portion. By that, any Christian who suffers is doing so
because of their ignorance. On that note, Thomas Schirrmacher poses the question of
whether Suffering is more hazardous to faith or wealth.2 Is it easier to serve God in
Suffering or affluence? The debate about Suffering and its source continues to thrive.
However, in this paper, the researcher shall highlight the understanding of the origin of
suffering in some world religions, discuss the etymology of Suffering (πάσχω), the
background of 1 Peter, the exegesis of 1 Peter 3:14-4:19 (limited to verses that discuss
πάσχω) which implications for contemporary Christians shall follow. In this paper, the writer adopts the meaning of suffering from πάσχω and shall use it interchangeably with
Persecution. The research method used in this paper is a critical analysis.
II. ORIGIN OF SUFFERING AMONG SOME WORLD RELIGIONS
Several schools of thought exist regarding the origin of suffering among different
world religions. This writer selects just a few of these schools of thought because the
discussion in this paper is not about world religions. These merely serve as examples and
are not exhaustive studies.
Hindu Vi