It is a common adage that sooner or later, suffering will come knocking on our doors. The ‘appointment’ becomes exponentially much harder to bear when we believe that such pain has come to us unjustly or through no fault of our own.
The question of unjust suffering has long troubled human civilisations and tested their brightest and best minds. But it remains as the proverbial nut that refuses to be cracked by human wisdom.
Indeed, the question becomes sharper when we believe in the God of the Bible. How can this God allow unjust suffering when he has the will and all the power to stop it? Does Scripture offer any solution to this enigma? If it is too much to ask for a resolution this side of heaven, can we nevertheless find resources in Scripture to continue living in faith, hope, and charity?
The Trinity Lectures of 2017 attempts to treat this important topic.
Using the Book of Job as the focus, the lectures will map out the key themes and explain how they have elicited different responses over the years. We may then know what has been attempted before and gain fresh perspectives on how we may frame ours for our times.
The invited speaker is Professor Seow Choon Leong, the Distinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt University located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Professor Seow is the leading scholar in studies relating to Job, and he happens to have been born and bred in Singapore. Perhaps this is a further reason why this year’s lectures are so significant.
Much effort and expense has gone into organising these lectures by Trinity Theological College (TTC). And why, you may ask? It is TTC’s belief that we must offer our very best to help everyone, especially Christians, to make sense of the world today and to minister in it.
In this regard, the Trinity Lectures seeks to bring cutting-edge Christian scholarship to Singapore, so that we may be encouraged and equipped to engage critically with the important issues of our generation.
The lectures will be presented over four nights, from 24 July to 27 July (both dates inclusive), at TTC chapel. Mark the dates down and come to the lectures and garner wisdom, if not for yourselves, at least for those you love or are ministering to.
Admission is free.
By the Faculty Publicity Team, Trinity Theological College