C. S. Lewis is an imaginary guest as the hosts consider the problem of pain. Peter and Susannah take Voltaire as an interlocutor first, considering the nature of the challenge of suffering. Then, they look at Lewis’ first response: The Problem of Pain, which takes an apologetic or intellectual approach. The hosts examine the Christian origin of the problem – why was this not a problem in the Classical world? – and some Christian approaches to the intellectual challenge. Then, they look at Lewis’ second book on the subject, A Grief Observed, a very personal journal of his agony after the death of his wife. They look at A Grief Observed through the eyes of Randall Gauger, a Bruderhof pastor who lost his son to cancer and whose wife suffers from chronic pain. Finally, they give listeners a preview of important pieces in the current issue.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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