In Viktor Frankl's 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning, he relates a story of when a holocaust survivor came to him to be treated for depression. The man’s seven children had died in the concentration camps and he had survived. The man was now old and was depressed. The survivor told Frankl that part of why he was depressed was because none of his family was left to pray (the shema) after he died since it was normally said by a child at the grave of their parent.
Frankl knew the man was researching vaccines. He asked the man about the gorilla that was being used for polio research. Frankl asked the man if the gorilla that he had injected with the polio virus was suffering in great pain. The man said that the gorilla was suffering in great pain but it was for a good cause. Frankl asked the man if the gorilla knew that – at which point the logotherapy session ended.
1. Is human suffering for a good cause?
2. If yes, then can we understand the good cause?
3. If we can understand the cause does this change our experience of suffering?
Below are some of the major references listed in The Comprehensive New Testament concerning the topic "Win the Crown."
Canon References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633:
1Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Ante-Nicene Fathers References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633:
Irenaeus – Against Heresies Book IV.37.6-76. Those, again, who maintain the opposite to these [conclusions], do themselves present the Lord as destitute of power, as if, forsooth, He were unable to accomplish what He willed; or, on the other hand, as being ignorant that they were by nature “material,” as these men express it, and such as cannot receive His immortality. “But He should not,” say they, “have created angels of such a nature that they were capable of transgression, nor men who immediately proved ungrateful towards Him; for they were made rational beings, endowed with the power of examining and judging, and were not [formed] as things irrational or of a [merely] animal nature, which can do nothing of their own will, but are drawn by necessity and compulsion to what is good, in which things there is one mind and one usage, working mechanically in one groove, who are incapable of being anything else except just what they had been created.” But upon this supposition, neither would what is good be grateful to them, nor communion with God be precious, nor would the good be very much to be sought after, which would present itself without their own proper endeavor, care, or study, but would be implanted of its own accord and without their concern. Thus it would come to pass, that their being good would be of no consequence, because they were so by nature rather than by will, and are possessors of good spontaneously, not by choice; and for this reason they would not understand this fact, that good is a comely thing, nor would they take pleasure in it. For how can those who are ignorant of good enjoy it? Or what credit is it to those who have not aimed at it? And what crown is it to those who have not followed in pursuit of it, like those victorious in the contest?
7. On this account, too, did the Lord assert that the kingdom of heaven was the portion of “the violent;” and He says, “The violent take it by force;” that is, those who by strength and earnest striving axe on the watch to snatch it away on the moment. On this account also Paul the Apostle says to the Corinthians, “Know ye not, that they who run in a racecourse, do all indeed run, but one receive the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. Every one also who engages in the contest is temperate in all things: now these men do it] that they may obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. But I so run, not as uncertainty; I fight, not as One beating the air; but I make my body livid, and bring it into subjection, lest by any means, when preaching to others, I may myself be rendered a castaway.” This able wrestler, therefore, exhorts us to the struggle for immortality, that we may be crowned, and may deem the crown precious, namely, that which is acquired by our struggle, but which does not encircle us of its own accord. And the harder we strive, so much is it the more valuable; while so much the more valuable it is, so much the more should we esteem it. And indeed those things are not esteemed so highly which come spontaneously, as those which are reached by much anxious care. Since, then, this power has been conferred upon us, both the Lord has taught and the apostle has enjoined us the more to love God, that we may reach this [prize] for ourselves by striving after it. For otherwise, no doubt, this our good would be [virtually] irrational, because not the result of trial. Moreover, the faculty of seeing would not appear to be so desirable, unless we had known what a loss it were to be devoid of sight; and health, too, is rendered all the more estimable by an acquaintance with disease; light, also, by contrasting it with darkness; and life with death. Just in the same way is the heavenly kingdom honorable to those who have known the earthly one. But in proportion as it is more honorable, so much the more do we prize it; and if we have prized it more, we shall be the more glorious in the presence of God. The Lord has therefore endured all these things on our behalf, in order that we, having been instructed by means of them all, may be in all respects circumspect for the time to come, and that, having been rationally taught to love God, we may continue in His perfect love: for God has displayed long-suffering in the case of man’s apostasy; while man has been instructed by means of it, as also the prophet says, “Thine own apostasy shall heal thee;” God thus determining all things beforehand for the bringing of man to perfection, for his edification, and for the revelation of His dispensations, that goodness may both be made apparent, and righteousness perfected, and that the Church may be fashioned after the image of His Son, and that man may finally be brought to maturity at some future time, becoming ripe through such privileges to see and comprehend God.
Clement of Alexandria – Stromata Book VII.3 This is the true athlete — he who in the great stadium, the fair world, is crowned for the true victory over all the passions. For He who prescribes the contest is the Almighty God, and He who awards the prize is the only-begotten: Son of God. Angels and gods are spectators; and the contest, embracing all the varied exercises, is “not against flesh and blood,” but against the spiritual powers of inordinate passions that work through the flesh. He who obtains the mastery in these struggles, and overthrows the tempter, menacing, as it were, with certain contests, wins immortality. For the sentence of God in most righteous judgment is infallible. The spectators are summoned to the contest, and the athletes contend in the stadium; the one, who has obeyed the directions of the trainer, wins the day. For to all, all rewards proposed by God are equal; and He Himself is unimpeachable. And he who has power receives mercy, and he that has exercised will is mighty.
Clement of Alexandria – Stromata Book VII.11 In all circumstances, then, is the soul of the Gnostic strong, in a condition of extreme health and strength, like the body of an athlete. For he is prudent in human affairs, in judging what ought to be done by the just man; having obtained the principles from God from above, and having acquired, in order to the divine resemblance, moderation in bodily pains and pleasures. And he struggles against fears boldly, trusting in God. Certainly, then, the gnostic soul, adorned with perfect virtue, is the earthly image of the divine power; its development being the joint result of nature, of training, of reason, all together. This beauty of the soul becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, when it acquires a disposition in the whole of life corresponding to the Gospel. Such an one consequently withstands all fear of everything terrible, not only of death, but also poverty and disease, and ignominy, and things akin to these; being unconquered by pleasure, and Lord over irrational desires. For he well knows what is and what! Is not to be done; being perfectly aware what things are really to be dreaded, and what not. Whence he bears intelligently what the Word intimates to him to be requisite and necessary; intelligently discriminating what is really safe (that is, good), from what appears so; and things to be dreaded from what seems so, such as death, disease, and poverty; which are rather so in opinion than in truth. This is the really good man, who is without passions; having, through the habit or disposition of the soul endued with virtue, transcended the whole life of passion. He has everything dependent on himself for the attainment of the end. For those accidents which are called terrible are not formidable to the good man, because they are not evil. And those which are really to be dreaded are foreign to the gnostic Christian, being diametrically opposed to what is good, because evil; and it is impossible for contraries to meet in the same person at the same time. He, then, who faultlessly acts the drama of life which God has given him to play, knows both what is to be done and what is to be endured. Is it not then from ignorance of what is and what is not to be dreaded that cowardice arises? Consequently the only man of courage is the Gnostic, who knows both present and future good things; along with these, knowing, as I have said, also the things which are in reality not to be dreaded. Because, knowing vice alone to be hateful, and destructive of what contributes to knowledge, protected by the armor of the Lord, he makes war against it.
Nag Hammadi References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633:
Nag Hammadi - The Teachings of Silvanus 112…And the Life of Heaven wishes to renew all, that he may cast out that which is wak and every black form, that everyone may shine forth in heavenly garments in order to make manifest the command of the Father (who) is exceedingly brilliant, and that he (Christ) may crown those wishing to contend well. Christ, being judge of the contest… (Robinson p. 392-393)
Nag Hammadi - The Teachings of Silvanus 114…Fight the great fight as long as the fight lasts, while all the powers are staring after you –not only the holy ones, but also all the powers of the Adversary. Woe to you if you are vanquished in the midst of every one who is watching you! If you fight the fight and are victorious over the powers which fight against you, you will bring great joy to every holy one, and yet great grief to your enemies. Your judge helps (you) completely since he wants you to be victorious. (Robinson p. 393)
Nag Hammadi - Authoritative Teaching 26…Nothing came into being without his wish. He, then, the Father, wishing to reveal his [wealth] and his glory, brought about this great contest in this world, wishing to make the contestants appear, and make all those who contend leave behind the things that had come into being, and despise them with a lofty incomprehensible knowledge, and flee to the one who exists. (Robinson p. 307)
Plato References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633:
Plato Republic x 613 a Then we must suppose that the same is true of a just person who falls into poverty or disease or some other apparent evil, namely, that this will end well for him, either during his lifetime or afterwards, for the gods never neglect anyone who eagerly wishes to become just and who makes himself as much like a god as a human can by adopting a virtuous way of life. (Cooper p. 1217)
Plato Republic X 613 b-c …if we’re to tell the truth isn’t this what happens? Aren’t clever but unjust people like runners who run well for the first part of the course but not for the second? They leap away sharply at first, but they become ridiculous by the end and go off uncrowned, with their ears drooping on their shoulders like those of exhausted dogs, while true runners, on the other hand, get to the end, collect the prizes, and are crowned. And isn’t it also generally true of just people that, towards the end of each course of action, association, or life, they enjoy a good reputation and collect the prizes…(Cooper p. 1217)
Plato Republic X 621 c-d But if we are persuaded by me, we’ll believe that the soul is immortal and able to endure every evil and every good, and we’ll always hold to the upward path, practicing justice with reason in every way. That way we’ll be friends both to ourselves and to the gods while we remain here on earth and afterwards – like victors in the games who go around collecting their prizes – we’ll receive our rewards. Hence, both in this life and on the thousand year journey we’ve described, we’ll do well and be happy. (Cooper p. 1223)
Pseudepigrapha References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633:
Sibylline Oracles 2.39-55 The again there will be a great contest for entry to the heavenly city. It will be universal for all men, holding the glory of immortality. Then every people will strive for the immortal prizes of most noble victory. For no one there can shamelessly buy a crown for silver. For holy Christ will make just awards to these and crown the worthy. But to martyrs he will give an immortal treasure, to those who pursue the contest even to death. He will give an imperishable prize from the treasure to virgins who run well and to all men who perform justice and to diverse nations who live piously and acknowledge one God, who love marriage and refrain from adultery. He will give rich gifts and eternal hope to these also. For every soul of mortals is a gracious gift of God and it is not lawful for men to defile it with any grievous things.
Sibylline Oracles 2.77-94 Give to the poor at once and do not tell them to come tomorrow. (with perspiring hand give a portion of corn to one who is in need. Whoever gives alms knows that he is lending to God. Mercy saves from death when judgment comes. God wants not sacrifice but mercy instead of sacrifice. Therefore clothe the naked. Give the hungry a share of you bread.) Revive the homeless into your house and lead the blind. Pity the shipwrecked, for the voyage is uncertain. Give a hand to one who has fallen. Save a solitary man. All have a common lot, the wheel of life, unstable prosperity. If you have wealth, stretch out your hand to the poor. The things which God gave you, give of them to one in need. Every life of men is common, but falls out unequally. (When you see a poor man, never mock him with words and do not verbally abuse a person who is at fault. Life is assessed in death. Whether one acted lawlessly or righteously will be distinguished when one comes to judgment.
Testament of Benjamin 4:1-5 See then, my children, what is the goal of the good man. Be imitators of him in his goodness because of his compassion, in order that you may wear crowns of glory. For a good man does not have a blind eye, but he is merciful to all, even though they may be sinners. And even if persons plot against him for evil ends, by doing good this man conquers evil, being watched over by God. He loves those who wrong him as he loves his own life. If anyone glorifies himself, he holds no envy. If anyone becomes rich, he is not jealous. If anyone is brave, he praises him. He loves the moderate person; he shows mercy to the impoverished; to the ill he shows compassion; he fears God. He loves the person who has the gift of a good spirit as he loves his own life.Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers 2.8You are the one who appointed the present world as a racecourse for righteousness, and opened to everyone a gate of mercy.
Philo References (not text) sourced from The Comprehensive New Testament p. 633-634:
Philo - Allegorical Interpretation II (108) cf. {Leviticus 11:29-44} Therefore do thou array against it the wisdom which contends with serpents; and struggle in this most glorious struggle, and labor to win the crown in the contest against pleasure, which subdues every one else; winning a noble and glorious crown, such as no assembly of men can confer.
Philo - On the Migration of Abraham (132-133) cf. {Genesis 18:23, Deuteronomy 10:20} And he also, with a wish further to excite an irresistible desire of what is good, enjoins one to cleave to it; for he says, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; and thou shalt cleave to Him." What, then, is this cleaving? What? Surely it is piety and faith; for these virtues adapt and invite the mind to incorruptible nature. For Abraham also, when he believed, is said to have "come near to God." If, therefore, while you are walking you are neither fatigued, so as to give way and stumble, nor are so careless as to turn to either the right hand or to the left hand, and so to stray and miss the direct road which lies between the two; but if, imitating good runners, you finish the course of life without stumbling or error, you will deservedly obtain the crown and worthy prize of victory when you have arrived at your desired end.
Dr. J. Clontz, Aidan University - Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament
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