--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Christianity does not provide the reason…" description: "\"Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png" --- # Christianity does not provide the reason for each… ![“Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair” quote by Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png) > “Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair” [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith offers tools to confront pain with hope, not just explanations. **In simple terms:** Religion gives hope against suffering. Key Takeaway Use faith resources to face hardship. Themes faith hope resilience Mood encouraging hopeful Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - grief - illness - loss - personal crisis Key Concepts theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does hope change your response to pain? - What resources help you stay courageous? A Different Perspective Faith may not answer why pain occurs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-inspirational/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Worry is not believing God will get it right, and bitterness is believing God got it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/worry-is-not-believing-god-will-get-it-right-and-bitterness-is/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [The poor, you know, have a way of solving problems...they have a tremendous capacity for suffering. And so when you build a vehicle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-poor-you-know-have-a-way-of-solving-problems-they-have-a/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Hope, in its stronger forms, is a great deal more powerful stimulans to life than any sort of realized joy can ever be. Man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/hope-in-its-stronger-forms-is-a-great-deal-more-powerful-stimulans-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/our-human-compassion-binds-us-the-one-to-the-other-not-in-pity-or-2/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Without any hope you cannot talk about suffering. If you talk about suffering without hope it's enjoying our euthanization. I tried to avoid euthanization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burhan-sonmez/without-any-hope-you-cannot-talk-about-suffering-if-you-talk-about/) [Burhan Sonmez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burhan-sonmez/) > [There are moods in which we court suffering, in the hope that here, at least, we shall find reality, sharp peaks and edges of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-are-moods-in-which-we-court-suffering-in-the-hope-that-here-at/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“THERE IS A PLACE BEYOND SUFFERING, beyond hope, beyond despair. It is peaceful and timeless, and it is not death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lynes/there-is-a-place-beyond-suffering-beyond-hope-beyond-despair-it-is/) Michael Lynes > [How horribly rapid everything has been, from the days when men were not ashamed to talk of souls and of suffering and of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayi-kwei-armah/how-horribly-rapid-everything-has-been-from-the-days-when-men-were/) [Ayi Kwei Armah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayi-kwei-armah/) > [“A new song begins, and in the dark, we listen, letting lyrics about love and suffering and hope fall over us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/a-new-song-begins-and-in-the-dark-we-listen-letting-lyrics-about-love/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [“I hope you spend the rest of your miserable, immortal life suffering. I hope you spend it alone. I hope you live with regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-hope-you-spend-the-rest-of-your-miserable-immortal-life-suffering-i/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“One of the few comforts I have when looking at images of distant suffering is the hope that the starving child with flies on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-wright/one-of-the-few-comforts-i-have-when-looking-at-images-of-distant/) [Evan Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-wright/) > [“-Do you recognize suffering? -I hope I do. -Injustice? -Again, I hope I would. -Then you are a political man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/do-you-recognize-suffering-i-hope-i-do-injustice-again-i-hope-i-would/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [If you could read some of the stories that we had before us of parents of children dying of, let's say, bone cancer. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-ogilvie/if-you-could-read-some-of-the-stories-that-we-had-before-us-of/) [Kelvin Ogilvie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-ogilvie/) > [Today we have the economic collapse that the whole planet is suffering, but there is hope, and that's what's going to keep us moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/today-we-have-the-economic-collapse-that-the-whole-planet-is/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Timothy Keller > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [The more you rejoice in your own forgiveness, the quicker you will be to forgive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-more-you-rejoice-in-your-own-forgiveness-the-quicker-you-will-be/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Evangelism will come organically in friendship if we don’t let our pride, fears, and pessimism cause us to hide our faith and heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/evangelism-will-come-organically-in-friendship-if-we-don-t-let-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“The coming of the messianic King occurs in two stages. At his first coming, he saved us from the penalty of sin and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-coming-of-the-messianic-king-occurs-in-two-stages-at-his-first/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ “24 A few pages later, Delbanco writes the following: \[Alexis de\] Tocqueville’s detection of a “strange melancholy in the midst of abundance” has a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/24-a-few-pages-later-delbanco-writes-the-following-alexis-de/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible's teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/to-stay-away-from-christianity-because-part-of-the-bible-s-teaching/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-the-preaching-of-our-ministers-and-the-practice-of-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“of temple, presence, and sacrifice; of covenant and faithfulness; of kingdom and victory. When we seek to communicate the gospel to a particular culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/of-temple-presence-and-sacrifice-of-covenant-and-faithfulness-of/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Finally, you are ready to launch your church. Begin by developing action steps and goals that can be used as benchmarks to track your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/finally-you-are-ready-to-launch-your-church-begin-by-developing/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-a-child-of-god-you-don-t-lose-your-status-if-you-have-a/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [God's salvation does not come in response to a changed life. A changed life comes in response to the salvation, offered as a free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/god-s-salvation-does-not-come-in-response-to-a-changed-life-a-changed/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/when-anything-in-life-is-an-absolute-requirement-for-your-happiness/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Suffering is the stripping of our hope in finite things, therefore we do not put our ultimate hope in anything finite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/suffering-is-the-stripping-of-our-hope-in-finite-things-therefore-we/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Christ will do everything for you or nothing. He's either all of your righteousness or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christ-will-do-everything-for-you-or-nothing-he-s-either-all-of-your/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If we give God things in hope that they'll earn us blessings, we're really not doing anything for him. It's for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-we-give-god-things-in-hope-that-they-ll-earn-us-blessings-we-re/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) [Explore all 843 Timothy Keller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## More Bitterness quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/if-japanese-tea-stands-it-acquires-a-coarse-bitterness-and-an/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“What?" I ask. I try not to get snappy with her. She hasn't really done anything wrong. Falling in love with Turner isn't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/what-i-ask-i-try-not-to-get-snappy-with-her-she-hasn-t-really-done/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose’s scent is bitterness To him that loved the rose. —Francis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“No," I say. "I didn't know that," and as I say it I feel flooded with bitterness at all the things Ingrid kept secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/no-i-say-i-didn-t-know-that-and-as-i-say-it-i-feel-flooded-with/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [Forgiving someone who've done you wrong or didn't treat you right could mean that you are allowing yourself to end up away from bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/forgiving-someone-who-ve-done-you-wrong-or-didn-t-treat-you-right/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [You cannot be inspired if you are surrounded with negativity, open the door and step into the inspirational garden of nature. Do not let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/you-cannot-be-inspired-if-you-are-surrounded-with-negativity-open-the/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-not-the-load-that-breaks-you-down-it-s-the-way-you-carry-it/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/) Richard Walters > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 1,210 Bitterness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Keller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason-for-each-experience-of-pain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitterness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason-for-each-experience-of-pain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/timothy-keller-240_bitterness_christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason_904052.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for…” — Timothy Keller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Timothy Keller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Christianity does not provide the reason...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason-for-each-experience-of-pain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christianity-does-not-provide-the-reason-for-each-experience-of-pain/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```