This post is part of an ongoing response series to The Problem of God by Mark Clark, an apologetics book that attempts to defend Christian belief against modern critiques. Here at The God Question, we’re not interested in strawman versions of faith or smug atheism. Our goal is simple: examine claims honestly, think critically, and ask what’s real — not just what’s reassuring. Each post follows this core philosophy: Begin with curiosity, not belief. Follow evidence, not emotion. Let reality speak for itself.
Reframing Suffering as Strength?
In the section titled The Advantage of Disadvantage, Mark Clark attempts to reframe suffering and disadvantage not as obstacles, but as secret strengths. The idea is simple — and familiar to anyone steeped in Christian teaching:
“God uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
“Suffering humbles us. Disadvantage deepens our dependence on God.”
“Struggle builds spiritual character.”
Clark cites biblical passages, particularly from the Apostle Paul, who famously wrote that God’s power is “made perfect in weakness.” He suggests that those without worldly status, material comfort, or physical strength are often in a better position to receive God’s grace. In fact, being disadvantaged — socially, economically, physically — may be a blessing in disguise.
Let’s be clear: there’s nothing wrong with learning from hardship. But when suffering becomes spiritualized, we need to ask some hard questions. Because what Clark presents here isn’t just personal encouragement — it’s a theological worldview with real consequences.
Romanticizing Suffering, Obscuring Responsibility
Clark’s approach to suffering in this section leans heavily on the trope of the “noble sufferer”: the idea that pain refines us, weakness ennobles us, and those who struggle are somehow closer to the divine.
This might feel comforting in personal moments of hardship — but as a framework for understanding systemic suffering, it’s deeply problematic.
Why?
Because it shifts attention away from the cause of suffering and instead romanticizes the effect.
- The single mother working three jobs to survive isn’t facing injustice — she’s just in a season of character growth.
- The chronically ill person without healthcare isn’t a victim of systemic failure — their pain is a spiritual advantage.
- The marginalized teenager bullied for their identity isn’t being failed by society — they’re being “prepared” by God.
This is not just bad theology. It’s a dangerous justification for inaction. When suffering becomes a divine tool, empathy becomes pity — and justice becomes irrelevant.
The Psychological Cost of “Spiritual Strength”
There’s a darker underside to the “advantage of disadvantage” narrative. For many people, especially those raised in fundamentalist or evangelical traditions, this message conditions them to accept abuse, poverty, or discrimination as holy.
- “God is using this for your good.”
- “Don’t complain — God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.”
- “This is making you stronger.”
But often, it’s not.
Often, it’s breaking them.
Trauma therapists, mental health professionals, and survivors themselves will tell you: pain doesn’t automatically produce growth. It often produces shame, dissociation, and lifelong psychological harm — especially when the victim has been taught to see their suffering as spiritual training.
Clark’s version of the gospel not only fails to relieve the pain — it risks sanctifying it. That’s not empowerment. It’s gaslighting with a halo.
Flipping the Script: What Is the Advantage of Privilege?
If disadvantage is a secret spiritual weapon, we might reasonably ask: why does the church chase political power, wealth, and influence so relentlessly? Why do the most prominent Christian voices in America — megachurch pastors, celebrity preachers, political operatives — live lives of staggering privilege?
Clark doesn’t address this contradiction.
Instead, he focuses on the individual believer who is disadvantaged — while conveniently ignoring the institutional church that often benefits from and perpetuates that disadvantage.
When the Christian message teaches the poor to embrace their suffering but never teaches the rich to divest their comfort, something’s gone wrong. That’s not faith. That’s a control mechanism dressed up in spiritual language.
There Is an Advantage — But It’s Not What Clark Thinks
There is one thread of truth in Clark’s argument, but he misses the point: suffering can wake us up.
Not to God.
But to the myth of control. To the illusion that life is fair. To the stories we’ve inherited that no longer serve us. And in that awakening, some people do find clarity. Not through divine intervention, but through courage, reflection, therapy, and human connection.
But that’s a far cry from saying God uses suffering to make us stronger. That’s just repackaged prosperity gospel with grittier aesthetics.
Final Thoughts
The idea that suffering gives us an “advantage” sounds noble — until you realize how often it’s used to excuse the pain, not address it.
If there is any moral imperative in suffering, it’s not to reinterpret it as holy. It’s to reduce it. To listen to it. To let it move us toward compassion, justice, and systemic change.
Let’s stop calling pain a gift from God. And let’s start calling it what it is: a reality of life that we can — and must — confront together.
God or Delusion? 