Thank you Harry for starting this thread, it is a subject I ponder much of the time, and there is not much religious discussion upon this forum. I am very interested to read what others have to say about this, Christian or not Christian.

Regarding faith, I certainly do have it, and I find prayer to be comforting. I must admit however that my son's death earlier this year has shaken my faith to its very core. Many of the beliefs I took for granted, much that I took comfort in, has simply disappeared. I am still in the process of sorting that out for myself. My husband and I considered ourselves mistreated by the church when my son was killed. There was speculation initially that his death was a suicide, and the church was very judgemental about that aspect. We ended up having the funeral service at our home, as my son was refused a Christian burial. We are now attending a different church. Things do seem better there, and my daughter has even been attending with us lately, which is a blessing. She lost her faith completely after her own trauma and considers herself an atheist, however she does admit that going to church with us and praying is comforting to her. Perhaps some of that is simply being with us in a tranquil setting, however whatever the reason, we are pleased with her progress. A year ago she was so enraged with the church that she spoke about setting fire to it! So it is huge progress for her.

I regard PTSD as an illness, not unlike cancer or diabetes. It is a neurobiological brain disorder. My daughter for example, has actual changes to her brain which show up on an MRI. I know some Christians believe illness is a sign that they haven't enough faith and so on, however I have never believed such. Everyone has their various problems, some seem worse than others, however I do not believe that is a reflection of faith or a lack thereof. Nor do I believe it is God's will. More simply I believe that the world is chaotic, and bad things happen, even to good people. That is the nature of the world and its evils, nothing is perfect. Prayer and faith are more my way of coping with the troubles in life, than a way to judge myself or others. I certainly do not feel that I deserve special favours from God because I am a Christian; far from it.