Zbigniew Marek, Anna Walulik - Sytuacje graniczne i wychowanie
Border situations
The aim of this article is to answer the question of whether a man who is in contact with suffering (his own personal suffering or that of others) is able to find any sense – to liberate himself from this difficult, and sometimes even hopeless, situation. Starting from the assumption that in each man's life there are situations of helplessness, i.e. border situations, the authors look for possibilities to overcome them. They establish two kinds of behavior characteristic for a man who experiences suffering in its diverse forms: in the first one, a man expresses his rebellion and rejection; in the other one, he is looking for the meaning of his suffering and the possibilities to accept it. Concentrating on the second situation, the authors point to religion, which in many cases facilitates man's reconciliation with what he cannot overcome by himself. They stress the importance of Christian hope, which reveals to a man the prospects of transformation of his difficult and painful fate into a life without suffering and death. They also point out to the need to undertake far-reaching pedagogical activities that will prepare a person for such a painful eventuality. Being aware of lack of a definite answer to the posed question, the authors note that a man can be shown the way in his quest. In his search, a man is helped by God who comes to him through Revelation described in the Bible. They also note that in order to accept the religious explanations, a man needs to grow emotionally and spiritually throughout all his life.