Bible Society pamphlet offers help
‘When Life Hurts’

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A new, easy-to-read pamphlet on the topic of serious illness, published by the Danish Bible Society, has scored a major success, drawing orders from a huge number of hospitals and individuals across the country and a top rating from a respected secular newspaper.

Entitled When Life Hurts, the 49-page pamphlet mixes texts from the Bible, prayers and guidance with personal reactions to illness from Danish celebrities. On the cover is a painting by one of Denmark’s best-known contemporary painters.

Seriously ill

The pamphlet was designed specifically for seriously ill hospitals patients, but after a reviewer in the national daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende awarded it six stars – the maximum – demand for it quickly soared.
The credit for the original idea is due to a Britta Westh who underwent treatment for cancer in 1997. During her chemotherapy she spent a lot of time in hospital waiting rooms, where she noticed a lack of literature that might encourage despairing patients.

Ideas

At a meeting with other cancer sufferers, church ministers, theology students and advisers from the Danish Cancer Society, she presented some ideas about how the Danish Church might reach out to sick people. Subsequently, a group comprising her and four chaplains developed a draft text.

Designed to appeal to people for whom God does not loom large, the pamphlet features a number of figures from Danish public life revealing how they have sought comfort from prayers and certain parts of the Bible when they – or their relatives – have been ill. The cases include cancer patients, a man who had a heart bypass operation, the mother of a handicapped child, and a bereaved wife. The testimonies also do not play down the difficult spiritual aspects of illness such as fear, loneliness and the problem of praying to a God whom you feel upset with.