If God is so loving and omnipresent, why do thousand of nonaccountable children suffer torture, murder, starvation, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse?
2006-08-31 11:29:05 · 31 answers · asked by axis mentis 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
What you're asking for is a theodicy. A theodicy is a 'vindication of God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil.' There is no satisfying answer to your question because there is no theodicy that works, not even the popular "free will" one.
God is supposed to be all powerful and all knowing. This means he could have created a world with absolutely no evil, suffering, pain, or harm whatsoever. Because suffering obviously exists, we can come to one of the following conclusions:
1. God is evil/immoral/doesn't care
2. God doesn't exist
3. God does not have the power to stop evil (which means he's not god, which means god doesn't exist)
2006-08-31 11:32:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
...The existence of suffering in a world created by a good and almighty God — "the problem of pain" — is a fundamental theological dilemma and perhaps the most serious objection to the Christian religion. The issue is serious enough already in Theism. Christianity aggravates the problem by insisting on Love as the essence of God; then, unexpectedly, it makes a half turn and points to the Mystery of suffering — to Jesus, "the tears of God."3 Lewis does not propose to penetrate the mystery. He is content enough with approaching pain as mere problem that demands a solution; he formulates it and goes about solving it. "If God were good, He would make His creatures perfectly happy, and if He were almighty He would be able to do what he wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both."4 With a characteristic conciseness and clarity Lewis sets the stage for the entire book in the first paragraph of Chapter 2. "The possibility of solving [the problem] depends on showing that the terms 'good' and 'almighty', and perhaps also the term 'happy', are equivocal: for it must be admitted from the outset that if the popular meanings attached to these words are the best, or the only possible, meaning, then the argument is unanswerable". In the remaining nine chapters, Lewis will develop this basic statement through an in-depth reflection on divine omnipotence, divine goodness, human condition, human and animal pain, and last, but not least, hell and heaven.
The main argument of The Problem of Pain is preceded by a presentation of an atheist objection to the existence of God based on the observable futility of the universe. The book starts on a personal note: "Not many years ago when I was an atheist … ". There follows a compelling picture of a universe filled with futility and chance, darkness and cold, misery and suffering; a spectacle of civilizations passing away, of human race scientifically condemned to a final doom and of a universe bound to die. Thus, "either there is no spirit behind the universe, or else a spirit indifferent to good and evil, or else an evil spirit". On the other hand, "if the universe is so bad, or even half so bad, how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? […] The spectacle of the universe as revealed by experience can never have been ground for religion: it must always have been something in spite of which religion, acquired from a different source, was held". But, where should we look for the sources? ...
2006-08-31 11:35:59 · answer #2 · answered by Randy G 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its a real hoot to read all these rationalizations in defense of god.
He is all loving... yet he doesn't seem to care.
He is all powerful... yet he is impotent.
The only thing they have going for them is the insane expectation that some day, god will magically appear, destroy and eternally punish everybody that hasn't spoken the magic words and doesn't share the same delusions... and suck up all the gullible believers up to the other side of the sky.
"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion." ~ Robert M. Pirsig
2006-08-31 11:44:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
we must not always blame GOD for everything that happens to others. The world is a cruel place to live in and if we are living without God in our life's it's rough. we must pray and learn how to love one-another, people don't take time out to help each other and especially the children, but rest assure that those people doing those bad horrible things to our children will be held accountable .
2006-08-31 11:51:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Humans are responsible for all of those things. People are murdered and tortured because a human did it to them. People starve because humans who have food don't share. People suffer abuse in all ways because another human abused them. Not God.
2006-08-31 11:35:23 · answer #5 · answered by Spaz 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You're confusing God with a fairy godmother. He cannot allow free will and intervene in all situations. Don't blame God for all the ill in the world. Try talking to a priest, rabbi, or minister. Or read "When Bad Things Happen to Good People".
2006-08-31 11:35:15 · answer #6 · answered by HENRY A 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hundreds of millions prayed for God to stop Hitler, but God did nothing and 30 million+ died. Either God is heartless, powerless, both, or does not exist at all.
2006-08-31 16:37:12 · answer #7 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
man chose to sin and therefore brought these abuses into the world not god. in gods name Christians are working around the clock to help these people through their sufferings. more than any politician etc. god came for the lowly,the poor and the humble, they are lowly now but they will be exalted above all others should they hear and believe his word, no greater love than that. even the rich suffer in this world so stop trying to take god and deny him because of the world and its' failings.
2006-08-31 11:36:34 · answer #8 · answered by fenian1916 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
It's called free will. If God made all evil things go away, how would we learn? How would we ascend? It is for us, as people to decide who we serve. God created the Earth and the Universe, set it into motion, and gave us specific rules. We broke the rules, and now we have to try to decide if we want to join God, or descend into Hell. Or, that's how it goes in the Abrahimic Faiths.
2006-08-31 11:35:58 · answer #9 · answered by sjsosullivan 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think that we are supposed to put forth effort, ingenuity, and expand our brains. A parent doesn't want a dependent child - so I think we are to take care of our own problems and stop relying on a miracle from God.
2006-08-31 14:31:46 · answer #10 · answered by Applecore782 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋