Christians: Why would an all-loving God allow so much pain?

Question

Why does he allow pain, death, despair, suffering, unhappiness?
I'm a Christian I just think it's sad how much despair there is in our world, everywhere I look it's depressing.
Why does God allow this?

Answer 1

Because good cannot exist without evil. It makes our world seem so much more real. Without evil there would be no tales of princes saving princesses from dragons and all sorts of amazing and wonderful things. There would be no heroes.

Hey mrfame, go to my profile and check out my "infinite universe" question.

Answer 2

This is one of the big questions we all want to ask Him. But the way I look at this is the following:
1. This was not the original plan.
2. As sin is allowed into peoples' lives, societies, thought patterns, it multiplies and multiplies.----Just like good things we do multiplies.
3. Unfortunately, more and more people are not seeking God and what His plan is for their life- selfishness, greed, lust, rebelliousness.........in little bits and in big bits.... it destroys, kills, maims,
4. We are God's hands and feet. We can do our part by seeking God's plan for us and implementing it. The way I deal with it is that I know that I can not fix all the problems, but I can take care of what is around me every day- ask God to show you what you can do to ease the suffering, despair, pain, and confusion. Maybe you can see this as an opportunity to make a difference that makes a difference.

Answer 3

It's called choice. Most pain, despair, suffering and unhappiness is caused by our choices. Not eating the way the Bible tells us to, living fleshly lives and making bad choices for ourselves causes these things, not God.

Think about it, if we had chosen God in all things, we'd be like Adam and Eve in the Garden again ... where there was no pain, suffering or unhappiness.

As to death, we don't know that death is painful, and God has repeatedly reassured us that we go to a better place. The pain of losing someone else to death is again caused by our inability to see where that person is going.

Answer 4

I have often wondered this question too. I have been taught that pain is just result of our sinful nature. Not necessarily a specific sin or thing that we have done but just a natural earthly thing. There is also so much hope in this world that we also must recognize and celebrate. God's love is separate from the pain everywhere in the world. Humans have also been given free will and the ability to make choices. Some, not all, choices have led to much of the pain in this world. In the end this part of God's plan and when we get to heaven we will understand his plan more clearly.

Answer 5

The question implies that if a good God exists, then evil shouldn't because God, being all powerful, should stop it.
We need to ask and answer two questions. First, what is evil? It is that which is against God. It is anything morally bad or wrong. It is injurious, depraved, wicked. Some acceptable examples might be murder, rape, stealing, lying, and cheating. Second, if we want God to stop evil, do we want Him to stop all evil, or just some of it? In other words, if just some of it, then why? If He were to stop only part of the evil, then we would still be asking the question, "Why is there evil in the world?"
Let's suppose that someone was about to commit murder. God would have to stop him, maybe whisper in his ear, or if that didn't work, do something a little more drastic, like have something fall on him, or stop his heart, or make his hands suddenly fall off. Anyway, God would have to do something.
What if somebody wanted to steal? God would have to stop him too, right? Undoubtedly, God's imagination would permit a more practical method than I have suggested, but the end results would be the same.
What about lying? If someone were to tell a lie, then to be consistent wouldn't you want God right there to stop that person from lying? After all, He couldn't let any evil occur, could He?
Let's take it a step further. Suppose someone thought something evil. Then, of course, God would have to step in and prevent him from thinking anything bad at all, right? The end result would be that God could not allow anyone to think freely. Since everyone thinks, and no one thinks only pure thoughts, God would be pretty busy, and we wouldn't be able to think. Anyway, at what point do we stop - at the murder level, stealing level, lying level, or thinking level? As your question implies, if you want God to stop evil, you would have to be consistent and want Him to do it everywhere all the time, not just pick and choose. It wouldn't work.
Evil is in this world partly because we give it its place but ultimately because God, in His sovereignty, permits it and keeps it under His control.
Then you might say, "Couldn't He just make us perfect and that way we wouldn't sin?" He already did that. He made a perfect angel, Satan, but he sinned. He made a perfect man, Adam, and he sinned. He made a perfect woman, Eve, and she sinned. God knows what He is doing. He made us the way we are for a purpose. We don't fully understand that purpose, but He does.
God is sovereign; He has the right to do as He wishes. He has the right to permit evil for accomplishing His ultimate will. How can He do that? Simple, look at the Cross. It was by evil means that men lied and crucified Jesus. Yet God in His infinite wisdom used this evil for good. It was on the Cross that Jesus bore our sins in His body (1 Peter. 2:24) and it is because of the Cross that we can have forgiveness of sins.
Consider the biblical example of Joseph in the Old Testament. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. Though they meant it for evil, God meant it for good (Gen. 50:20). God is so great that nothing happens without His permission, and in that permission His ultimate plan unfolds. In His plan He is able to use for good what man intends for evil. God is in control.

Answer 6

In the beginning God completely sustained His creation without blemish. That’s why it was perfect. He held every atom together in a perfect state. He kept the planets in their orbits. He kept animals from tripping and breaking their necks. He did not allow people to suffer and die.
Deuteronomy 8:4 gives us a little glimpse of how things might have been in the original creation. “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.” God is omnipotent and perfectly capable of sustaining and protecting his creation.
When Adam sinned, however, the Lord cursed the universe. In essence there was a change and along with that change God seemingly took away a little bit of his sustaining power and allowed things like suffering and death into His creation. Now He permits bad things to happen—and this is a reminder that sin has consequences and that the world needs a Savior. Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

God took pleasure in all of His creation ("http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=revelation+4:11&version=NKJV"), but He loved people most of all. He allowed the created universe to deteriorate so we would see the consequences of our sin. If we did not see the consequences of our sin, we would never see that we need salvation from our sin, and we would never accept His offer of mercy for our sin. Most people easily recognize that there is a problem in the world. This can be used to show them that there is one who has overcome this problem of death and suffering—Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

God allows this because we aren't supposed to be happy here. This is not our home. We are supposed to yearn for something better than this. We won't be completely happy till we are home. And being a Christian yourself you know exactly what I mean by that.

Also most to the despair in this world isn't caused by God, it's caused by people not following their faith, by people who have no faith, and also I'm sure that Lucifer has some play in there as well.

I really hope that I helped you in some way shape or form and I hope that you find the answers that you are looking for. Good luck and God Bless!

Answer 8

Because God allowed humans to have free will. It is the humans who cause the sin, pain, and suffering. Evil is an absence of God.

Answer 9

I'm in pain right now but I don't blame God for it. All this pain and suffering is a result of our own doing when Mankind fell from grace when Eve took a bite of the fobidden fruit this is the result of that fall.

Answer 10

Pain is a testament to those who could possibly avoid it with the right guidance. At my job we have a book written in blood. It means that all the things that happened were things that makes a person more aware of their surroundings. There are many testimonies. Pay attention to them. There is wisdom everywhere.