If god exists, why is there suffering?

Question

If there is a god, why is there suffering, famine, wars, disasters? Nobody is excluded, sinners or otherwise. Sinless babies are born defected, millions die in disasters (there are bound to be more than a handful of believers in that bunch isn't it?)

I'm not saying that god is not all-loving, I'm saying there is no god so don't give me the usual 'if suffering is used as evidence to disprove the existence of a loving God, then equally any good that happens in the world ought to be used as an evidence to support that there is a loving God.'

I think everything that happens, sh*t or otherwise is just part and parcel of life or mere coincidences. Convince me otherwise :) (educated replies only pls)

To those who said that there is suffering because of ppl who don't believe in him look at my post again, what about newborns? what about the millions who are suffering at this very moment. Are there NO christians amongst them? Be honest to yourself

and to those who say don't blame god blame ourselves. That is EXACTLY my point. There is nobody to blame except ourselves because there is no god! everything that happens is just part and parcel of life or through our own actions. You see the contradiction in your own comments?

and to the ppl who say ' if there is no god then who to blame' pls read my post again

The contradiction is, if there was a God like the bible preaches who loves mankind so much that he gave his son then there would be no more suffering as he would somehow solve it for us but there is..and why? you answer that

Answer 1

Creation is fallen. Creation is corrupted from sin entering the world.

God created us with the ability to choose...we do not have absolute free will or we could simply grow wings and fly around the world if we so chose, and any number of imaginative things, but we can choose to do wrong over right...we do have that ability.

All creation was corrupted and suffering is the result of sin.

Sin is disobedience or rebellion against God.

God created morality...in that He told us what was right and what was wrong, and in our choosing, we did what was wrong thereby corrupting all that was around us.

Now when the Creator of all things mandates what is Right/Good and what is Wrong/Evil, and we do what is wrong, there must be a consequence.

The consequence for breaking God's Law, was that they, "Adam and Eve," would lose the Garden Paradise they had...and they were made to live outside of it...with pain and suffering, sickness and death...where they will eventually grow old and die.

Despite their sins, God gives us love, joy, peace, happiness, etc, even in such a corrupted world, because those things are from God and Love is by far more powerful than sin. Now by knowing the suffering of this world, a world of rebellion against God, a world of sin , will realize that when God says there is a way to be saved from this...that what He says is true, and that only in Him can we be saved, and be given eternal life by faith in Christ.

God offers us a pardon, forgiveness for all our life of sins as we live now on this corrupted world...but we don't have to die in our sins and spend an eternity suffering, even greater than on this earth ...we can be with God in Heaven by repenting of our sins (agreeing with God that we sinned, asking forgiveness and turning away from our sins), and accepting Jesus Christ (the one who paid our penalty) as our Lord and Savior.

You seem to think of suffering as only in the negative...but while we live, there is also opportunity in it. To inspire others, to show compassion to others, to help our friends and families, and even those we don't know, because we all share in suffering. We all can relate to it in some way, even if not in every way.

It is something that connects everyone on a personal level. Nothing can be more telling of a person, than how they deal with suffering. Some will hate, be angry and attack others...some will be kind and loving, and share, some will close themselves up and build walls, and some will write books to help others deal with their suffering...etc etc, but you can turn it into good with love.

The idea that if there is suffering there is no God is completely flawed.

The truth is that God can take a world corrupted by our sins, and use terrible circumstances and create opportunities for us to do good with them. He can make disasters into momentous examples of love and compassion. Just as with giving birth to a baby...there is suffering, but God gave us such a wonderful gift in that life created within the womb...and the suffering is only temporary.

That is in fact what the Bible teaches...suffering is only temporary...this creation is exhibiting birth pangs...and once the labor pains and suffering is finished...there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth, where there is no suffering, no sickness and no death.

God Bless you all!

Answer 2

The Bible tells that there will be wars famines, diasasters, hurricanes, typhoons etc. Over 2000 years ago, He said " When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come" He also said " And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." There are thousands more prophesies foretold.. Read the Bible
to learn.. Half of the prophesies have been fulfilled already and more and more are coming to pass rapidly.

Answer 3

Adam and Eve said, "they wanted to decide for themselves what is good and what is bad."
a third of the angels agreed with SAtan. They went so far as to leave heaven and come down to the earth. Revelation 12:7
Says there was a war in heaven between these oposing sides. Satan said that mankind should be able to do what they wanted and settle their own difficulties.
They will learn from their mistakes.
Have they?
Do we have a weapon we have not used?
Jesus even showed we would come to the point of exterminateing ourselves.
Matthrew 24:21,22 causing a great tribulation that God had to step in and save the world from its self.
We have had many rulers and many different kingdoms.
From fathers ruling tribes to pharoah, to presidents.
No country has made its citizens happy.
We have proven we need God to rule mankind.

Answer 4

This will make you think for a while.
At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.

The professor asked, "Did God make everything young man?"
He replied "Yes sir he did!" The professor responded,! "IF God made everything, then he made evil"

The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again prove the Christian faith to be a myth.

Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something,sir?""Yes, you may," responded the professor.

The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?" Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"

The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."

The young man continued, Sir, is there such a thing as dark?" Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world, Those things are evil.
"
The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God. Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."

The professor had nothing to say................
Be full of Christ today, there is no room for anything else . .

† Peace & God bless from Texas <><

Answer 5

In the beginning, God created a perfect world and universe...Sin, suffering and death entered the world after Adam and Eve's first sin and the world has been decaying ever since. They are all temporary conditions of this world...it's the everlasting life to come that is most important if we believe in Jesus as our Savior and how we show our love for Him on this earth. God does not promise to keep us from pain and sorrow but He does promise to be with us IN pain and sorrow...a great comfort. In many ways, pain and suffering bring us closer to God and we are made more aware of His love and care for us. Birth defects are caused by our decaying genes, disasters are a part of the world decaying and the change that occurred after the flood, people do sinful things that result in the death of innocent lives. One thing to bear in mind is that when babies or children die, they are spared the sins and temptations of this world. We are to remind ourselves that sin is responsible for the evil in this world, not God...He is perfect and Holy.
I'm but a stranger here, Heaven is my home;

Earth is a desert drear, Heaven is my home.

Danger and sorrow stand Round me on every hand;

Heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home

Answer 6

Ok, try this....... If there are loving parents in the world, why are they not always there to keep us from harm and our own mistakes?

God is not a hands-on, keep you from experiencing life kind of God. He never has been. In fact, I can't think of one religion off-hand that has a God that insists on living your life for you. It all comes down to free-will and the consequence of choice.

yes, there are deformed newborns. that is the consequence of the choices the mother/father made (diet, living conditions, natal care, etc). There are wars, that is the consequence of the choice to fight rather than talk (or protect rather than let innocent people be taken advantage of). Saints and sinners die the same deaths, because they can make the same kinds of choices. The difference is in the sorrow of the mourners, not the dead. God is there in our hearts like any parent. He has given us a set of rules. We choose to follow, we choose not. And like any parent, he lets us learn from those mistakes. He doesn't stop the bad from happening, because we need the bad to better know the good (and to better understand why there are rules to begin with).

Is there a God? I don't know. A Christian God? A Muslim God? The Wiccan God/Goddess? The Olympic family? I don't know. How about the collective consiousness of Man? Truth be told, there are rules. They are fundamental BECAUSE they don't need a God to be true. You shouldn't murder, it's a waste of resources. You shouldn't steal, there is plenty more for those who work for it. You shouldn't commit adultry, it's a betrayal of trust. You should be a good person, regardless of how you define it, because good people live forever in the hearts and minds of those they touch and the stories told about them over and over. You should be good, not because of the pain you'll recieve from a vengeful God, nor the pleasure from a loving one. You should be good, because you live a happier life being a decent human being than a scoundrel. You should be good, because of the pain and rewards that your fellow Men will dish out. If there is a God (whatever He/She/It/They is/are), the whole point of this Human Experiment is to see if we can do it on our own. Can we be decent without having to be threatened into submission?

As for God sending Jesus to die for us. That was for Original Sin so that we start our lives clean. Plus, there is still the debate of son vs. prophet. Either way, you're talking New Testament God. In the Old Testament, He is rather mean and violent to followers that fall from the path. (pillars of salt, loss of protection in battle, floods)

Answer 7

there has been suffering for so long that I could not put a time period to it.
It was not 10 years ago or 50 or, 100
oreven 10,000, years ago. even, if you go by the 10 commanments
and live your live so faithful and good that does not mean you will not suffer.
this is life.
you make it what you can , with the best you can do.
you will still suffer.
BUT GOD will promise you a better life in the hereafter, if only you believe.
make it out to whatever you want.
I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other.
It's your choice.

Answer 8

There are two ways to look at this:

Most of the world's problems are due to things that people have done. God gave us free will, and most of the time people choose to do the wrong thing.

You can also say that disasters bring out the best in some people. When there are natural disasters, people come to the aid of other people. I guess it gives us all a chance to do something good

Answer 9

The people that suffer are those that God will allow into heaven without them having to work hard to get into heaven. Those that are more fortunate have to work harder to get to heaven.
God does that because He wants us to acknowlege how big and great His power is, because we all have to die and when we die we meet him. God is not the same as a Human being. He has a great power and He can do what he wants as he pleases by his own choice. To him you are His employee and if you do something he does not like, he will FIRE you!!! and then replace your life with someone else's life if he chooses.

Answer 10

It's a good question, and don't think you're the first to raise it. I always hear atheists raise this same question, and think they've stumped the Christians. This question has been raised since the beginning of time: and Augustine (died in the year 450 AD) wrote much on the subject. The answer is far too long to give here; but contact me personally and I'd be glad to try and convince you otherwise.