Is there a God? With starvation, death in Africa, poverty, crime, is there a God?

Question

No religion or spiritual belief system has provided me with a credible explanation of why a God/Creator would allow: Starvation, the destruction of Africa, AIDS, murder?

Is there a credible explanation for death, AIDS, racism, etc? If so, how would a loving God/Creator allow such pain, suffering?

My questions are sincere so don't take them the wrong way.
a) If we claim that we are given FREE WILL, then why did God do this, knowing that we would not be able to remain true to his objectives.
b) Since Africans have not control over drought, famine, why do so many Christians blame Africans for such natural disasters, while so many Christians would give their RIGHT LEG if Israel had a drought? Racism or something that I'm missing?
c) If the devil tempted EVE in the Garden of Eden, why is God punishing me, when I wasn't there? Shouldn't a loving God give us all the opportunity to live without being judged by our supposed ancestors mistakes (Eve's mistakes).
d) If Jesus came to Earth, and was perfect, and since humans are NOT PERFECT, then how can God hold us accountable for our imperfection, thus how can we be judged as good or bad, when we are imperfect? Thus shouldn't everyone go to the so-called Heaven?

Answer 1

This is typically referred to as the problem of Evil, in the discourses against God. I believe it was first articulated in writing by Epicurus.

With the problems you are describing, it is almost impossible to maintain that there is an intelligent designer, a beneficent God, or a loving deity. However, these same circumstances fit extremely well into an evolutionary model of development of life on this planet.

You get to choose which makes the most sense to you. Unfortunately, this may also mean that in so doing, you choose your friends, too, because the dialogue between these groups is minimal these days.

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 2

If there was no evil on earth, how would you define good?
If there was no racists, why would good people like you be called good?
If there was no God, this would be the real injustice, some people would live happily until death, others would have to suffer all their life long till death. And then?? No reward for someone who was good and no punishment for someone who was evil?
You and Hitler would have the same destiny, just lying under the ground, with no one to ask him why he did so and no one to reward you because you didn't do what he did?
Someone who kills a hundred people would be just like someone who lived all his life to help other people with no reward in this life?
I think this would be much more illogical and unfair, right?

Another thing, why do you only ask about miseries?
Do you ever watch Discovery Channel or anything like that?
Did you ever notice how perfect the world is (without the work of humans)? The plants, the bees, the insects, the animals, even the space and the planets, everything in perfect order and harmony except for what humans do to destroy it..
Can all this be created by chance?
By the probability theory, can you get a million letters, get them together by chance, and thus create a dictionary?
Take a look at harun yahia's interactive presentations about God's miracles: http://www.harunyahia.com/m_presentation.php

Answer 3

Is there a God?

If there is a God, he is selfish, he demands people who work on a certain day of the week dubbed the time for everyone to bow down to him. If someone thinks they can do anything than obsess over him, they are to be stoned to death.

If there is a God, he is sadistic, he lets murder, death, and misfortune torture the people of the world. Terroristic attacks, diseases without a cure, and disasters cause people to loss the things and people they hold dear.

If there is a God, he is doing a lousy job. I don't see how people can believe in such a thing as a God, so loving.. so deeply caring for you - that if you question him, you must be killed. A bit hypocritical, due to the fact that if you love this God - you are meant to kill your parentals, hmm.. but isn't it a sin to murder?

We're all smarter than this.

Answer 4

It all starts with you--God works through humans. Give to charities that help feed the hungry, give medical assistance to the poor. God doesn't allow these things-we do, with our indifference.
How do we help murder? By feeling sorry for the perpetrator, and making excuses for why he did the thing he did. As if there is any justification--call murder for what it is-- a crime against humanity. You don't have to execute the murderer, but you sure don't have to make excuses for him. Lock him up and throw away the key; he's proven he can't be trusted in society.
How can God be a racist? he created the races. It's stupid prejudice of humans that makes racism. Rejecting someone for the color of their skin is like throwing away a Christmas present that was wrapped in green paper instead of blue. The skin is the outside; the paper. The present is the inside; the person within.

Answer 5

Many atheists use the excuse that because pain and suffering exists, there can't be a God; and their reasoning is stupid. If there was AIDs, murder starvation, and racism in Heaven - then I would be confused. But we don't live in Heaven, we live on Earth. God gives humans free will, which they in turn often abuse and commit murder or racist acts. So by atheist reasoning, the fact that bad people do bad things out of their own free will, it means that there can't be a God. Right...

Answer 6

The problem is man's sin, not God.

God allows sin (for now) for the following reason:

2PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God should have immediately had you dead the very first time you sinned against Him, but He didn't. Because he wants you to reach repentance. He's merciful and kind to all men.

Think about it this way. You''ve probably been to some store somewhere and bought items made in sweat shops in china. This means you've contributed to that. If you've ever looked at porn online, you're contributing to the sex slave trade in the world because they make money on traffic, of which you've contributed. If you've ever downloaded copywrighted material illegally, you're a guilty thief.

1) Death - Death exists because of sin. God hates sin and the punishment for sin is death.
2) AIDS - How is most aids spread? It is a sexually transmitted disease. If men and women would obey God's mandate of 1 man 1 woman married for life, AIDS wouldn't exist.
3) Starvation - How often do you have extra food that goes to waste? How much to you personally give to those who are starving? Greed is also a sin.
4) Murder - This is a sin as well. It's one of the 10 commandments. God does not interject on man's free will.

Not believing in God is far more depressing than believing in God. If there were no God, then you have no reason to even make a case. It should be survival of the fittest as Hitler believed. But wait... That would only increase violence, murder, aids, etc.

But if men truly had the fear of God and knew that their actions will be judged after death, then they would not murder, they would not fornicate, they would not steal, they would not be racist, but they would seek peaceful quiet lives loving one another and loving God, always seeking to put others above themselves.

But he allows it so that men and women would feel guilty for their crimes, and seek Him. He wants men and women to repent of their sins and trust in His son, Jesus Christ as their hope for eternal life, because Jesus went to the cross, suffered and died on that cross as full payment for all the sins of the world.

God will always let man have free will. You have the choice to serve God or to serve your own sinful lusts. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Choose today.

Answer 7

You are getting to the answer yourself without asking us!
The bible, god, jesus all fictional.
God does not answer prayers cos he is fictional
God allows bad things to happen to good people because he is fictional
God will never intercede on our behalf because he is fictional.
Can you imagine how many times and how many people must have prayed for the return of Madeline McCann? If there was a god...what is he playing at?? He isn't playing at anything..he is fictional.
People are not willing to accept that this life is all there is...they cling to the misguided concept of life after death. Its scary to think that this earthly life is all there is especially if someone you loved has died but we have to be reasonable and believe in science fact and not science fiction.
Keep reading and enquiring until you find the truth.
Best wishes

Answer 8

Having free will means that we choose how our lives will "play out" if you will. We have free will because God wants us to come to him of our own choosing, not autonotomic robots who do what they're told "just because." We have robots and computers for that. The explanation for all you have listed that is considered "bad" in this world is because of the choices we make.

I also don't believe that death is necessarily bad, because I don't believe it's the end. Death is only part of our path. Because I believe in Heaven and the afterlife, I believe that death is only the beginning. Life in our physical bodies is also just one step of our eternal lives. How we deal with adversity and illness and death is part of our "lesson."

God gives us the tools to make our lives better and to find our path to Him and Heaven. It's up to us to use those tools. That may mean using science and doctors to heal an illness. That may mean donating money and supplies to charities to help feed the starving or towards medical research to abolish AIDS and cancer. Some illnesses are man-made, and some have evolved (as we have) through nature. That does not mean that there's no God, only that we are interacting with the rest of nature.

Answer 9

Despite evilness and death in the world it shows that the testimony and walk of Jesus is true. If you examine his life and what He teaches...aren't all of our lives like His, except that He suffered in this life having done nothing wrong. We are all affected by death, we can't change that, but death did not come from God we chose that by turning from what He told us...but there is a way through and beyond it and by the truth we can live in that now even while we are here. God only wants us to find the truth in the middle of all of this and believe Him. If we had no hardship would we ever turn to God's truth? He loves us enough to turn us from our ways and back to His...the truth overcomes all evil and God will toss all evil away. "Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

Answer 10

Hi. I'm not one for being able to say exactly what i mean , but this is an important question, so I am going to give it a shot.
I beleive in God, He has worked in my life, You can e-mail me if you want to know some specifics.
It hasn't always been easy, for the questions you pose are legitimate. I have a few thoughts for you:
1) The Devil is present here on Earth. his most brilliant accomplishment was to convince people that he doesn't really exist. and it is he who plants doubts in our heads.
2) If life were perfect here on earth, we would not need to beleive in God, for there would be no need for Him. No need for free will.
3) God is there for us to look to for help and comfort, NOT to gaurentee a great life, but to make the crappy parts bearable.
4)If we say we beleive the story, we can't possibly be so arrogant as to think we could or SHOULD be able to comprihend its magnitude...................................let that last one sink in.................
I am always struggling to be a good follower of God. The more I have learned, the harder it becomes because I now feel the compassion and realize the importance of let's say......erradicating extreme poverty. Also because I see that other "Christians" are not as perfect as I always thought they should be. They are just like me, human, and struugling to do what is right.
I'm sure I am going to get to work and remember something I would have liked to have said, but I will finish this by saying that
ORGANIZED religion can look bad, and to me it has it's place,.......
but that being said, the MOST important thing is to read the Bible yourself, start with the book of John, keep reading( it will get easier).
The more time I put in to thought on this subject, the more I realize it is about a PERSONAL relationship with God.
E-Mail me if you would like to hear some specifics on the workings of God in my life. I have some good stories!
[e-mail]

Leslie