The Problem of Suffering

[The Editor]

"God works in mysterious ways"? See, this is why I don't believe in God. It basically comes down to this: either there's a being who does bad things except they're good and you just don't understand why even though they hurt you and cause suffering to your family and will kill you long before you would otherwise die, or there isn't such a being and it's just bad luck.

I'd rather chalk it up to chance, frankly. Who wants to believe in a God who makes people suffer for ineffable reasons? You might as well say "He makes you suffer because he can." Who's to say who's right? Certainly you can't. All you can do is believe that God is good.

[Kirby]

Well thats what I think. I mean how cool is a God that bet on the fate of a mans sole with the devil that did nothing and then God distroyed everything he had. And the guy still went to god there is a whole book about it in there and I like it and other "Christians" agree with that too.

[The Editor]

You mean Job? Truth be told that seems a pretty sadistic thing to do.
"I bet I can get this guy to stop believing in you by making his life hell," says the Devil.
Rather than saying "No! That would be terribly cruel. I won't let you do that to a man who has shown such love for me," (which would surely be what a nice God would do), instead God says, "You're on."

[Kirby]

Ed in the end if you believe in him you are facing God. You can argue your heart out but when the hammer comes down the maker decided that suffering must be. And it seems to have worked becuase my 2 examples have gone completely accepted for the past 5 thousand years even as the religion broke up those still stould there.

[The Editor]

I would not want anything to do with anybody who punishes innocents.

[Kirby]

well quit frankly ed its says you can go to hell

[The Editor]

That's great. Not only am I punished as an innocent in life, when I die I get punished for not loving the person who punished me in life despite my innocence? Your God can go fuck himself with a chainsaw. He is a complete bastard undeserving of love from anyone. I hope I get to meet him one day so I can say that to his face.

[Kirby]

Are you ready to argue with god eh? See the devil had the exact same problem. Remember ed God maybe just a colmination of all the humans on the planet so yeah in anycase you are screwed.

[The Editor]

I would argue with any being who decides to arbitrarily punish the innocent.

[Kirby]

Its all in his plan man don't you see.

[The Editor]

The end does not justify the means.

[Kirby]

For god it does ed. And apparely it works the story of Job happens everyday. This woman at my church did nothing wrong her whole life. Then her husband died then her son then she got MS before the age of 30. She could of lashed back in hate of god and his ways but no she turned it right. Now she is the CCD school principal and teachs her tale to everyone.

[The Editor]

No. I refuse to accept your arbitrary exceptions. At no time is the suffering of innocents justified, no matter what the outcome. It doesn't matter whether you're a man or a God. If anything this proves that God's moral standards are at odds with our own.

[Kirby]

All religions that come from jews have this and they make up a good percentile of the world. The rest are hindu budist or traditional and I am sure all of them too have some sort of test plan that god lays out. Ed unless there truly is not force that makes life on earth so dam perfect in comparision with the rest of the univers' planets than ed you are out of luck.

[The Editor]

I have a much better option than trying to reconcile belief in a good God with suffering: not believing.

[Kirby]

Whatever you chose man

[The Editor]

At least my beliefs don't require me to put on mental blinkers whenever I see a child suffering from cholera.

[Kirby]

ed why do you twist it like that of course we would help thats not how it is

[leo33wii]

Your making an example of yourself and others to either respect or not be.

You're just a piece of God's final plan... and besides. He created you and he can do what he damn wants to you.
God is creation and anything to do with experiencing. He wants you to experience something.
Evil, on the other hand is anything that prevents life or experiencing life. Let's say by locking a kid in a basement and preventing them from seeing the sun or breathing fresh air, that is evil.

In the end, it's for your soul to experience this and for others to be affected by you as well. Quit being so selfish as only your life is so damn important. Everyone else is alive, what makes you so special?

[The Editor]

That in no way justifies people suffering and you know it.

The only reason I make an example of myself is that I can talk from experience. There are millions of other people suffering through no fault of their own as well. Is that right? Is it just? What did we do to experience this? Why would we want to? Why would a good God want us to experience pain and suffering?

I think it's horrible to pick people at random to suffer for the benefit of others. And my life IS important. It's the only one I'll ever get. Reincarnation makes you people uncaring, it seems. This is my life, my ONLY life. I don't see why it should be cut short on someone else's whim.

[leo33wii]

Abrahamic God makes no sense to me either.

That's why I'm a Hellenic Pagan. I believe in multiple Gods and Goddesses, whom I all worship. The Greek Pantheon.
Some gods are caring some aren't. It makes sense to me I suppose.

What I've seen so far in my short life is that there are no coincidences. Choices that have happened in the past ripple and effect the innocent. But even then this will ripple out and cause something else.
Being bitter towards a God that has more knowledge and wisdom more than you would ever have as a human seems silly.

On a side note, maybe he causes suffering for people to bond and acknowledge that God does exist. To remind people that he is there, so that you know down the road that he will be there for you.

[The Editor]

That makes no sense. "Believe that I will do good things because I don't."

[Kirby]

Ed I am not very religious at all but you tickle my religion bone.

[leo33wii]

God does good from time to time. We just ignore it.

[Kirby]

bruce almighty was a great movie watch it Ed