I saw an atheist article and in it they said:
"An omnibenevolent God would not absent himself/herself in ways that cause or allow suffering.
Furthermore, if some people can experience a "lack of God", then God is clearly not omnipresent."
I know that it isn't a reasonable argument but what would be a sensible answer to this "problem"?
"An omnibenevolent God would not absent himself/herself in ways that cause or allow suffering.
First of all, it is possible that God has reasons for allowing evil to exist that we simply cannot understand. In this the Christian can have confidence in God knowing that His ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). As the Bible says, the just shall live by faith (Hab. 2:4).
Second, God may be letting evil run its course in order to prove that evil is malignant and that suffering, which is the unfortunate product of evil, is further proof that anything contrary to Gods will is bad, harmful, painful, and leads to death.
God gave Adam dominion over the world (Gen. 1:28). When he rebelled against God, he set in motion an entire series of events and changed the very nature of man and creation. Both were affected by sin. Creation was no longer a paradise, but bore thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-18; Rom. 8:22). People became sinful (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3), who were haters of God (Rom. 3:9-12), etc. The only conclusion to such a situation is death. Jesus said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. 24:22).
Sin is rebellion against God and His created order, but God has not left us alone in this fallen world. He continued to enter this world, pointing us to Himself, to truth, to morality, purity, and love. He used the evil of the world (liars, perjurers, the envious, etc.), to bring His Son to the cross so that we might have the opportunity to obtain eternal life. In this, God has not stepped away from fallen creation, but has stepped into it by becoming Jesus. God works within the fallen world to effect change and He uses fallen people to accomplish His will. In this, He is proving His sovereignty over evil, suffering, and rebellious people, proving that sin and evil are utterly futile, and that He is worthy of honor and glory.
A third possible reason that God is letting evil occur is so that on the day of judgment, the condemned will have no right to say that their sentence is unjust. God is not stopping people from exercising their free will. Think about this: If someone said that God should stop evil and suffering, then should God then stop all evil and suffering? If God only stopped some of it, then we would still be asking the same question of why it exists.
So, if we want God to stop evil and suffering, then He must stop all of it. We have no problem with this when it means stopping a catastrophe, or a murder, or a rape. But what about when someone thinks of something evil? Evil is destructive whether it is acted out or not. Hatred and bigotry in someones heart is wrong. If it is wrong, and if God is to stop all evil, then He must stop that person from thinking his own thoughts. To do that, God must remove his freedom of thought. Furthermore, which person on the earth has not thought something evil? God would be required, then, to stop all people from exercising their free will. This is something God has chosen not to do. Therefore, we could say that one of the reasons that God permits evil and suffering is because of mans free will.
Furthermore, if some people can experience a "lack of God", then God is clearly not omnipresent."
This is a common occurrence among Christians. Often times because of our sin, we don't
feel the strong presence of the Lord that we may have had in the past. But on the other hand, it could be that God is purposely being distant from us in order to refine our faith. This may sound odd, but sometimes God will withdraw that "feeling" of his presence in order to have us focus on the real issues of prayer, including our faith in him, rather than praying because we "feel" his presence. After all, what is faith based on -- Christ and his resurrection or a feeling we get in prayer?
We should not trust our feelings, or the lack of feelings, when it comes to prayer. We pray according to the word of God, by faith, with the confident expectation that the Lord always hears us. And even though we may not always feel his presence, we must remember not to base our prayer life upon feelings.
