Why doesn't God prevent suffering?

[Matariki]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

 

[E.C.]

If there was no suffering than we would not know what non-suffering is.

God allows suffering to happen so that we could be stronger for it. He also does not allow us to suffer any more than what we can handle.

How can we have strength if we don't get it tested once in a while? I have a friend who was never able to manage money and it wasn't until he got out of high school and moved into his own apartment when he was forced to learn to manage money. If he did not experience that bit of suffering than he would not be able to manage his checkbook.

 

[MamaZ]

Adam brought this on when he sinned. God told him that if he ate he would surley die. Death and suffering came with sin.

 

[New_Wineskin]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

Well , all of the people that I know that would think that way would also go nuts if He prevented them from expressing their individual free will . Most suffering is because people do what they want . I ask them if they are willing to have "God" step in and prevent *them* from doing all sorts of things they want to do even if they can't think of any reason why they shouldn't .

If they want Him to interfere in human events , they need to be aware that they are to be wiling for Him to interfere in *all* human events that He wishes .

 

[Ortho_Cat]

3 key things to note here: sin, it's ripple effect, and free will.

 

[heymikey80]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

Suffering is not the worst thing that can happen to someone. Suffering often causes turning and changing. We quit doing things that hurt. And we advise other people not to enter on paths that caused us suffering.

Suffering also triggers some of the greatest good among people. Compassion, giving, self-sacrifice, they are all the result of someone else suffering.

Suffering itself is not unmitigated evil. It is an indication, a place where we can point to, where we know some kind of evil is occurring. It's a symptom, not a disease.

If we could distribute heroin throughout the world, suffering would be halted. But evil would not. The need for more and more mitigation of suffering would result. It's because we don't treat the disease, that the symptom, suffering, reoccurs in the world.

What's needed is to treat the disease. Don't pop an aspirin and cover it up.

 

[TheOliveSeed]

HE has given us freewill.
The question should be why do we allow suffering on earth?

 

[ebia]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

Tell them the full story of Noah, (ie right to the end of Chapter 9, not stopping at the rainbow). That, I think, is Scripture's answer to that question.

 

[98cwitr]

Romans 9

 

[razeontherock]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

My older Brother is an atheist and this is also the biggest problem he has with
G-d. Funny how that upon discovering CF I could talk about this and gain atheist's perspectives better than I ever could w/ my Bro.

I don't find it a difficult concept at all, but that doesn't mean words explain it well. Are you familiar with the concept of dominion? As in, G-d gave it to mankind in Genesis?

 

[DamianWarS]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

Rev. 21:1-4
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

...that's what God would have to do.

 

[Ishraqiyun]

I think that's also related to the question of why ignorance exists. These are tough questions. Is it ok for a Christian to say " I'm not sure" or would that be a problem? Maybe the reason is beyond our comprehension. Maybe it has no "reason" and simply is? Our human minds want logical reasons for everything but it's possible on some issues the subject matter transcends the catagory of what could be grasped with reason.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

Sin is the reason for suffering. When He told Adam "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die"--Genesis 2:17, He already promised a consequence of being disobedient to Him. He also allow us to have free will and we have escalated suffering with that free will. We cause ourselves a lot of needless suffering because some of the things we do, goes against how He called us to live. But in His loving mercy He also promised a Hope which is in Christ Jesus which caused God to suffer when His Son was crucified...so not only did sin cause us to suffer it also had a ripple effect and cause God to suffering as well, we see that when He was sorry of having made man, when He was sorry for allowing Saul as king and when Christ died--though we know He suffered when He turned away from His Son and the Son cried out to the Father. One might ask, why didn't God stop His suffering? We know that He is long-suffering.

If you feel that what I said goes against scripture about God's suffering, I'm sorry, but I always thought that's what it mean that God is long-suffering.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

I think that's also related to the question of why ignorance exists. These are tough questions. Is it ok for a Christian to say " I'm not sure" or would that be a problem? Maybe the reason is beyond our comprehension. Maybe it has no "reason" and simply is? Our human minds want logical reasons for everything but it's possible on some issues the subject matter transcends the catagory of what could be grasped with reason.

You might be right. Maybe the best answer is, "if you ask the question, I challenge you to seek it in the bible" and pray that God take care of the rest. It might help plant or water that seed while God is giving the increase.

 

[Matariki]

Yes, the answers are clear. The problem is acceptance. I gave her the book 'Knowing God' for her to read and advised that she were to read the passages that it brought up in the book in context with the bible. I'm not sure if it will answer her questions but it was the best I could give her.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Matariki. God has given us free will, and if God would take it away from us, we would become His Puppets. God never makes us suffer, God loves us, and God has given us His Commandments, ( loving advice ) to live by. God also put Nature in command of all natural happenings, and very often it is Time itself , which causes many sufferings. God has given us good brains, and there are many Doctors to help us. God is our loving Heavenly Father, and He is always ready and waiting for our Prayers to help and save. God will never interfere in, or overturn our plans or choices, unless we ask Him to, or plead for, and then only if it is for own best. God is LOVE. I say this with love, Matariki. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[bling]

Yes, the answers are clear. The problem is acceptance. I gave her the book 'Knowing God' for her to read and advised that she were to read the passages that it brought up in the book in context with the bible. I'm not sure if it will answer her questions but it was the best I could give her.

Blaming Adam and Eve or free will or satan or God or bad luck or bad people in this world, DOES NOT WORK!

Everyone asks this question and for some it is a big stumbling block, so we should expect God to provide us with an answer first off and He does.

The Story of Adam and Eve (believe it or not is not significant here) has a ton of information including why there is suffering.

The Garden of Eden prior to sinning did not have suffering (including death and needy people) , but that helped make it a lousy (impossible) place for humans to fulfill their earthly objective.

Adam and Eve are just the all human best representatives we could have and we can be thankful to them for going through this learning experience, because it showed them and us why the Garden is such a lousy place to fulfill our objective and thus why we are not there. A world with tragedies, sin, hardship, hurting people, death, hell/heaven in the end, Christ going to the cross and even satan running around is the best place for at least willing individuals to accept God’s charity.

 

[SeraphimSarov]

How do I account for suffering in this world? I don't know. God could theoretically have created a universe without disease, without natural disasters, without human cruelty, but for whatever reason, that's not what he did. Trying to use logic and reason for a question like this is worthless because God transcends logic and reason; if he is bound by them, he isn't God, is he?

So, ultimately, like anything else in Christianity, it takes faith in the idea that God allows suffering for some greater purpose. That may lead some people to believe that God is some sort of sadist, but if one can have faith in his existence, why not have faith that he's not a sadist at all and allows suffering for a reason?

 

[pinkputter]

This question of suffering is one most people, non-christians and christians both struggle with.

But in order to understand it, the only connection God has with suffering is that He the answer not the cause.

Jesus' suffering is called the Passion (from the Latin word, passus, meaning "to suffer"). God doesn't will suffering on us. Rather, this sin-bent world ends up causing us pain. Instead of wiping out the pain (and thereby wiping out our freedom), God takes that which is evil and turns it into a blessed sharing with Him in His Passion. We are honored to suffer with Him.

Of course, the pain doesn't feel any better because of that. But the shared burden makes us see that our pain (and therefore our lives) are not meaningless. In fact, they become blessed bearers of meaning and Truth. Wow!

As for your sister and the process necessary for her transformation, I highly recommend the book "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. It explains fully how this phenomena works and the way God is involved in the role of suffering in the life of faith. I recommend it for Christians as well as interested non-christians. Lewis also authors another book, "The problem with pain."-an athiest's no. 1 argument against christianity.

"The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not" --CS Lewis

 

[£amb]

Perhaps one the most simplest of questions which has the most hardest answers. My older sister is agnostic, she said that this is the biggest problem she has with God. She asked me the question and I found myself at a stumbling block.

What would God need to do in order to stop all suffering and why when he has the power to, doesn't choose to?

How would you explain this to a non christian?

There are always the easy answers such as we need to grow spiritually, to rely on God, etc. But from a different point of view that I have learned from my fair share of suffering is that I'm able to pass on my wisdom that I have gained during my time of suffering. I can comfort someone else who is in the midst of a storm. I know for myself, suffering is quite revealing in someone's character and spirituality.