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This is called the problem of theodicy. The assumptions usually made in the problem statement are, with a little variance: God is almighty and all-knowing God does not want evil in the world God is good The problem goes on to state the fact that there is evil in the world, and claims a contradiction between the assumptions and this observation. I see ...

From the perspective of a non-Christian, the explanation you put forth makes no sense. It relies on a number of assumptions that a non-Christian doesn't necessarily hold. Regardless of whether it makes sense in the context of your belief system, it does not make sense to a non-Christian. For example: If evil is the result of the actions of Adam and Eve, ...

I think you have a good reason for why evil exists, but I would follow that with suffering exists because evil exists. I don't agree that all suffering is punishment from God. He may allow for suffering, because He can use it in our lives to make us perfect. Another root reason is that God allows for our free will. He does not want us to be robot ...

In Isa 53, the word you are translating "illnesses" is more often translated as "transgressions" or "iniquities." Both of those words highlight the fact that Jesus took our sins with him on the cross, and by the wounds he suffered, we were healed - from the iniquity of sin. The basic idea of salvation in Christainity is often summarized as this - We are ...

You're looking at the question from a mortal perspective, whereas God has an eternal perspective. He put us here not to be here as an end unto itself, but to prepare us for what comes after this life. In the Sermon on the Mount, we are commanded to be perfect "even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." God is perfect because he never uses his power to do ...

Deriving some formula on your own then trying to figure out whether it "fits" somehow is a dangerous way to live your life. You'll get yourself into all sorts of scrapes of your own making and miss out on most of the blessings God has in store. Instead, you should learn to use Scripture as a sort of lens or framework by which to understand the world. If you ...

You're thinking too hard, and not quite straight. Obviously Jesus didn't not experience everything. Your example is pretty convoluted but lets do an easier one. As a sinless man, there is at least one emotion Jesus didn't experience: a guilty conscience. God "made him to be sin who knew no sin", so he experienced in some fashion what it was like to be ...

There are two basic approaches: 1. Blame Mankind Evil and suffering exist because of mankind's disobedience to God. Exactly how this works is more difficult to comprehend. Certainly a lot of suffering is the direct result of man's actions, but other types of suffering - things like natural disasters - can't be justified quite so easily. They may be ...

If the Christian god is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent then suffering must be the will of the Christian god and that god, must feel the suffering is somehow good for you. This can be seen if you have ever been to the Dentist, Doctor, or washed out a wound with soap or antiseptic: the pain your are suffering is actually a side effect of something ...

I believe this is one of the most challenging questions to answer because it's so painful to see such terrible suffering in the world that occurs especially when it's at no fault of the suffering soul. Therefore, this question requires a sincere answer in response to the emotions it invokes as well as the possible contradiction posed by Epicurus. In ...

Because God gave us free will. He is not interested in puppets on a string who just hop to his commands. He is interested in followers who of their own free will accept the knowledge of God. Free will cannot (Without being internally coherent) exist and the choice to do evil not. So it looks like God could either have created a puppet humanity with no ...

In my understanding there are different kinds of evil. A Christian needs to be able to discern between the different evils that are in this world. God knew that men would be evil, this is probably the reason why He created a realm just for man to reside within because God was probably not willing to let us defile the heavens. God disciplining His children. ...

Having buried my mother last week after seeing her go through progressively worse interventions due to complications from her pneumonia, I can only say that I wish more people would ask this question. Any Christianity that ignores the question of suffering neither addresses the reality of the Sin nor the biblical witness. The question of suffering is ...

According to Jehovah Witness teaching, we are currently under the rule of Satan, not that of God (Jehovah). We see the horrid state of the world now as proof that we need God's kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven. We also believe that that time is almost here when there will be no more disease, famine, hatred, etc. See this link for more ...

Yes... A majority of Christian traditions recognize on some level that we will and even must suffer. The author and perfecter of our faith was hung on a tree. As his followers, we can expect pretty much more of the same. 1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) 12  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though ...

Tim Keller in his book, Reason for God dedicates a chapter to this very issue. I'll provide a preview of what he says... He states it this way: If a good and powerful God exists, he would not allow pointless evil, but because there is much unjustifiable pointless evil in the world, the traditional good and powerful God could not exist. ... Tucked ...

Another argument for a existence of a just God despite the presence of evil is exactly that: the existence of evil. If God does not exist then morality is what humans make of it. If morality is what we make of it, then it shifts with time and location. Yet throughout time and cultures, we see certain moral codes virtually everywhere. Stealing is bad. ...

I myself has always been partial to the line from the movie "Constantine:" Angela Dodson: I guess God has a plan for all of us. John Constantine: God's a kid with an ant farm, lady. He's not planning anything. Now John's a cynic, and not a believer. In fact, at this point in the film he's about as un-sympathetic as possible without actually being ...

According to the Bible the answer to this question lies in the fall from grace. Before that there was no pain and no death but because of Adam eating of the tree humanity was cursed for ever: Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it", cursed is the ground because ...

Some Christians suffer more than others, but all Christians are guaranteed to suffer a little bit due to 2 Tim 3:12. You won't have to look for ways to suffer, you will suffer primarily because of Gal 4:29. The one born after the flesh (the unsaved world or the carnal nature in a believing Christian) is guaranteed to persecute those who walk in his Holy ...

The answer to this question is always "Yes" in the Bible. If Jesus suffered we ought to suffer as well as we must partake in everything Jesus took. We suffer with him. We die with him. We'll live with him. 2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us When Jesus was being led to Golgotha Luke ...

Isaiah 53 is not just about sin. Much more so, it is certainly not just about disease. It is a picture of Christ on the cross, so all history leads up to this and all the future feeds back to this. The whole 'curse' of Adam was placed upo Him, and from Him the whole 'blessing' of Abraham is made. This is nothing less than the fall and return to paradise. So ...

When considering a Christian who suffers terribly, I think the only real answer given in the Bible is the lesson learned by Job. One can talk the tough talk about how our faith will grow from our suffering and it is true. For various minor difficulties this really helps and if our faith is great virtually every difficulty seems minor. However, for many ...

The ancient tradition is clear on this matter: "…if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord’s sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious that we shall not become partakers with Him in His glory. If that is true of us we shall be believers in word only, not in deed. When deeds are absent, our faith is dead." St. ...

i believe it is to reinforce our trust in God. The question has also been raised, If it is a sin to worry about things, what will happen tomorrow and what we will wear, for example, why are some born with anxiety problems? The essential question is: Why is anyone born into hardship? i can only see that this is to strengthen our trust in our Lord, ...

People are born into famine and starvation mostly because of the greed of people. There is enough food to go around, but it is used as a weapon or, most recently, to make gasoline via a complex process that uses more energy than it produces. The reason that God allows than condition to happen is to draw us closer to him for assistance, and to not rely own ...

An Orthodox answer is that those who die outside of Christ go into the realm of the dead and await the preaching of John and the coming of Christ into Hades prior to his Resurrection -- recall the verse in which the dead are seen raised in Jerusalem. This seems temporally paradoxical (which is why it is not an answer usually offered) but we should understand ...

May I propose a "love of particular persons" theodicy. God loves us, not just as persons in general, but as particular persons. Persons in general could exist in a perfect world, but the particular persons whom we are could not exist except in a world of imperfection. In a perfect world, none of us would have ever been born, even though others would be born ...

As a note, while this answer is compatible with Christianity, it is not, strictly speaking, a "Christian" answer to the question. Basically, it is a Christian's non-Christian approach. I think that the question is misstated. I don't believe in God because of evil. Ok. What is evil? Basically, it eventually maps to suffering, so the new quote is: ...

There's a fascinating dissection of Job that I recently read: http://www.bookofjob.org/ It's a pretty long and thorough analysis, but the summary is that God allows evil and suffering to happen because if he didn't then our love would be conditional on his protection from evil and suffering. Just like Satan says about Job, he only loves God because his ...