You asked me the question, “How can I believe in a God that allows pain and suffering in the world?” I too ask this question at times, especially when I when I am going through a difficult time with family, friends or life in general. I have come up with a few reasons as to why I am able to believe in a God who allows pain and suffering.
First of all, in what religion is there a god who does not allow evil and suffering? Obviously it is all around us and everyone experiences it in one way or another. Yes, in some religions your suffering means that you have sinned in another lifetime, but that still means that their god had to allow that suffering into the world to punish you. Hindus and some atheists claim that evil isn’t really real. Well if evil isn’t really real, then how do we know the difference between right and wrong? If there were no evil and only good, how would we know that there was ever such a thing as sin? Richard Dawkins of Oxford says that evil does not exist, but that our “DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is. And we dance to its music.” But if this were true, why do criminals get put in jail every day for the crimes that they’ve done. If they were merely “dancing to their DNA,” the court system would have to rule them innocent because the criminals did not have any control over what their DNA told them to do.
Second, I believe that God uses the pain and suffering that exists in the world to bring us closer to Him and to show us how powerful and wonderful He is. If we didn’t know what sin was, then how would we be able to really appreciate God’s grace and mercy? John Tucker, my history teacher, says, “I can believe in a God that allows pain and suffering because only that same God is capable of taking that same pain and suffering and turn it around and make something good and beautiful come from it.” And I agree with him completely. When I was going through a particularly tough time in my life when I broke my ankle, I had to cling to God every single day to get through it. I asked Him, “Why did this happen to me?” almost every day and I realize now that He gave me an even bigger appreciation for my ability to dance and walk and do the every day things that we don’t even think about such as taking a shower or walking to the refrigerator to get something to drink. God showed me what I was taking for granted and that caused me to understand His frustration when others aren’t thankful for the things that God has given to them. Even though I don’t always understand why things are happening to me, I know that God is in control during the good times and the bad times. Romans 6:17-18 says, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
The Term Paper on Natural Evil God Suffering Moral
... way the world works. God wants suffering It is immediately obvious that natural evil is not punishment for ... 17). 6 There never was a time when God was not God. Although God certainly seems to change in ... less than perfect way - which would include sinning, ceasing to exist, and being ignorant. When the ... do not need to observe pain in order to understand it. Suffering need not occur Natural events ...
Lastly I can believe in a God who allows pain and suffering because He has also gone through that same pain and suffering, only millions of times worse. Jesus (fully God and fully man) came down and bore the weight of all of our sins and suffering. He took on all of the punishment and shame that we have. He knows what it is like to suffer more than anyone on Earth ever has or will.
If we knew all of the answers to our questions, would God really be God? He has infinite wisdom and is omniscient, but if we had that same knowledge, what sets Him apart from us? I know that one day, after all of the evil and suffering in this world is behind me that I will meet God and I will truly know all of the reasons why. I will experience His awesome power completely. The world is filled with sins and suffering, but God represents the complete opposite of that, and that is why I believe in a God that allows evil and suffering.
