If god exists, why does he let people suffer?

a religious man asked me this question, and I replied, because its not god that is killing us. God gave us life, he gave us a brain and what we do with it is our fault. Like war, god did not create war people did, god did not create global warming, we...

did. And as for illness is it not gods blessing to take us away before the pain gets to bad? what are your opinions?

I believe he exsists.. I heard some that goes likethere was a man at the barber getting his hair cut. The man in the chair asked his barber if her believed in god.no responded the barber.If there were a God there wouldnt be so many people suffering. The man in the chair wanted to show that God truly did exist. After a while a man with a long beard was passing by.barber's dont exist! exclaimed the man in the chair.what are you talking about the barber asked confused im right here. The man in the chair pointed at the man with the long beard passing by if they did people wouldnt be walking around with long beards .Thats because they need to come to me or else I cant do anything said the barber. Exactly!! exclaimed the man in the chairYou must come to God and let him help you with your problems and you must pray to him for him to answer his prayers

um I dont know if I said that whole story right but I think you know what im trying to say..

well my friend maria wants to type something

Maria: 1st of all I dont believe in god I believe he is somethinng people made up a long time ago to explain nature like the europeans did with their god they had a god of rain and what not I just think god is no better than a good luck charm ,they dont work and you just use them when you need them. praying dosent help at all my perspective and im tired of people trying to shove religion down my throat.

First of all I want to say my name is priscilla I am the owner of this acconut but since this is maria's laptop she writes what she thinks.
so dont take out anything on me

-priscilla

lol
god is just to make people feel safe in the world when there realy is not = /
people who turn to god for help are weak and pathetic...not realy but 'god' is not going to hold your hand through your life you have to stand up for your self its the 21st century and there is crazy people who will want to hurt you and its not like you can pray them to sleep XDD

Okay... here we go... God lets bad things in life happen to people to make them stronger and then in the long run things get better because he made them he is showing you that if you go to him he will help you a lot of people blame God for their problems instead of asking for help and just because it doesn't come right away dosen't mean it won't come at all. except God as your personal savior and things will turn around or at least ask him to let you know that he is there. he will

I think the basic questioner has got it pretty much right. The majority of problems on the planet are caused by selfishness, and if we followed the rules of most major faiths we would spend a lot more time thinking about other people and a lot less on ourselves.

hahahahah lmao I dont believe in magical sh*t XDD
especially no heaven or hell = /

ummm, ok... This is quite silly!

Arachnid,

I think that your replies are generally well-thought out and have good points to them, but what I'm noticing in them is your failure to plain accept anyone else's ideas but your own as a somewhat Good idea. You're attacking people just because they believe in something, and you think that everything you're saying is completely true.

And you have basis for that, I completely understand where you're coming from. But sometimes I feel that you are being extremely close-minded.

To answer your above comment (since both Briand and Kimibug repeated some of what I said earlier), suffering does make people stronger.

The child catching Malaria and dying from it-that might not be making the child stronger, but maybe it's preparing the people around or close to the child, making them stronger. I know that sounds cruel, but sometimes it is just the way it is. Maybe it's not just that, but it’s also whatever’s up there trying to send a message as in, PEOPLE, WE NEED VACCINES DOWN HERE NOW!!!”

I think it's all interconnected in a grand plan. Yeah, people will suffer and die. That IS a part of life, whether we like it or not. I have no belief that any day now a miracle will come shooting down from the Heavens and stop EVERYONE from suffering, do you? I also don't think that anyone is really understanding the fact that we're all bringing it back to, BECAUSE GOD MADE IT SO.

Why didn't God do this?
Why didn't God do that?
Why does God allow this?

I find that's what all humans fall back on. Blaming it on the higher ups.
Why can't we ever take the blame for ourselves?

In the Bible it says that God gave us free will. (not that follow the Bible’s teachings, but since we’re arguing the Christian God here…I‘ll use it as a guide.)

The choices we make are our OWN. WE as PEOPLE are to blame for the way things happen, because of the choices WE make.

Here, think of it as a Sims game.
“God” plays it 24/7, BUT, butbutbutbut BUT!
He can't control any of our actions. Call it a glitch, or maybe he just likes playing that way, but he can't. He can make the first two people(though I don't even think he did that), but then their kids, their genetics change, and their moods change, and the way they act change as time goes on. People live and die, and “God” can only watch.

God can put us in situations to see us cope, to “strengthen us”.

I know people who have lost people. Children, families, friends. And it’s completely and totally true that those people are some of the strongest that I know.

But personally, from my standpoint as a Wiccan, I think that there's always a connection between life and death, and how it affects the world. I believe there is a connection to everything.

*glugs water*

I need to learn to stop typing/talking.

Sorry for the ramble people. Just trying to make a point...um...yeah. Sorry. ^^

thats cool =)... and nice =D

maria may I rule next to you while kicking the deviles a** muaahhahaha

-chops tongue off feeds it to fishes-

Go stick a toothpick under your toe nail and kick a wall

Maria: ty

interesting
I agree with maria

you are correct dani89

Maria: I was atheist until I realized...I was God

Why do people assume that god is nice, if there is a god?

He could just as easily be a sadistic jerk who created us just to torture us. Actually, that's what a lot of early Christians believed, and so they invented a second god who was nice to be the god of the evil god of this creation.

More info on this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion_of_Sinope

Just so everyone knows, I can tell who fau is for each thing posted. So being rude under anonymous doesn't hide you from me

briand88: So to make it clear - you believe that it's not possible for your god to decrease suffering while preserving free will? Wouldn't that make him less than omnipotent?

And for both of you, asserting that suffering makes people stronger: What purpose does the suffering caused when a child catches malaria serve? What if they die of it?

Arachnid.
I think you do have a great point. I believe we might actually see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but this argument is just a bit rough considering our different standings. I thank-you for going on to further explain yourself and your theories. The way I view my religion is not in the same way as Christians view theirs; I was just trying to prove a point on their behalf, or at least, try to explain a bit more on where they are coming from.

Personally? I believe that yes, there is something else out there-how else could we explain the human soul? Or how life itself begins? (repeating what I said earlier). Is there a miniature big bang that happens inside the womb every time a child is conceived? That and maybe a few other miracles that science just hasn't figured out yet. When they do, maybe I'll join your side. XDD

But seriously, the way I see it is that even though there is that higher-entity or whatever (in my belief), it isn't going to stop pain or suffering, or anything else similar to that. It's not going to send us a miracle, but it gives me strength on a personal level that no one else can or will, because I believe in it, and it manifests it’s power in myself to help in that way when I do something.

With the part about the doctor, well, I would think the situation is a little bit different wouldn't it?

The doctor denying giving the child medicine is just a man fancying at Playing God, if you will (lol, reminds me of Juno...funny line...ANYWAY), but the point is that the human doctor is not God Or whatever we're talking about, because God (or the Spirit) isn't human, and that doctor doesn't know everything that God does, does he? And so yes, I agree, that does make him a monster, BECAUSE he's a human, trying to do God's job.

Which is why I think the situations are entirely different.

About the part where you asked:

'And if you asked them if they'd rather have the strength or their loved ones back, I'm guessing they wouldn't say they like things how they are.'

(Sorry I'm jumping around here), I would have to reply with this.

If that were possible, everyone /would/ be lining up again wouldn't they? Hmm, that sounds an awful lot similar to the Christian belief of Heaven doesn't it? Where people can have their loved one's back and they can rejoice and be happy forever? Who wouldn’t want that?

That's why people believe so much. Because of love.

Personally, I believe in rebirth and that little cliché' line of, The people that I've lost are still with me in my heart(soul).

Sure, everyone wants their loved ones back, and I understand that strength can be looked at as a ludicrous excuse, especially from your standpoint of how, the world today would be the same if “God” didn't exist,

But now I challenge you to look at the past, and then see if you can connect it with the present. In a majority of some critical points during humanity's history, faith was the only thing that kept them going, faith was the only thing that they had left in times of suffering or death being swarmed all around them.

If the idea of “God” or “God” itself didn’t exist back then, the world we live in today would most definitely not have been the same place. Religious fervor would have never occurred, causing determination and strong will in critical standpoints in the Earth’s history, people wouldn’t have changed there ways with the reason, “Why should I?”

With the idea of “God” people had a higher being to look up to, and to try and emulate with their choices and actions. The idea of a higher being did, and still does give so many people a faith that sometimes just blows my mind.

But most importantly, with people’s faith, come’s their hope. And hope is one of the main reasons for a person’s survival; mentally, that is.

And call me overdone and spiritualistic, but I that's why I still have faith in the Spirit. To always continue to hope for a better tomorrow, and so I can do what I can for a better today.

JEESH!

I ramble too much.

Could we just be friends with different religious views? XDD

Thanks for a great reply that made me think~

according to the bible God allows suffering so that pople will come closer to Him

god isnt real in my opinion and I agree with daydreamer161