Why do bad things happen when God exists?

[AiR]

If there is God and He is good, then why does “bad” exist? What is the reason for God to create all that is bad? Why couldn’t God create a world that has only bliss and happiness? Why has God made suffering? Why has God made problems? Why has God made poverty? Why do we suffer? Why do we fall sick? Why has God made death? If God is such a good God and if He is the creator of the universe, then why has He created this whole concept of suffering? Why has He let people become terrorists? Why has He let people create pain? And this is not just about people. Look at the animal world. Why has He created it in such a way that the tiger kills the deer, the cat eats the mouse, and the dog chases the cat? Why has God made the world like this?

We can go on asking questions as to why God has created the world like this, but the question that we need to ask ourselves is that should we question this way? Should we question His authority – Why He has done this? What He has done? Do we know better about what He has done, or does the Creator know better about what He has done? So from our limited intelligence and viewpoints, is it right to comment on or question and be judgmental about what God has created and why God has created so?

Why are we questioning what God has done? Why do we doubt God’s intentions? Why do we question God’s plan for our life? Why do we question what God has created on Earth? Should we not spend time pondering upon these rather than questioning what God has done? This is the question I ask myself today.

AiR

[attofishpi]

Why do bad things happen when God exists?

AiRhead

Because 'IT' has played "ITs" hand.

Lets talk about the weather.
You're just wasting time.
Just wasting my time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsyfGwlf_l0

[blu]

Lesson 1 of any introductory guide to religion and philosophy is, since bad things exist there cannot be a god who is both all powerful and all good. If there is a a god who is all good then clearly there are limitations to his power, and if there is a god who is all powerful then clearly he is evil to allow the horrendous amount of suffering that exists.

It is hugely important to question "God"’s intentions, because reasoned study of the history of religion indicates there is a high probability that "He" has been invented by certain people in order to subjugate others. Indeed it is striking that religions forbid questioning because it is so easy to demonstrate their falsity.

[Nick_A]

Air, the mistake you make is in assuming a religious person like myself believes the universe is here to serve Man. Actually we are here to serve the universe. The reasonable person then begins to speculate on universal purpose and Man's purpose within it. Then the error of our subjective determinations of good and bad become obvious.

[thedoc]

Lesson 1 of any introductory guide to religion and philosophy is, since bad things exist there cannot be a god who is both all powerful and all good. If there is a a god who is all good then clearly there are limitations to his power, and if there is a god who is all powerful then clearly he is evil to allow the horrendous amount of suffering that exists.

What a hypocrite, first you demand that god get out of your life, and then you have the nerve to ask why God doesn't prevent bad things from happening. Do you even know what you want?

[Greta]

AiR, let's assume for arguments' sake that some variant of the monotheistic deity does exist. This is seemingly an entity that operates over quintillions of years or more.

Perhaps, to such an entity, the 13.8 billion years that has passed since the big bang/grow is almost instantaneous, like we'd perceive the early split second of an explosion? The animal suffering we are currently experiencing may be a fleeting moment in the continuing development of reality, utterly insignificant. So God worrying about our pain might be akin to us worrying about the molecules constantly dying in our bodies.

We humans are only a bridge to the future, not an end product. There is a future coming far more advanced than any of us can imagine, just as we'd seem freakish to primitive peoples learning how to make stone axes. The thing is, biology has been conquering geology on the surface of the Earth now for billions of years. Maybe geology will wrest back control via AI - or what might develop from AI or enhanced digitised brains? No nervous system. No suffering. Being able to filter exactly the optimal amount of sensory info for any given circumstance. Sign me up.

If God does exist, then logically It is either creating itself (Spinozan conception) or It is creating things in Its own image via fractal processes. If it's creating things in its own image then maybe the Bible is right and we are the closest thing to God in the biosphere so far? The key term is "so far". There's another trillion years of possible evolution in the universe until the stars burn out. There is much time to go and we clownish post-apes are hardly any kind of divine destination.

Still, we're getting better. I'd rather have a human's life than that of an insect or other simple creatures, who seem prone to the most gruesome fates. Fancy living in such a way that at at any given moment a huge bird could swoop down on you, or you may blunder into an ants' trail, be caught in a spider's web, encounter a centipede, be infected with any number of parasites - or fall under the shadow of a size 13 boot. It's something for which we can be grateful - be it to God, fate, luck or your parents.,

[HexHammer]

Because he sends a savior/destroyer when things gets really bad, read the story of Apocalypse. Moses delivered the Jews from Egypt.

I'm sure you have read all the stories, but doesn't comprehend a damn thing of it.

[blu]

Lesson 1 of any introductory guide to religion and philosophy is, since bad things exist there cannot be a god who is both all powerful and all good. If there is a a god who is all good then clearly there are limitations to his power, and if there is a god who is all powerful then clearly he is evil to allow the horrendous amount of suffering that exists.

What a hypocrite, first you demand that god get out of your life, and then you have the nerve to ask why God doesn't prevent bad things from happening. Do you even know what you want?

I make no demands, and ask no questions, I simply state what is logically proven.

[thedoc]

Lesson 1 of any introductory guide to religion and philosophy is, since bad things exist there cannot be a god who is both all powerful and all good. If there is a a god who is all good then clearly there are limitations to his power, and if there is a god who is all powerful then clearly he is evil to allow the horrendous amount of suffering that exists.

It is hugely important to question "God"’s intentions, because reasoned study of the history of religion indicates there is a high probability that "He" has been invented by certain people in order to subjugate others. Indeed it is striking that religions forbid questioning because it is so easy to demonstrate their falsity.

You seem to be claiming here that God does not exist, that God has been constructed by man to keep others in control.

FYI, claiming that God does not exist, is equivalent to telling God to get out of your life.

[Dalek Prime]

Why are we questioning what god has done? The question should be why so few question it.

Me? I question it because it's sub-par. And I'd like to send it back to the kitchen til I get what I want. He gets what he wants. I want the same. So, pffft!

[blu]

Lesson 1 of any introductory guide to religion and philosophy is, since bad things exist there cannot be a god who is both all powerful and all good. If there is a a god who is all good then clearly there are limitations to his power, and if there is a god who is all powerful then clearly he is evil to allow the horrendous amount of suffering that exists.

It is hugely important to question "God"’s intentions, because reasoned study of the history of religion indicates there is a high probability that "He" has been invented by certain people in order to subjugate others. Indeed it is striking that religions forbid questioning because it is so easy to demonstrate their falsity.

You seem to be claiming here that God does not exist, that God has been constructed by man to keep others in control.

FYI, claiming that God does not exist, is equivalent to telling God to get out of your life.

I am not claiming that God (a term which covers a wide variety of definitions) does not exist. In answer to the OP, I'm explaining why it is important to question the existence of the sort of "God" that there is good reason to believe is a human invention. I am not telling any God to get out of my life, I am using reason to consider what sort of God(s), if any, exist, and which sort probably do not.

[thedoc]

Indeed it is striking that religions forbid questioning because it is so easy to demonstrate their falsity.

It just doesn't fit that you make this statement that seems to include all religions. The protestant religions were born out of questioning the established Catholic church and has remained part of the mindset of the protestant's that I know. One of the topics of conversation in my church is to question what has been written in the Bible and ask for an explanation.

[thedoc]

The question of the OP seems to suggest that if God exists there should be no bad things happening, but this doesn't follow if you accept that God has granted humans free will, and now humans are free to do bad things. "Bad" is a subjective human judgment and does not apply to "natural" events.

[blu]

Indeed it is striking that religions forbid questioning because it is so easy to demonstrate their falsity.

It just doesn't fit that you make this statement that seems to include all religions. The protestant religions were born out of questioning the established Catholic church and has remained part of the mindset of the protestant's that I know. One of the topics of conversation in my church is to question what has been written in the Bible and ask for an explanation.

Fair point as far as it goes. However it's doubtful Christianity would have survived in any significant form long enough for protestantism to arise, if unquestioning acceptance hadn't been enforced by violence for hundreds of years before.

The question of the OP seems to suggest that if God exists there should be no bad things happening, but this doesn't follow if you accept that God has granted humans free will, and now humans are free to do bad things. "Bad" is a subjective human judgment and does not apply to "natural" events.

Fine, but that does imply that God (assuming He is good) is not all-powerful, since if He was He would have created a world where bad things were impossible.

[thedoc]

The question of the OP seems to suggest that if God exists there should be no bad things happening, but this doesn't follow if you accept that God has granted humans free will, and now humans are free to do bad things. "Bad" is a subjective human judgment and does not apply to "natural" events.

Fine, but that does imply that God (assuming He is good) is not all-powerful, since if He was He would have created a world where bad things were impossible.

Wrong, it is important to distinguish between "can do" and "will do", God can be "all powerful and capable of eliminating all evil" but God could also choose to let humans have their way, and not interfere with the course humans have chosen for themselves. If you accept that humans have free will, why would expect less of God, could God not choose what God will and will not do? Just because God is "all powerful" does not mean that God is required to use that power. Perhaps a human would choose to eliminate all evil, do you deny God the ability to choose? And why should God conform to human expectations, the Universe doesn't.