So I'm writing about religion and God for the first time because I have finally got the idea organized enough in my head to articulate it. Hopefully this won't sound "preachy" because I don't intend it to be. Well here it goes:
I know people with all sorts of opinions on God, a menagerie if you say. There are those who are devout Christians who were born with faith and have never questioned it. There are those who are Christians that aren't really sure why they are Christians but the Bible says so, so they are. Then there are the people like me who use logic and reasoning to see that there is a God and recognizes that the Bible is a guide on how to live. There are those who are just completely unsure. There are those who, through a bad church or family experience, close their mind to God. Finally, there are those who just don't believe in God and won't let God in.
An argument of these non-believers (for a lack of a better term) that I've run into lately is along the lines of "if God exists, why does he allow suffering?" This is a perversion of the quote by Epicurus "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
At first glance this seems to be a rather hard argument to counter for Christians without saying "the Bible says so," or "it just is." Many atheists use this as an ace in their pocket to silence any Christian and immediately win with a self-righteous look on their face. Many people who are unsure use this as an excuse to not believe. When I encounter this argument, I try to counter it but I've never been able to find the words. Unlike many, I don't immediately shut my mind to this argument; I consider it and quite honestly it shakes my faith a little, but in the end we always better for that.
So, why does God allow suffering? An important point to make is when we ask this question, we ask, through God's absence of action against suffering, why God creates suffering? This is a faulty question for anyone. If you are an atheist or a Christian you shouldn't ask that, you should ask why do we, as humans, allow suffering to happen. If you believe God exists or not, when you see suffering of any form, should you not try to stop it? If you don't then aren't you just as bad or or worse than those that suffer? Aren't you evil by your inaction.
Can God stop suffering? The answer to this is an unequivocal yes. If you put all of your faith into the lord and allow him to enter into your life and live your life the way the Bible says so, then yes your suffering will cease. You will see the world the way God wants you to see it. Could God wave his hand and never end all suffering on Earth? Yes he could. But then why doesn't he? The answer to this is simple. God does not cause the suffering. That means it must originate from somewhere else. We cause our suffering with a bit of help from Satan. Satan sets up the temptation that we take, but he can't force us to take it, we must choose. This is why God doesn't stop suffering. Life is about choice. The power of choice is part of what makes us human. We have the choice to "build a ladder to the sky" or we have the choice not to. It all up to you. You make decisions that led to your suffering and you make decisions that led to the suffering of others. God could eliminate this suffering but then he would have to eliminate our freedom of choice. God doesn't make you do anything. You can do anything you want, but there will ultimately be consequences for your actions, which often leads to suffering. Without our freedom of choice, we wouldn't really be human.
When you come to this realization that suffering is a product of self, then you begin to set yourself free. You must take responsibility for your actions. There is no god as a puppeteer making you do things. You pull your own strings, no one else. So remember that next you suffer or see suffering. You have the power to change it. Remember this the next time someone tries to undermine your faith with that question, but don't use this as an excuse to stop questioning. You must always question, for if you don't, you will never know what you believe or who you are; you will never discover what is in the world. True questioning will never damage your faith. It might led to a small reduction and some doubt, but with further questioning you will regain it seven-fold.
Note: I never try to shove religion down anyone's throat. I believe faith and religion is something each one of us must discover for ourselves. However, when I see someone that begins to immediately shake their head and close their mind when anything resembling religion, I can't sit back idly and just pretend I didn't notice. I have to confront them, not to make them believe in God the way I do, but to open their mind and at least question why they don't.
Note: Also I use the term Christian here because I find something a bit polarized and odd in using the terms believer and non-believer. You can substitute Christian with Muslim, Jew, or whatever. I use Christian because that is what I identify myself with.
Note: Feel free to comment. In fact I encourage comments. That's the only way I can improve this blog. Without comments, I will continue to plod on in my attempt to expostulate my ideals and ideas. Thank you for reading.
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