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Such an insipid argument. If we entertain the idea of a Creator and try to make logical sense of the world I think we'd find pretty quickly that it isn't as sim

Such an insipid argument. If we entertain the idea of a Creator and try to make logical sense of the world I think we'd find pretty quickly that it isn't as simple as "make suffering impossible". What does that mean? What are the constraints? A few solutions in no particular order: Don't create the world in the first place, attractive only to nihilists. Make cruelty on the part of humans impossible, easy to do without free will or choice, now we're all p-zombies with no internal life just forever going through the motions of existence. Make man immortal, static and unchanging. Might as well be an action figure on a shelf still sealed in the box. The world isn't perfect, neither is man but at least there is a world and we do exist and we have a choice as to how we treat each other. Everything that happens here is of our own doing, that is both terrifying and inspiring. Just don't try to use your own failings and that of man in general as a criticism of the concept of a God, the responsibility for our actions will always lie with us.

uhtred 5y ago
I'll entertain your idea that god can't / shouldn't stop humans being cruel because of free will blah blah. Ok, god was powerful enough to create the world, why did they feel the need to also create mosquitos? or cancer? Why do they use their power to make a Hollywood actor win an oscar (oh they didn't? That's not what the actor claims. Who knows their god better?) but not use it to stop a young child being hit by a car?
- arkey 5y ago
  Imagine you have a child. You give that child a toy and you give them instructions to be careful with it and to play well. The child is careless and stubborn and misbehaved and breaks the toy. Are you a bad parent for giving that child a toy? God gave us His creation in a pretty nice state and we managed to corrupt it through sin, which is by definition, removing Him from His place, and going our own way instead of His. Mosquitoes are annoying and diseases exist and bad things happen because we broke Creation. Not in the sense that we are being punished for it, but rather because we're not using it properly.
- throwaway4aday 5y ago
  The general idea, at least in monotheism, is that God does not intervene on a minute by minute basis. Miracles are by definition exceptional circumstances that rarely occur. I don't think the majority of believers would agree that God would intend mosquitos or cancer to simply be a torment specially created to bedevil man. A better question would be why would God create a world in which such things are possible? Like many things surrounding religion, it is simply unknowable. We can speculate all we want but it won't change anything. However, it's not very honest to take such a simplistic view of the matter. My original comment was intended to get you to think of things from another perspective instead of simply blaming God for all the ills of the world and demanding divine intervention as proof of His existence and love. It's probably better to ask yourself how can I make the world a better place rather than rage against God for not doing so. Perhaps that is the point.

uhtred 5y ago

I'll entertain your idea that god can't / shouldn't stop humans being cruel because of free will blah blah. Ok, god was powerful enough to create the world, why did they feel the need to also create mosquitos? or cancer? Why do they use their power to make a Hollywood actor win an oscar (oh they didn't? That's not what the actor claims. Who knows their god better?) but not use it to stop a young child being hit by a car?

arkey 5y ago
Imagine you have a child. You give that child a toy and you give them instructions to be careful with it and to play well. The child is careless and stubborn and misbehaved and breaks the toy. Are you a bad parent for giving that child a toy? God gave us His creation in a pretty nice state and we managed to corrupt it through sin, which is by definition, removing Him from His place, and going our own way instead of His. Mosquitoes are annoying and diseases exist and bad things happen because we broke Creation. Not in the sense that we are being punished for it, but rather because we're not using it properly.
throwaway4aday 5y ago
The general idea, at least in monotheism, is that God does not intervene on a minute by minute basis. Miracles are by definition exceptional circumstances that rarely occur. I don't think the majority of believers would agree that God would intend mosquitos or cancer to simply be a torment specially created to bedevil man. A better question would be why would God create a world in which such things are possible? Like many things surrounding religion, it is simply unknowable. We can speculate all we want but it won't change anything. However, it's not very honest to take such a simplistic view of the matter. My original comment was intended to get you to think of things from another perspective instead of simply blaming God for all the ills of the world and demanding divine intervention as proof of His existence and love. It's probably better to ask yourself how can I make the world a better place rather than rage against God for not doing so. Perhaps that is the point.