Why did God allow my family to die from a fire? (Ask a question series)

Visit our website to read more about the problem of evil and suffering:

http://www.thatreligiousstudieswebsite.com/Include_TRSW/Sections/evil_sufferi...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• God
• evil
• suffering
• freewill
• defense
• Irenaean
• theodicy
• process
• protest
• John
• Roth
• Hick

[CptSmokeAlot]

First things first, you seem genuinly earnest in your attempts to help people. Rock on dude

To be honest if there is a god what makes you think that God has total control of everything, what if God is actually a scientist. Who created this universe in a petri dish. We as humans more specifically the scientists are about to attempt an experiment where we crash atoms in a large hadron collider. Hoping to make a similiar affect to whatever made the Universe. Or something like that.

[myoldreteacher]

Thanks for your kind words... You know, if there is a God I veer towards the protest view - that there is little or no evidence that God is interested in preventing evil and suffering from occurring, or the protest view - that God cannot really do anything about bad things happening as God is limited in some way.

[jempinjumpin]

God didn't know the future? God is all-knowing. God didn't care about their suffering? God is all-loving. He is God! If there were no suffering, there wld b no refuge, including in Heaven. It could b a test of ur faith if you're christian. if everythin was always good, no-one would 'need' God or turn2Him they would ignore Him& think "everything is always good anyway, why should we thank God, it's just how life is, we don't have to pray2God for help or guidance!". Also 'disaster' is a perception.

[myoldreteacher]

Some interesting thoughts... My comments on God not knowing the future or not caring about suffering are some common theological responses to evil and suffering. They are not necessarily representative of my own personal views. As for disaster being a 'perception', I agree with you on that (as my other video on the subject shows). However, your comment that if everything was good no-one would need God, begs the question as to whether you only believe God exists when things are going badly?

[jempinjumpin]

"...begs the question as to whether you only believe God exists when things are going badly?"

you're right, &although i wrote the rest, it's not I who actually thought of this it was my nana so i will ask her the next time i see her, but i don't know... maybe for some people bad things can just remind them that God is still there or that God is the saviour from the bad things and it cxn remind them that through God they can reach a place where there are no 'bad things'

[myoldreteacher]

There are a lot of maybes with regard to this problem... but the fact is, unless we are actually God, we have no idea why/if God allows evil and suffering to occur in the world. I would be interested to hear more about what your nan thinks about this issue.

[archansx]

why did most of my family have to die... when i was just a little kid? whyy :( i still remember them...i was just 6 years old when most of my family died..oh fuck man im crying right now..

[CptSmokeAlot]

To follow up its very brave of you to even attempt to handle this question. Most people would keep mum and just try to offer a kind face and a soft touch. But you handled this question like nuclear waste, very delicatly.