Comments on Human Suffering from a Reader

We don’t often publish a response from a reader, but the following comments on human suffering were so good I had to share them:

“The classic argument against the existence of God fails because of a false dichotomy. Quite simply, no one is in a position to know that it is God’s agenda to remove all suffering and evil from the world.
*God created neither good nor evil. Good is an extension of His essence. Evil is merely the absence of good.
*Although God is ultimately in control, He does not control every event. The One who created the world – electrons, protons, energy, physical parameters – does not micromanage.
*Those who blame God on account of suffering – or deny there is a God, given the degree of the world’s suffering – are open to the charge of hypocrisy unless they are actively involved in doing something about the problem.”

Each of these three comments on human suffering raises many questions for discussion. The last point is especially interesting. It is easy to sit in the philosopher’s chair and complain about why God doesn’t or can’t do something about human suffering. It is more important to get involved in correcting those things that cause much of the suffering.

Pollution, violence, prejudice, hate, greed, selfishness, arrogance, etc. are things we can all do something about. “Survival of the fittest” does not address these causes of suffering. In fact, it is one of the major causes of suffering.

— John N. Clayton © 2020