God does allow suffering (though He does not create it) because without sin (which causes suffering), all men would be perfect and therefore uniform. We would all have the exact same opinions, same thoughts, and basically be robots – no diversity. More importantly, if we were all perfect, we would have no reason to rely on God. The reason we are allowed to sin is because, when we choose God even through our sinful nature, He is glorified by that.

Free will and eternal bliss can certainly coexist, and in fact did on earth at Creation. But Adam chose to reject God, and God’s punishment for that was to take away that perfect bliss for all Adam’s progeny. Further, if God is the Creator, and He is all that is perfect and good, then His version of justice is unquestionably perfect and good, whether or not it seems to make sense to us. For example, when we have children, we don’t tend to give them everything they want, even if they believe it’s what they need. If my child wants a car, a treehouse, and a pony – and even if I *could* give her those things – I may instead choose to give her one or two of those things, but she needs to get a job and *work for it* if she wants the whole package. Does that make me bad? Of course not – I created the wealth, I get to decide how it is used, and I am in no way obligated to give her *anything* that she wants.

People of today are expected to follow Him because the Bible is a record of empirical evidence proving His existence. I never visited ancient Rome, but I can still have faith that it existed, right? Because there is a strong historical record to show it was there, and because I can see effects it created (such as the Colosseum) still around today.

Satan did not defeat God. He challenged God, and he lost – which is why he was expelled from Heaven. Satan does not get what he wants – he wanted to BE God, instead, he was removed from the glory of Heaven and cast into death and Hades, a dark prisonous underworld. So of course God is not Satan, they are diametric opposites. Satan is inferior to God, but God allows him to exist, because when man chooses God over Satan and his promises of earthly gain, God is glorified.

Lastly, God is NOT satisfied with the world as it is. He wants us ALL to admit and come to know and love Him, to strive to be more perfect, and to love one another in every way imaginable. We have gotten lost along the way – of our OWN error, not of His – but each of us can reconcile that error in His eyes, not by our own doing, but by faith that He is God.

God allows suffering, I do not understand why. Your explanation does not make sense to me, please break it down so I can understand.

From what I understand, we can either have free will or eternal bliss. What? Freedom opposes bliss?

God does not love man. The Fall is ridiculous. For disobeying god, man was cast from Eden to an eternity of suffering?
You would not do that to someone you love. Adam knew god. Literally, physically; he was living proof of god. But he still disobeyed him. How can the people of today be expected to follow him? We’ve never met.

The dark one challenged god. He opposed the natural order, had man tossed from Heaven and established his dominion. Satan deceived and defeated God. No matter how you read the tale of the Fall, doesn’t Satan pretty much get what he wants? Isn’t it like that for most of the old testament? Or would it make more sense that God is Satan? He is omniscient/omnipotent, how could he ever be opposed?

See, I do not understand. I may be misunderstanding biblical canon, but I refuse to accept a God that is satisfied with the world as it is.

God permittance of suffering in our lives can actually be percieved as a manifestation of His kindness (sounds odd, but) because it might be used of God in order to draw us to Himself. Suffering can draw an unbeliever to a saving knowledge of the Lord, and can draw a believer into a closer relationship with the Lord. Suffering can also be a consequence of one’s disobedience to God, but again, hopefully drawing the suffering person to seek the Lord. Most people have some understanding of what the word “hell” means in the Bible, and most know that they don’t want to go there. The pain and suffering in this world can be seen as a very VERY mild preview of what may await an unbeliever in the depths of hell, thereby hopefully turning their hearts to a loving God who does not seek their destruction, who offers them redemption, but who will never force them into subjection to His will, if their desire is to reject Him and live as their own “god” and “king”.

It’s noteworthy that suffering, pain, and death entered into the world with the fall of Adam, as a result of Adam’s sin and disobedience, yet God, who is never the author of sin and never causes one to commit sin, nevertheless uses the sin to cause sinners to seek after Himself. What a great God!

1. I agree that God does “tend” to work within the bounds of the “laws of physics”, which themselves are man’s way of describing the ways in which God causes things to happen within His creation. But I disagree that there are solid scientific explanations for the “miracles” we see in the Old Testament, especially for Creation, in which solid physical matter was created from absolutely nothing. If the definition of a miracle is something that flies in the face of natural physical laws, and I’d say that it is, then God is still doing miracles, and I’ll find some examples for you later if you want me to. The answer I’d give to this question might come through in the next nine but if not I’ll address it later. I haven’t read the last 8 questions yet, or your answers, so I may have to come back to this later.