Hi,
I'm new to the group. I am sure this questione may already have been discussed ad nauseam before.
Why is there so much unjust suffering in this world despite God?
I would request only the believers to answer this question. As any answers from the atheists would be irrelevant.
Thanks,
Neela
Welcome Neela
I hope your wits are sharp enough and your skin is thick enough to enable you a pleasant experience on this site
The general understanding from most scriptures is that suffering in the material world is an unavoidable necessary option for a living entity to have (if one advocates that the living entity is created with free will that is)
Most atheists consider the issue of evil an airtight argument against god's existence
They raise the objection that if God does exists, then why hasn't He dealt with the problem of evil in the world. This contention can be ressolved by pointing out that God is dealing with the problem of evil, but in a progressive way. The false premise on the part of the atheist is that God's only choice is to deal with evil all at once in a single act. God, however, is dealing with the problem of evil through His justice system (dharma (establishing laws of action) karma (the results of interacting with those laws - that is doing it the right way and the wrong way) -samsara (repeated birth and death in the material world until you get it right).
If the atheist counters that it shouldn't take such long time for a God (omnipotent that he is) to solve the problem of evil, you could respond by saying: "Ok let's say that at this very moment, God announced that all evil and sin in the world will now cease to exist. Practically every one on the face of the earth would simply vanish into oblivion. Would this solution be agreeable to you?"
The atheist will no doubt argue that a better solution must be available. He could even suggest that God may have created man in such a way that man would avoid evil altogether. This idea can be ressolved by pointing out that this scenario would mean that he would no longer have the capacity to exhibit free will and make choices - It would require that God create robots that act in programmed or predetermined ways .
If the atheist persists (like they are apt to) and asserts there must be a better solution to the issue of evil, give them this simple test.
Ask them to formulate a solution to the problem of evil that
(1) does not infringe human freedom (ie free will) , or
(2) cause God to violate the definitions of his nature (ie , His attributes of absolute holiness, justice, and mercy) in some way.
Don't expect much of an answer.
