(July 19, 2012 at 12:40 am)MysticKnight Wrote: The premises are as follows:
If there was a benevolent Creator, there would not exist unnecessary suffering or suffering that would not bring about a greater good.
There exists suffering that is unnecessary and doesn't bring about a greater good.
Therefore a benevolent Creator does not exist.
Now this argument is not stating there is no need of any suffering. For example, the existence of poverty, promotes the good intentions of charity.
But I would argue there is things like:
1) People with multiple personalities where they can't even decide whom they want to be, there personalities are out of control.
2) All sorts of mental disorders which goes against soul development (not saying all do, but some do).
I understand the argument that suffering brings character. But what is the point of a person having a multiple personalities and can hardly function? What good does it bring upon others or towards the person sufferring?
It seems whatever good can come out of it, is not necessary. For example, compassion towards the person. We can have compassion towards people in poverty sufferring, and actual be able to help them. In the case of multiple personalities, what can we do for them, but feel sorry for them?
This a significant point. The same can be said about diseases in general.
I would like to hear a defense for this.
Quite clearly your initial premise is flawed. Does "unnecessary suffering" exist? There may well be sufficient moral reason for all suffering. For example, if Stalin had been born with the type of mental illness you describe the lives of millions would have been saved. I'm not saying that all mentally ill people are somehow mass murderers being punished, I'm simply showing that morally sufficient or even "necessary" reasons can exist for suffering, which negates your initial premise.
