(August 13, 2010 at 5:44 pm)Captain Scarlet Wrote: Classic theist rebuttal of the problem of suffering is to say that suffering could be consistent with driving the maximum people to god by free will. This is possible but lacks moral seriousness. But why hasn't god realised a world where all people come to freely beleive in him without suffering? He has created possible worlds where this has been the case. The garden of eden, the immediate post flood earth and heaven itself. All people freely believed and no suffering, so why not now? Is he just toying with us or does he simply not exist?
What kind of reasoning is that^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. In the Garden of Eden God walked with Adam and Eve they knew Him by sight. The time immediately after the flood left only those who believed before the flood. In heaven all have seen God and know Him on a deep personal level. Unlike you even satan knows God, he knew Him before his fall from grace, after his fall is when the suffering began for him and the angels that followed him. The same happened to mankind, only after the fall of Adam and Eve did man have to suffer.
I personally believe that through suffering, of many different kinds, people will turn to God but only the sincere will continue to follow God through Christ.
God does not cause suffering that comes because of the state the creation is in after the fall of mankind. Why do you think that God should put an end to all suffering are you affraid of something. Please do not tell me you think it's a moral thing to do, God's punishment on mankind is suffering, which is stated clearly in the 3rd chapter of Genesis and it would be immoral for God to release mankind from this punishment before His divine plan has reached its end on earth.
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
