Why is There Death and Suffering if God is all Loving- A Christian Response

[1stvermont]

Why is There Death and Suffering if God is all Loving- My Response

The bible says God originally created a perfect world with no death, sin, or suffering. People did not kill each other and animals did not kill each other. No one aged and no one ate meat. Than Adam sinned against god and this sin caused separation from a holy perfect God who cannot dwell near sin. As a result of this separation from god, all the once very good creation know is falling apart. Death and disease are know part of creation and everything is wearing old. God is perfect and cannot be around sin or even look upon sin.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
-Pslam 5,4

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
-Habakkuk 1:13

God has to judge sin because it is imperfect. All suffering death etc is a consequence of being separated from god. He judged sin with the curse, not just mankind but creation itself is cursed. The original perfect creation was destroyed by mans sin, Everything bad that happens according to the bible ultimately is caused from separation form god. That is why when Jesus was around he spent time fighting disease and death [more on this later]. The bible says death is the last enemy that will be defeated [Corinthians 15.26]. However as God gave Adam and Eve a free will to chose. God gave us free will to accept or deny him and we chose to deny.

but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
-Isiah 59.2

God could have made us all perfect and pray all day always do the right thing, but that's not love. God wants us to chose to follow him out of love, which only comes with free will. Only when god is in full control, when his will is done, there will be no more wars or disease and only peace. We also have free will to make choices that have consequences that can add to the evils and misery of the world. If I get drunk and crash my car and it kills another driver, that evil and suffering was a result of my own choice, not of gods doing. We all have free will, that's why we pray “your [Gods] will be done on earth as it is in heaven” [Matt 6 .10]. What this world is like and what God intends are two very different things. Gods will is not done here [often] ours is. God gave us stewardship of the earth. However in a fallen world bad things happen for no other reason than that we live in a know fallen imperfect world. When people asked Jesus if the 13 builders in Jerusalem that died was because they sinned. Jesus said no, sometimes bad things happen to good people, the whole creation is under this. So the bible teaches a original perfect creation free of death and suffering as god created it. until sin and separation from him resulted from man's sin.

It is no Longer Gods Creation

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise,and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”
—C.S. Lewis

God originally dwelt and walked with man in the Garden of Eden in a perfect sinless world before the fall. God also gave the earth to Adam to be a steward of earth [psalm 8.6 Gen1 26-28]. Adam sinned and caused the fall and separation from God, he handed creation over to sin. This current world we live in is no longer gods creation. Jesus calls the devil the prince and ruler of this world, in John 18 36 Jesus says I am not of this world.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
-Matthew chapter 4 8-9

9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
-Matthew 6 9-10

16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth he has given to man.
-Proverbs 18 -17

Gods Judgment of Sin/ Is Death a Just Punishment for sin?

God has to judge to be just. if he allowed us to do whatever sin we wanted even to allow us to kill each other etc. There would never be a heaven or paradise. it would really be no different than know. To live eternally in today's fallen world would in some ways be a form of eternal hell. What of people who are tortured? Would they prefer an eternal life here on earth? What of those with diseases? What if Hitler and the Nazis could liver eternally? If there were no heaven or hell, than there would be no eternal consequences for any individual and mankind could act in any way they wanted. It would turn into a hell on earth. Mankind would live eternally separated from god on earth. That is in part why when believers die it is precious in the lords sight [psalm 116.15] because they enter into a true relationship with him with no sin or separation. Also when believers die they are taken from an evil [fallen] world.

The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.
-Isaiah. 57:1

There would be no punishment and separation from god if we did not sin.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Execute true justice,
Show mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’
-Zechariah 7 8-10

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
-Micah 6.8

8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments:
You shall not commit adultery,
you shall not murder,
you shall not steal,
you shall not covet,
and if there is any other commandment—all are summed up by this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.
-Romans 13 8-9

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law
-Galatians 5 22-23

What it Will be Like When God is in Full Control- Restoring the Garden of Eden

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
-Revelations chapter 21 1-5

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
-Isiah 11 6-9

he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
-Isiah 25.8

1 The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days
he mountain of the LORD's house will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,
3 and many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways
so that we may walk in His paths."
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will turn their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nations will not take up the sword against [other] nations,
and they will never again train for war.
-Isaiah 2 1-4

The Solution/ The Gospel

“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as “God on the cross.” In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering. ”The cross of Christ . . . is God’s only self-justification in such a world” as ours. . . . “The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak; they rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but thou alone.”
-John Stott, The Cross of Christ

The solution to death and suffering is why Jesus was sent as a perfect sinless sacrifice to God, to cover the sins of man, by putting there faith in him. It is the only way for a perfect, sinless, all loving God, to save a sinful people and remain just. Picture God as a judge [he is] and he is a all loving and forgiving judge, but also a perfect holy judge [Ex 34 6-7]. If God is just, loving and forgiving, and truly hates sin [as a all loving just god would] than he cannot allow any sin to go unpunished he must judge all sin or he is not all just or a fair judge. Since all mankind is sinful

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
-Romans 3.23

How can we make up for our own sin? how could we not face punishment? and separation from god. That is when an all loving God came into history, and his creation, and died as a willing sacrifice to take the just punishment we deserved on himself. So he can spend a eternity with his creation whom he loves and still be all just.

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
-Isiah 53 5-6

24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
-1 peter 2. 24

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
-2 Corinthians 5.21

So we are justified freely and eternal life is a gift from God given to all mankind [Romans 3 9-11 6.23]. so all we need to do is accept the perfect sacrifice that Jesus was and we are cleansed of our sin and forgiven by god. God does not one person to be sent to hell.

The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance
-2Pet. 3.9

He desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth"
-1Tim. 2.4

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?,' says the Lord God, 'And not rather that he should turn from his way and live? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,' says the Lord God. 'So turn and live! Say to them, "As I live," says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways. For why will you die?
-Ez. 18.23,32; 33.11

of course there will be many who are turning away from God that will see this as foolishness

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
-1 Corinthians 1.18

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him
-1 Corinthians 2 .14

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
-psalm 14.1

Does God sit Around and Allow Evil to Happen

If god was on earth in control he would judge us and punish us. over and over read [exodus Leviticus] God says do not come near me for I am holy and separate from sin lest you die. He does not want to judge us but forgive us, but he is a fully just god who if is all loving perfect and hates sin than he must judge.

proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished
-exodus 34 6-7

“If humans have free will, that has to include the real potential of evil. If God simply 'poofed' away any evil decisions or their consequences, that would effectively mean that humans don't have meaningful choice.Second, it is incredibly presumptuous to expect God to intervene every time *humans* screw up. Why don't the atheists spend half as much time criticizing the humans who create these atrocities as shaking their fist at a God who they don't even believe in? Third, God has done something about evil; He sent Jesus. There is a solution to the problem of evil, just not an *immediate* one (an *immediate* solution would have killed Adam and Eve instantly, thus ending the human race, and all speculation about the problem of evil)....So, how could a loving God just sit back and allow all the death and suffering in this world? This question assumes that God hasn’t done anything. In fact, God has done a lot already to solve the problem of evil, and He has promised to do more in the future. If God had immediately judged all of humanity and gotten rid of the evil rebellion that causes death and suffering today, Adam and Eve would have died instantly, and none of us would be around to complain about God delaying judgment and allowing bad things to happen. Second, the death and suffering that goes on in this life is a powerful reminder that something is wrong with creation, and more than that, something is wrong with the human heart and our relationship to God. Suffering often points people to Christ, who is God’s ultimate answer to the problem of evil.”
-Shane Cessna Is it Gods Fault

“If God followed this type of “logic,” then we would live in a bizarre world. Should He temporarily suspend gravity when a person attempts to commit suicide by leaping from a high place, or must He prevent car crashes through any means necessary? Let’s take this a step further. Maybe He should prevent any harm to any person. Perhaps He should suspend gravity whenever a little girl is about to fall down so that she doesn’t scrape up her knee. Should He prevent us from eating food that may not be entirely healthy? This type of thinking quickly removes any semblance of freedom we may have.If people followed this type of “logic,” then we would outlaw all sports, driving, or any other activity that involves the risk of dying or getting hurt. People would never have children knowing their kids would grow up and eventually die. No one would get a pet because the pet might scratch a family member—or worse, that pet will eventually die, and some pets would give birth to other animals, which would also eventually die. I’m thankful that God doesn’t play by these rules. While there are times that I tend to wish He would have prevented me from doing certain things (namely, the times I’ve sinned against Him or the times I’ve hurt others), I realize that He is able to use those things or their consequences for good
-(Romans 8:28).http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2012/08/17/feedback-dinosaur-extinction#fnList_1_1