Many religions — like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism — hold that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. That creates the “problem of evil” – If God is good and powerful, why does suffering exist? Different religions respond in various ways:
- Free will defense: God allows suffering because free will is necessary for genuine love and moral choice. If God prevented all evil, we’d be robots without moral agency.
- Soul-making theodicy: Suffering helps develop virtues like courage, compassion, and resilience. Without challenges, we couldn’t grow spiritually.
- Divine mystery card: Some argue that God’s reasons are beyond human understanding — that we can’t see the full picture from our limited perspective (as in the Book of Job).
God can’t be all-power and all-controlling
- Open Theism reject the idea of an all-controlling God. Instead, God works with creation through influence. In this view, God suffers with the world and works to heal it, but can’t unilaterally prevent all suffering. See A Loving God Can’t Be All-Powerful!
When it feels like God is responsible or allows suffering
Others come to see suffering not as something caused by God, but as something used/allowed by God. They might say: “I don’t believe God wanted this pain, but He met me in it.” That view may work for some, but I believe many hold onto this view because convinced God must be all-powerful. It can be natural to ask, “If God could stop this, why didn’t He? Many feel betrayed or abandoned by God. Some find it hard to pray. This reaction isn’t a lack of faith — it’s an honest human response to suffering. Feeling angry with God can be part of a genuine relationship — it means you still believe. God can be questioned!
If we maintain that God limits their Power, this suggests God can do something but doesn’t. We must come up with a better explanation that God simply allows – thus controls – evils but isn’t responsible for such evils. A God who can prevent evil but doesn’t is counter-intuitive to love. No loving parent or God sits idly by when they could prevent tragedies such as rape or murder. We feel God leaves us clueless – are we to believe God doesn’t care, God is punishing us, or God has abandoned us and left us ignorant about the grand plan? God doesn’t just allow your suffering!
Maybe God doesn’t cause or allow suffering
Please know there are alternative views of God if currently struggling what claims you have heard. Accepting God is not all-powerful has help me deal with brain cancer. See Why Did God Allow This Cancerous Tumor In My Brain?
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What God May Really Be Like - Misbeliefs About God 