Why would you follow any Deity that showed off his divinity by inflicting suffering on his followers?

Question

Please pay particular attention to the last 2 lines.

(1 John 1:5). But He had to create darkness because darkness was something that was not originally in being, but had to be brought into being so that light could be appreciated. If we never experienced darkness we would never know what light was—we would take it for granted like the air we breathe. It is only when the air becomes foul that we really appreciate what fresh air is.

Answer 1

"He had to create darkness."  I'm going to assume that this means spiritual darkness or evil rather than the literal absence of light. I think it's pretty clear that it's not just a statement about why you appreciate what you have, it's a statement that God intentionally created darkness.

By the way, for those who are about to insist that God didn't create evil,

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)  

Answer 2

  The curious as well as the critics of Christianity ask this question. If God is all-powerful and all loving, then why does He permit evil and suffering in the world? Various answers have been given but permanently settling the issue is impossible because so many of our answers raise further questions. Nevertheless, our lack of ability to answer the question perfectly does not mean that we cannot offer solutions. Of course, I do not assume to be able to answer these questions definitively, but I can offer some solutions.

     First of all, it is possible that God has reasons for allowing evil to exist that we simply cannot understand. In this the Christian can have confidence in God knowing that His ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). As the Bible says, the just shall live by faith (Hab. 2:4).

     Second, God may be letting evil run its course in order to prove that evil is evil and that suffering, which is the unfortunate product of evil, is further proof that anything contrary to God’s will is bad, harmful, painful, and leads to death.

     God gave Adam dominion over the world (Gen. 1:28). When he rebelled against God, he set in motion an entire series of events and changed the very nature of man and creation. Both were affected by sin. Creation was no longer a paradise, but bore thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-18; Rom. 8:22). People became sinful (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3), who were haters of God (Rom. 3:19-12), etc. The only conclusion to such a situation is death. Jesus said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. 24:22).

     Sin is rebellion against God and His created order. But God has not left us alone in this fallen world. He continued to enter this world, pointing us to Himself, to truth, to morality, purity, and love. He used the evil of the world (liars, perjurers, the envious, etc), to bring His Son to the cross so that we might have the opportunity of eternal life. In this, God has not stepped away from fallen creation, but has stepped into it by becoming Jesus. God works within the fallen world to affect change and He uses fallen people to accomplish His will. In this, He is proving His sovereignty over evil, suffering, and rebellious people, proving that sin and evil are utterly futile, and that He is worthy of honor and glory.

     A third possible reason that God is letting evil occur is so that on the day of judgment, the condemned will have no right to say that their sentence is unjust. God is not stopping people from exercising their free will. Think about this: If someone said that God should stop evil and suffering, then should God then stop all evil and suffering? If God only stopped some of it, then we would still be asking the same question of why it exists. So, if we want God to stop evil and suffering, then He must stop all of it. We have no problem with this when it means stopping a catastrophe, or a murder, or a rape. But what about when someone thinks of something evil? Evil is evil whether it is acted out or not. Hatred and bigotry in someone’s heart is wrong. If it is wrong, and if God is to stop all evil, then He must stop that person from thinking his own thoughts. To do that, God must remove his freedom of thought. Furthermore, which person on the earth has not thought something evil? God would be required, then, to stop all people from exercising their free will. This is something God has chosen not to do. Therefore, we could say that one of the reasons that God permits evil and suffering is because of man’s free will.

     Fourth, it is quite possible that God uses the suffering to do good. In other words, He produces patience through tribulation (Rom. 5:3). Or He may desire to save someone through it. Take for example, the account of Joseph who was sold into slavery by His brothers. What they did was wrong and Joseph suffered greatly for it. But, later, God raised up Joseph in Egypt to make provisions for the people of that land during the coming drought of seven years. But not only was Egypt saved, but also so was his family and brothers who originally sold him into slavery. Joseph finally says to them, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:15-21). Of course, the greatest example of God using evil for good is the death of Christ. Evil people brought him to the cross, but God used that cross as the means to save the world.

     But then we must ask, if this is true, are we working against God by working against evil and suffering? No, we are not. God says he does not want us to sin and suffer. But it is simply true that God can use evil despite of its apparent despicable nature.

     God is in the world using the world and its failures for His glory and the benefit of those who listen to Him.

     But then, what about those who seem to innocently suffer with no benefit resulting? What about the woman who is raped, or the innocent by

Answer 3

pointless really!! - they'll never get it!.... no use. sorry..

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i never have had this particular "problem". ;)

Answer 4

He didn't inflict suffering on us.  You might need to pay attention to the last 2 lines.  All this says is that were it not for hard times, we might not appreciate the good ones.

Answer 5

I wouldn't, and I don't.

Answer 6

While I dislike cut/paste, it becomes tiresome to constantly repeat the same answers over and over again... and these EDITED passages from the site, gotquestions.org (see link below), adress this issue very well (why reinvent the wheel?).... and here they are:

There is no doubt that God both allows and, at times, causes pain and suffering, but God’s goodness cannot be impugned because He commits an act that appears cruel to us. While we can’t claim to know His reasoning in every circumstance, we do know several reasons for actions that can appear to us to be cruel, especially if we don’t know—or don’t bother to find out—the circumstances:

1. To mete out just punishment

2. To bring about a greater good

3. To glorify Himself

In summary, the skeptic must bear a very large burden of proof in claiming that God’s actions are characterized by cruelty. In context, the biblical passages which appear to paint God as cruel actually do no such thing. In fact, with a proper understanding of the Scriptures, we see that God’s actions are always motivated by, and consistent with, His holy and perfect character.

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Please avail yourself of the full, expanded version to fill in where I have had to edit down for brevity's sake.

Have a blessed day.

Answer 7

I think Job is a perfect example of God's cruelty towards humans. He makes a deal with the Devil to see if Job will curse his faith while the Devil does all sorts of nasty things to him. That's literally like making a bet with your worst enemy that he can get your child to disown you as a father after pummeling him mercilessly for days on end. And for no good reason, either!

What kind of loving father does that to their child?