The Problem of Suffering and Evil

[Carrie**]

Hi. I am a Christian taking a Survey of Worldviews and World Religions class, and throughout the course I have been seeing the problem of suffering and evil and some of the positions people take on this matter. I would like to see if some people would be willing to post about how their specific belief system seeks to answer this problem. I am learning a lot and developing my own beliefs regarding this, but here is what I currently believe:
Suffering and evil came into existence when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Prior to their sin, there was no pain, suffering or even death. This conclusion is drawn from: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:19 - the curse placed upon Adam after the fall). So, God did not create evil or suffering. Adam and Eve had to have the option to disobey God in the garden because He desires voluntary love, not robots.
From Adam on down to us, everyone has sinned. And we continue to suffer as a result of living in a sinful world (and at times because of our own sins as well). But Jesus paid for our sins at the Cross - He placed Himself as the Mediator between us and God. He will return to earth one day - and He will put all things right when He comes. I believe this is the answer Christianity offers to the problem of suffering and evil.
Would anyone like to comment and/or offer information about what their own belief systems have to say about the problem of suffering and evil?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

So exactly what developments have happened?

 

[Reverend Chris]

Hi. I am a Christian taking a Survey of Worldviews and World Religions class, and throughout the course I have been seeing the problem of suffering and evil and some of the positions people take on this matter. I would like to see if some people would be willing to post about how their specific belief system seeks to answer this problem. I am learning a lot and developing my own beliefs regarding this, but here is what I currently believe:
Suffering and evil came into existence when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Prior to their sin, there was no pain, suffering or even death. This conclusion is drawn from: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:19 - the curse placed upon Adam after the fall). So, God did not create evil or suffering. Adam and Eve had to have the option to disobey God in the garden because He desires voluntary love, not robots.
From Adam on down to us, everyone has sinned. And we continue to suffer as a result of living in a sinful world (and at times because of our own sins as well). But Jesus paid for our sins at the Cross - He placed Himself as the Mediator between us and God. He will return to earth one day - and He will put all things right when He comes. I believe this is the answer Christianity offers to the problem of suffering and evil.
Would anyone like to comment and/or offer information about what their own belief systems have to say about the problem of suffering and evil?

We choose suffering and evil in a agreement before we incarnate to earth to learn lessons.

Why do you believe what you believe?

 

[idea]

Good and evil are relative terms... One does not exist without the other...

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first–born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no apurpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the bjustice of God.
13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not bthere is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.
14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and alearning; for there is a God, and he hath bcreated all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.
15 And to bring about his eternal apurposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.
16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.
(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:11 - 16)

One more thing - God is cleaning up a mess He did not make...

Hebrew Word Studies
"The English word "create" is an abstract word and a foriegn concept to the Hebrews."

God is "forming" everything - not creating it out of nothingness... You don't get something from nothing, nor can you make something into nothing... All that exists now has always and will always exist - eternally changing form... There never was, nor will there ever be, a state of nothingness...

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Would anyone like to comment and/or offer information about what their own belief systems have to say about the problem of suffering and evil?

I think that the "problem" of evil is only a problem if you need to reconcile the existence of suffering and evil with some sort of good, all-powerful God controlling things. I don't feel any need in that regard.

Things happen. Some are desirable, some are undesirable. In my mind, this poses no problem. Of course, I think it's unfortunate that suffering exists, and I think that it's noble to work to relieve suffering or combat evil, but I don't think there's anything in the sky I can shake my fist at when things go wrong.