Why do humans allow suffering?

[Spiderman]

There's an old saying "if you go up to a blind person or quadriplegic and kick them, you have treated them better than God".
I have been beaten, permanently injured, and stabbed with pencils and prison shanks, and I would rather go through that 100 times than be quadriplegic or blind for life. So, that statement is in fact true, if indeed God could comfortably put people out of their misery or easily heal them, and chooses not to.

 

[YmirGF]

Okay. So it seems you have turned the blame from the powerful, and pinned it on the less powerful.
Hmmmmm. I wonder if that would work, were God in the picture.
Just wondering. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure what you are actually trying to say.

 

[Deidre]

I don't see all suffering as bad. I see the suffering of innocent children, or animals as always bad. But, if for example, I make poor choices and I suffer because of those choices, I need to learn from the pain of those bad choices. But, some people never learn, no matter how much suffering they go through.

I remember reading in Buddhism, there is a philosophy about suffering, that it's optional. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Something like that.

 

[Fool]

Many people tell me they don’t believe in God because if he existed he wouldn’t allow suffering. Since there is plenty of suffering in the world, that must mean that God doesn’t exist. I tell them the account in the Bible: God’s authority was challenged and instead of imposing his authority he decided to give humans a chance to prove their point for a certain period of time. He gave us the right to rule ourselves without his intervention.
At the moment, governments are formed by people who have in their hands the power to do plenty of things. These governments rule over people who individually might not feel very powerful, but collectively, as a society, can get many things done, things that could ultimately completely change the tragic course we’ve trapped ourselves in, but yet, what I see is indifference, numbness, lack of empathy, lack of kindness and generosity, etc. I don't see many people committed to end suffering.
With all our freedom, technology, enlightenment, whatever else, shouldn't we have been able to do something about that already? If God is out of the picture and humans are in charge, why do humans allow suffering then?

without love there is suffering. with love comes light and the cessation of suffering.

 

[sojourner]

Arent we really talking about brokenness and wholeness? If so, then we are responsible for our own wholeness. People can be healthy, successful, loved, popular, talented, rich, and still be incredibly, devastatingly broken. People can be chronically and terminally ill, poor, alone, and still be whole, facing their hardships with gratitude. It’s all in how we choose to utilize our spiritual energy. We have an endless supply, if we will only learn to balance and harmonize it with the rest of this big, organic whole we call “the world.”

 

[nPeace]

I'm not sure what you are actually trying to say.

Many people tell me they don’t believe in God because if he existed he wouldn’t allow suffering. Since there is plenty of suffering in the world, that must mean that God doesn’t exist.
.........
If God is out of the picture and humans are in charge, why do humans allow suffering then?

Modern medicine has alleviated a huge amount of suffering. The sad reality is that the vast majority of human animals don't really pay attention until life smacks them on the back of the head with a 2x4, and even then some fail to connect their actions to possible outcomes.

I must have misunderstood you.
I though you were saying that although they have been progress made by some, in alleviating some problems, the vast majority of mankind don't don't pay attention to the fact that they contribute to the problems.
If I misunderstood you, I'm sorry.

I was just thinking that when it comes to God, persons acid against God don't reason that way - that the problems really lies with the vast majority of mankind who fail to pay attention, and just do as they like, regardless of the consequences.
That's all.

 

[sayak83]

Many people tell me they don’t believe in God because if he existed he wouldn’t allow suffering. Since there is plenty of suffering in the world, that must mean that God doesn’t exist. I tell them the account in the Bible: God’s authority was challenged and instead of imposing his authority he decided to give humans a chance to prove their point for a certain period of time. He gave us the right to rule ourselves without his intervention.
At the moment, governments are formed by people who have in their hands the power to do plenty of things. These governments rule over people who individually might not feel very powerful, but collectively, as a society, can get many things done, things that could ultimately completely change the tragic course we’ve trapped ourselves in, but yet, what I see is indifference, numbness, lack of empathy, lack of kindness and generosity, etc. I don't see many people committed to end suffering.
With all our freedom, technology, enlightenment, whatever else, shouldn't we have been able to do something about that already? If God is out of the picture and humans are in charge, why do humans allow suffering then?

The reason is simple. Humans don't trust other humans much and fear being exploited by them. This fear is rational as we can't see inside the mind of others. This makes our cooperative actions fall far short of what could have been achieved otherwise.

 

[Milton Platt]

Many people tell me they don’t believe in God because if he existed he wouldn’t allow suffering. Since there is plenty of suffering in the world, that must mean that God doesn’t exist. I tell them the account in the Bible: God’s authority was challenged and instead of imposing his authority he decided to give humans a chance to prove their point for a certain period of time. He gave us the right to rule ourselves without his intervention.
At the moment, governments are formed by people who have in their hands the power to do plenty of things. These governments rule over people who individually might not feel very powerful, but collectively, as a society, can get many things done, things that could ultimately completely change the tragic course we’ve trapped ourselves in, but yet, what I see is indifference, numbness, lack of empathy, lack of kindness and generosity, etc. I don't see many people committed to end suffering.
With all our freedom, technology, enlightenment, whatever else, shouldn't we have been able to do something about that already? If God is out of the picture and humans are in charge, why do humans allow suffering then?

Because humans are imperfect and make mistakes. Surly you know that? As to the god question, you seem to know a great deal about the mind of a being that has not been proven to exist after thousands of years of trying. That aside, if one were to assume he existed and was all powerful and all knowing, and he made a conscious decision to allow evil, no matter how it came about, he is still responsible for that evil. One would have to presume a god would have other alternatives available to him and the god deliberately allowed the evil, unless you are comfortable with the idea that humans can override the will of a god.
So your thinking does not really hold water, sorry.
Besides, that is only one of a number of arguments against the many versions of a god thus far proposed.

 

[nPeace]

Because humans are imperfect and make mistakes. Surly you know that? As to the god question, you seem to know a great deal about the mind of a being that has not been proven to exist after thousands of years of trying. That aside, if one were to assume he existed and was all powerful and all knowing, and he made a conscious decision to allow evil, no matter how it came about, he is still responsible for that evil. One would have to presume a god would have other alternatives available to him and the god deliberately allowed the evil, unless you are comfortable with the idea that humans can override the will of a god.
So your thinking does not really hold water, sorry.
Besides, that is only one of a number of arguments against the many versions of a god thus far proposed.

Really? Humans are imperfect and make mistakes?
How did you arrive at that may I ask? What is imperfection, and how do you determine when a mistake has been made?

 

[Milton Platt]

Really? Humans are imperfect and make mistakes?
How did you arrive at that may I ask? What is imperfection, and how do you determine when a mistake has been made?

I am happy for you if you are absolutely perfect in every way and have never been in error. The rest of us will struggle on.

 

[nPeace]

I make poor choices and I suffer because of those choices,

That makes sense

 

[nPeace]

I am happy for you if you are absolutely perfect in every way and have never been in error. The rest of us will struggle on.

Nice deflection. Expertly done too, but it leaves all the questions unanswered.

 

[Milton Platt]

Nice deflection. Expertly done too, but it leaves all the questions unanswered.

Not a deflection. You seem to be under the impression that humans do not make mistakes, or know how to determine one has been made,right? I see mistakes made, you questioned that mistakes are made or that one can be noticed when it occurs. I was working off your own line of thinking. If you yourself do make mistakes, and can figure out when a mistake has been made, then your question to me is moot. If you have never made a mistake and/or have never discovered that you made a mistake, then I salute you.
So are you perfect, or do you make mistakes?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I am happy for you if you are absolutely perfect in every way and have never been in error. The rest of us will struggle on.

Interject

Mistake according to who?

 

[Spiderman]

I make poor choices and I suffer because of those choices, I need to learn from the pain of those bad choices..

If a person is doing everything they can to get ahead in life and a drunk driver hits them leaving them paralyzed from the neck down, that obviously isn't because of their choice. Is there anything good about it?

If I was in a lot of Muslim-majority countries I would get my tongue cut out, get mutilated, get tortured, lose my nose, ears, or whatever, or spend decades in prison for simply speaking the truth about the regime in charge, the life of Muhammad, or pointing out calls to hate, torture, mass-killings, and disfigurement in the Qur'an.

Would you say, by speaking against tyranny "I make poor choices and suffer because of those choices"? Or perhaps, I'm suffering the consequences of doing the right thing?

 

[Milton Platt]

Interject

Mistake according to who?

Yes, now that's a fair question, thank you.

 

[nPeace]

Not a deflection. You seem to be under the impression that humans do not make mistakes, or know how to determine one has been made,right? I see mistakes made, you questioned that mistakes are made or that one can be noticed when it occurs. I was working off your own line of thinking. If you yourself do make mistakes, and can figure out when a mistake has been made, then your question to me is moot. If you have never made a mistake and/or have never discovered that you made a mistake, then I salute you.
So are you perfect, or do you make mistakes?

Wow. A second time too? ...and no you are not reading my mind. You are not able to know what I am thinking.
You just made thee mistake of stepping into a pile that you are trying to get out of without leaving your clothes soiled.
Deflection number two was not as good as number one.
Are you going to attempt a third?

You haven't answered any of the questions, and your assumptions are way off... actually dead wrong.

 

[siti]

God doesn't do enough to alleviate human suffering because of humans.
Humans don't do enough to alleviate human suffering because of God.

 

[Spiderman]

God doesn't do enough to alleviate human suffering because of humans.
Humans don't do enough to alleviate human suffering because of God.

You always say something really wise or amusing!

Are you the intelligent, thoughtful fella in your avatar?

 

[whirlingmerc]

Many people tell me they don’t believe in God because if he existed he wouldn’t allow suffering. Since there is plenty of suffering in the world, that must mean that God doesn’t exist. I tell them the account in the Bible: God’s authority was challenged and instead of imposing his authority he decided to give humans a chance to prove their point for a certain period of time. He gave us the right to rule ourselves without his intervention.
At the moment, governments are formed by people who have in their hands the power to do plenty of things. These governments rule over people who individually might not feel very powerful, but collectively, as a society, can get many things done, things that could ultimately completely change the tragic course we’ve trapped ourselves in, but yet, what I see is indifference, numbness, lack of empathy, lack of kindness and generosity, etc. I don't see many people committed to end suffering.
With all our freedom, technology, enlightenment, whatever else, shouldn't we have been able to do something about that already? If God is out of the picture and humans are in charge, why do humans allow suffering then?

Humans are fallen... but God may have purposes in suffering.
We have the Psalm most directly speaking to persecution, Psalm 44, followed by a Wedding Psalm, Psalm 45

https://www.slideshare.net/MichaelScaman/adjacent-psalms-that-tell-a-story-part-1