If God exists, why do people suffer?

Jesus commanded people to " love God and love one another" (Matthew 22:37-40).

"37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The Bible states to Love God:

-1 John 5:3: This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

- Matthew 22:37:...“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

The Bible states to love others:

-John 13:34: Jesus stated " Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

God has given man free will, the ability to freely choose to obey or disobey His commands. Men either fail or choose not to love one another and love God. Instead of loving one another many times men choose to afflict one another or ignore fellow man's suffering/needs. Most of the evil and suffering we see in the world is due to the affliction man has caused to fellow man because they fail to love God and love one another as they do themselves.

People see suffering and affliction and they blame God when God has commanded people to love God (obey His Commandments such as do not murder) and to love one another. This is the result of disobedience to God's laws.

When God created mankind and the world; "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good - Gen 1:31." God gave man all he made, he intended to have a direct relationship with man, God intended man to live forever and not die but when sin entered the world (Genesis 3), it brought a curse and it brought death (Gen 3:19).

Gen3:17-19 ...“Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.”

Therefore as a result of the sin:

1. a curse came - disease, hardships, natural disasters...

2. physical death entered in - people die

3. spiritual death - separation from God because of sin

4. the world was handed over to Satan (Luke 4:6 - ""I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them," the devil said, "because they are mine to give to anyone I please.")

Sorry for the long answer but you had many questions. I hope this helps.

For helping you to get a grip on this thing, obtain the book titled 'Piso Christ' and learn who wrote the NT story, how Jesus was invented and who built the christianity. You will have many references to do your own research as well. In the meantime, allow me to put this to you. In every story in religion or about religion you will find there is a good entity and a bad something or other. In christianity Jesus is made to be the good and satan is made to be the bad. Why is that? So that there can be a bad for the good to play off of, and also the bad can be blamed for all that the religion makers know full well that the god can not do anyway nor prevent, so they just teach that it is the bad that causes bad things. Read Piso Christ and study it and you can learn much.

The answer to your question is simple. If God does exist, than He has His reasons. If He is real then his knowledge FAR surpasses that of any humans. So He allows these things to happen for a reason that is known to Him, but potentially unknown to us.

Or God isn't real so it doesn't matter.

My opinion: I believe wholeheartedly in God. I believe he allows suffering because of the positive things that he can make out of suffering. He sees the whole picture. For example, my choir teacher was diagnosed with cancer roughly ten years ago. She recovered, but later found out that she had cancer once again. This happened repeatedly (I believe she ended up being re-diagnosed with cancer 4-5 times) but throughout all of this, I never once heard her complain. In fact, she was constantly praising God, she was always smiling, and was always in a good mood. A few months ago she passed away. I was devastated, and so was the entire community, (I live in a small town), but I completely believe that God allowed her to suffer like that for a reason. At her funeral, many people were talking about the tremendous effects she had on those around her. She was a great example, and I was personally effected by her tremendously. Seeing her praising God so often even though she was suffering so much challenged me to me to take my faith more seriously, and I know for a fact that that was true for many others as well.

Another thing to consider: 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

A link if you want to hear an educated Christian's opinion: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2012/july-onli...

Wow!!! I can see the deep emotion in your question. And there are answers to every question that you posted here. You actually know a lot more than you may think you do, unfortunately there are many who call themselves Christian who do not have clear understanding (or who are not providing accurate understanding of the scriptures) Mat 7:21-23; 7:15-20. This is why you have the confusion you have. God is the perfect, all knowing, just, and loving creator of all. Although he does not owe any explanation for anything, the love he has for his subjects has allowed for a few things. Free will: he gave free will to all without exception (Satan included Ex 9:16). Satan started out a perfect angel then reduced himself to a liar and adversary of God (John 8:44). When Satan convinced Eve to eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden that she was instructed by God not to, he challenged God's sovereignty and posed the questioned as to whether mankind could truly govern themselves successfully. God in turn allowed Adam and Eve, and all their descendants to chose who they would follow (worship) by how they chose to conduct their lives. Since God requires exclusive devotion from his subjects he commissioned the creation of the bible to serve as a guide for those who wish to worship him to do so with accurate guidance (2Tim 3:16,17 ). I'm not sure if you are a parent, but if not, even imperfect parents know that if they force their children to obey their every word that the children will ultimately despise them and when given the chance would purposely go against everything their parent taught them. So that being said, God did create us but he wants us to willingly follow his commandments and want to do his will (Ec 12:13). The bible warns us of every calamity that we have seen and have yet to see (Mat 24:1-14 2Tim 3:1-5). It reminds us that even when we follow his direction, because we live in a now imperfect world with imperfect (even evil) people, that we will all suffer. He promises to be there to get us through if we have the faith that he can. God has also promised that he will put a permanent end to suffering and to the root of all sin but that no one (not even Jesus) knows the day or hour (Rev 21:1-5 Mat 24:36). One reason is to assure that people truly put faith in God and endure in doing his will until the end. As far as death goes, God did tell Adam in Genesis that if they ate from a particular tree in the Garden of Eden they would positively die (he did not say when or how but he did say they would die). If Adam and Eve had obeyed then they would have remained perfect and had perfect offspring, but they sinned and became imperfect.

As far as the flood goes it was created because there were so many bad people in the earth and there were also children from the offspring of corrupt angels and women from the earth called Nephilim (Gen 6:4). God felt regrets for creating men on earth and decided to wipe them from the surface of the earth, but Noah found favor in God. After the flood God made a covenant to never cut off flesh/ bring the earth to ruin by waters of a deluge (Gen 9:8-11) and he gave then the rainbow to serve as a sign (Gen 9:12-14). Use your bible to read the supporting scriptures.

Because people want nothing to do with God. They departed from God and want to do it their own way.

There will come a day when the Lord will cleanse His Kingdom of all evil, and than will be peace and no more suffering.

Nothing unclean, sinful, evil, immoral and unrighteous will be there.

The only way to be there is through the Lord Jesus Christ, for only He can cleanse somebody of sin, and make them righteous.

YOU SUFFER NOW SO YOU WON'T SUFFER FOR ETERNITY.

GOD LETS YOU SUFFER TO REMIND YOU OF THE SACRIFICE HE DID FOR YOU. TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU NEED THEN THROUGH THIS JOURNEY. because if you're always happy, you would think you don't think anything else.

ANYWAY. That's the best answer you can ever get. Now will you read my question that you answered again because I believe you're mistaken. When I said I'm heartless, I meant that I don't feel love. And I need you to help me because I feel empty. Read the description.

don't blame god don't blame us the people blame the devil and blame adam & eve its satan's fault he is the real reason why suffering is going on in this world and second adam & eve they disobeyed god in the garden of eden its their fault too when they listened to satan instead of god . see satan wanted more power than god we don't know why so he tuned on god if satan wouldn't have turned on god then this world would have been much much better but lucifer jacked it all up . and where paying for adam & eve disobedience but it will end soon when the rapture comes . god can destroy satan but he wont because its not in his will to do it u see lucifer was god favorite angel most beautiful favorite angel but like i told you earlier he blew it .

as lame as it sounds, but it is sound doctrine. God gives us free will and the agency of freedom to choose for ourselves. the question is not whether men have the right to gay marriage. the real question is about Believing in God and Obedience. if no one ever sodomized another, there wouldnt be aids. if people didnt fornicate or commit adultery people wouldnt die of some disease. even if they are innocent.

the world becomes evil because satan taught Cain how to murder and to get gain.

men without faith follow satan and become murderers. and with their power and wealth they follow all manner of wickedness. thats why the earth is in so much tribulation. God will have HIS justice and He will not give mercy to the unmerciful. sometimes its better to let a person die then that they live to suffer for old age. sometimes men choose to give a living sacrifice. If men will not listen to the prophets or teachers and choose righteousness, unholy men will rise in power and seek to destroy everything that is good.

Since everyone suffers, and (according to most Christians) most people are going to Hell, then it naturally follows that suffering, in and out of Hell, must be important to the Christian deity.

Because people wants God to stay out of their lives so they can have the freedom to do whatever and God granted them that freedom. if a mugger mugs you then that mugger made you suffer and that is not God's doing. God's is not your servant when ever you demand it. Why should God protect sinners? What have you done to earn his attention?