Question: Concerning God and this world’s evil and suffering, if God was all-powerful He could stop the suffering. If He was all-good He would want to stop the suffering. However He has not stopped the suffering so therefore He is not all-powerful nor is He all-good.
An Answer: If God exists then He would be a being that knows all things that is omniscient. He would know about all the past, present and future and future possible things. Consequently it is possible that God could allow, not cause, but allow some instances of suffering in someone’s life for a greater possible good that comes five minutes or a number years afterwards.
Question: How can you say that this earth’s terrible natural disasters are possibly being allowed by God for a greater possible good?
An Answer: If some say that it is impossible for God to use earth’s terrible natural disasters for a greater possible good then such people know all things in the future and so have omniscience. Such could be using their omniscience to seek to disprove the existence of an Omniscient Being. As no person is omniscient, how can any person say that it is impossible for God to allow some instances of suffering in someone’s life for a later and greater possible good?
Question: All the same how can it be said that this God is good and valuable because He has let, say, an adult relation die of cancer when there were young children left behind?
An Answer: How do Christians, that is those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, know that God is good and values the dead adult and the children left behind? Why, in these painful circumstances, is it more than just a platitude or theory that God could allow suffering for a greater possible good? The reason is because in actual verifiable history God did allow suffering to happen to His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, not for a theoretical possible good, but for the greatest good that could ever possibly be, which was to provide salvation for the world. Jesus Christ “died for our sins {the wrong things that we have thought, said and done} according to the scriptures {Bible}; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4). So that whoever believes in Him “may receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:18) and “should not perish {suffer God’s judgment in hell}, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16b) and finally be in heaven {“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also” said by the Lord Jesus, John 14:3)}.” God allowed that suffering for the greatest possible good for the human race. He offers that great salvation to each person, including you, because He values you.
Question: How does any individual know that God values them or their relations?
An Answer: That is a deep question because how valuable is anything? People really value close relations and friends and various possessions. However, if there is a fire in their house then they would get out with their family and friends and the material things would burn. However, if a person’s family is stuck in the burning house would not that person pay any price to save them? People know how valuable someone or something is by what price that they are willing to pay for them or it. People can know that they are valued by God because the infinite God paid an inestimable price so that they and their relations could spend an immeasurable eternity with Him.
Christianity is not a delusion because it makes sense of the fact of the world and makes sense of the specialness of human beings. It makes sense of what is really valuable and it all climaxes in the evidence for Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.