If God is such a good and powerful God, why does he allow the innocent to suffer?

 

If God is such a good and all-powerful God, why does he allow the innocent to suffer?

 

 

I made the statement in my first post that this was a best question to begin my blog.  I’ve had reason to regret that statement!  One of the reasons why this is true is because it’s a loaded question. The question itself consists of more underlying questions that beg answering; not only that, it has assumptions that deserve discussion.

Questions behind the question:

Is there a God?

Is God all-good?

Is God all-powerful?

Can an all-good God allow suffering and still be good?

For what purpose would God allow suffering in any form?

Why wouldn’t God exempt the innocent from suffering?

Assumptions underlying the original question:

Suffering is bad.

There is such a thing as innocence.

There’s also the matter of that “IF”.  The motive or reason behind the question is all important when answering, may even be the first and most important factor to consider before answering.

All in all, it provides enough material for posts to keep me busy for a long while.