Why Does God Allow Suffering

Since early civilizations people have been asked, "Why, God, why?" when suffering enters their lives, natural disaster strikes, a death of a child takes place. And for centuries, religions have tried answering the question of how God, who is Love, could allow us to endure these suffering.

This conversation presumes that God is a being that acts like a human and makes judgements and meters out punishments for "sins." With that assumption we can only arrive at confusion or answers that turn God into a King and the world his tribe.

Although it would be nice to hear Ernest Holmes address this issue, he almost surely addressed it in his classes.

Ernest says in the Textbook, "Evil will cease to be when we stop looking at it; it never really was and is but a supposition. Let us, then, turn to the Path of Light and look to the God Within. Let us say, "Thou Infinite, Indwelling God, within me, knowing no evil, teach me of Thy ways, and in Thy wisdom make me wise. Almighty God within me, direct me into the way of the All Good." Let us turn completely from any and every belief in evil and do good. The problem will thus be solved and we shall realize that only the Good remains."

Eastern traditions, such as Buddhism, suggest all life is suffering caused by attachment. The mystic, Rumi, would say we suffer as we feel separate from God. While many Hindus view suffering as a form of punishment for misdeeds committed in this lifetime and/or past lives.

In Christianity a "sinless man," Jesus, died for all sins and teach God's power and goodness is acceptable, indeed, compatible with the suffering of innocents.As we see there are many view points crossing Millennium.

All of creation is GOD IN ACTION, however, a tree, a fish, a person, a planet or a galaxy represent enormous differences both in intelligence and design, but they are ALL GOD.

When I was Baptist I had trouble with the concept of suffering and Good versus Evil. I couldn't get my mind around it. It was no help to review the ancient literature as it was filled with God taking sides and having chosen people and the rest were left to suffer. The universe was essentially based a social tribalism, then, and we, the peasants, have a King (God) and various fiefdoms and minor rulers, etc. A very unsatisfying arrangement for most of the world.

After traveling many spiritual paths I realize that if God was a being that judged, such as we have talked about here, then

Yet, if God is within us, beyond the mind and body, and beyond the concepts that we believe, then understanding is only needed to satisfy the mind. Satiating the mind with another concept is also futile because it begets more questions and concepts. We need the experience of God not the concept. With this experience all else is.