I M Probulos.com

Why is there so much suffering? Why does God allow suffering? If God is good why is there so much pain and misery in the world?

Kirk Cameron, a strict fundamentalist, will explain this to the world on Sept 24 2013.

For anyone who has seen Kirk Cameron’s and Ray Comfort’s other videos and presentations we should expect biblical quote-mining, anecdotes and lots of wishful thinking and how “faith” makes him feel good inside. Over 85% of the worlds population believes in some sort of deity or higher power.

For the other view of why there is suffering see Bart Ehrman’s God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question–Why We Suffer [Amazon link].

In addition, my answer this question and numerous others concerning our place in the universe, suffering, success, failure, tragedy, miracles and the idea “there is a reason for everything” is outlined in my book: The Statistical Theory of Everything: It Explains Everything and is Never Wrong [Amazon link]

Here are just five quick answers to Kirk’s question:

For one, the invisible and imaginary look very much alike. Whether one calls God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, Buddha (not considered a deity), Krishna or Zeus the results are always the same: event unfold based on statistical probability and the laws of nature.

Everyone loves anecdotes, personal stories and amazing coincidences. These are always attributed to the universe, God, mother earth, the Law of Attraction or whatever your belief. Unfortunately, it is a case of agenticity and patternicity and incorrect causality. Often you are just mistaken if you attribute your raise to praying to God that morning. Millions pray for a raise or their loved one to be healed and it does not happen. However, they do not curse God and apparently that is what Kirk is going to explain.

Here is a quick list of why the faithful explain bad things to good people:

1. Original sin
2. Free Will
3. Man’s disobedience
4. Man’s sinful nature
5. Did I say FREE WILL (I call this the illusion of free will in my book, 12 Unthinkable Horrors)
6. Basically, suffering is all our fault.
7. Kirk and Pat Robertsons assert that homosexuality is why bad things happen (add Westboro Baptist Church)
8. The other train of thought is “we cannot know the mind of God.”
9. God works in mysterious ways
10. God knows what is best.
11. God is testing us.
12. God is challenging us.
13. God is improving our character.
14. God really loves us and wants us up in heaven with him.
15. The Meek shall inherit (and other biblical quote mining)

If you want to see how ludicrious this sounds read my short novella Adam and Eve Revisited. Adam and Eve never happened. The fall never happened. Snakes don’t talk. God did not walk around with man in a purported Garden of Eden. Eve, an innocent, one day old, could never have been expected to make the profound decision thrust on her. From every and every angle this story is absurd. Once there is no fall of man, there is no flood, there is no Sodom and Gomarrah, and no reason for Jesus. That’s right. The entire Old and New Testament falls within the first four pages of Genesis. Really. Unless you have faith. And then you will probably really enjoy Kirk Cameron explaining why God allows suffering.

 Anothing couple of points I wish to make: Damnation by probability; God as bungler.

Both these concepts are discussed in my two books above plus a much more in-depth discussion in my book, the 12 Unthinkable Horrors of Human Existence. Yes, I have thought about this topic a lot.

Damnation by probability simply states that even if one assumed that every Christian went to heaven, approximately 2 billion souls, then 5 billion would be rotting in hell, in torture and torment, forever. That is damnation by probability. For one, if the global probability is at the very minimum, 71 % that you will have to endure an eternity in fiery damnation. Regardless of the efforts of missionaries, year after year, that statistic will not change much. I believe that the Muslim population is growing faster than Christianity at the moment. While in the United States one could argue that most are Christian, in numerous other nations, they are not. In a Muslim nation, it is considerd apostasy to convert and punishable by death. So, in essence, the good Christian God expects millions of Muslims to die to be with Him in heaven. Yet their faith in Allah is just as real and just as strong. There really is not a lot of incentive for a Muslim to convert.

This leads us to God as Bungler. After creating a perfect world, an omniscient God allows a one-day old innocent, Eve, and a talking snake to thwart his plan for humankind. Really? Like He did not think this through? If Eve was so flawed that she could not make one simple decision why not a do-over? Was it so important for FREE WILL (this may be Kirk Camerons’s number one reason for suffering… stay posted) that we have to have have death and sin and suffering?

So despite being omnisicient and omnipotent, God allows this free will concept, and a disobedient favorite creation to thwart his grand plan. Does this sound like a diety or epic mythology? This omnsicient being then kills every human being plus millions of innocent animals (save eight humans) and then sacrifices his son to change the mind of his favorite creation.

Sounds like a lot of work and then His success rate is less than 29%. If Allah is one the true God, which over a billion Muslims believe, then Allah has about a 15% succes rate — assuming every Muslim goes to heaven. And what about the Sunni/Shia debate? Or the Protestant/Catholic debate? Is this the success rate of an omnipotent, omnicient being?

Damnation by probability. The faithful smugly assert they have the truth, the revelation, the bible, the family values and are all going heaven. If only you would agree with them, then you could go to heaven.

Add to this mix is the “blame the victim” mentality of faith. If you life is horrible then:

1. You did not believe enough.
2. Your faith is waivering.
3. You believe in the wrong god.
4. You are wicked.
5. You are being tested by God
6. It is your fault you are being punished by God.
7. The faithful are rewarded; the wicked punished (see appropriate bible quote)

So this is a tautology. If you believe then God will reward you. Why were you not rewarded? You did not believe enough. Try again. It always works and can never be tested or refuted.

To make it even better there are numerous biblical passages stating that God shall not be tested. So one can never ask for a sign from God, except for maybe a burning bush from a lighting bolt.

Ultimately, based on accepting the 12 unthinkable horrors, there is no magical sky-daddy allowing good or evil. Suffering exists as a natural distribution of human events. With 7 billion people there will be one who suffers the most and one who suffers the least– it is a statistical certainty. No deity is necessary. Just the laws of nature and probability.

So now no one has to feel guilty for not believing enough or praying to the wrong deity, Allah, God, Jehovah or Krishna.

We are responsibe for the success or failures in our life. There is no cosmic plan or deity betting with the devil for your soul. And I did not even go into the concept of the Lex Luthor of the Bible, Satan. I am sure Kirk will warn us about how Satan is the reason for homosexuality and premarital sex and all kinds of pleasures of the flesh.

The fact that humankind likes sex, food, adrenaline, oxytocine, serotonin, and heroin is because of the reward centers created by our God and Creator in our brain. If we are using them all wrong, it’s a desgin flaw, not free will. Again, I discuss this for over 20 pages in The 12 Unthinkable Horrors.

So, that’s just a few thoughts on why there is suffering in the world. That is the way the world evolved from a single-cellular organism. It is survival of the fittest not the product of an omniscient deity. If it is, He should be embarassed. I find it much more loving and acceptable that there is no one deciding who gets cancer and who lives to 100. Why does my child die and provide organs to someone who prayed for the very same organs? No reason. It was probability and chance and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, for the majority they must believe that they did not have enough faith, or were bad, or that God has a different plan for their child, or is testing their faith or any number of explanations.

This simplest is probability and the Statistical Theory of Everything.

I. M. Probulos