if you were God would you create such a universe as this? |
Steven, that's a good question, and the answer is yes I would. God remains infinitely secure at all times, and from God's perspective, a greater good will arise because of the existence of suffering, rather than in spite of it. (This principle can be understood when we face a harsh challenge of some kind. If we can get through the challenge, then we will emerge stronger and wiser than if we had not faced the challenge at all. This same principle applies on a larger scale to the whole cosmic story. The ultimate outcome is already assured, from God’s point of view.)
Understandably, in the midst of our challenges we cry, "Dear God, why do you allow us to experience this pain?" But we should not doubt the infinite wisdom of God. It is during troublesome times that we need to trust God most. Incidentally, Jesus' cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, demonstrated that God is not insensitive to our frailties and pain. On the contrary. He intimately shares them.
A divine attribute commonly assigned to God is "omnipotence", which means unlimited power. However, many people ask why God would permit pain and suffering if He possesses unlimited power. I found a good insight from theologian Denis Edwards: "God's omnipotence can be understood as God's capacity to enter into love with all its costs. Divine omnipotence is really the divine capacity for love beyond all human comprehension.”
If we can understand that the beloved's
freedom is a necessary act of God's love, then we can gain a glimpse of logic regarding why suffering might arise necessarily. Christian revelation, (along with all our religious revelations), declares that there is a happy ending to life, and that this world is not the be all and end all.
If we could behold the beauty, wonder and serenity of the Heavenly Realm, (which is actually the
Real eternal Universe), then we would not only see how God can afford to create a crap-hole like this physical plane, with all its costs and overheads, but we would also see that
everything is created for an all-wise and beneficent purpose.