It is very troubling for us Christians to try and provide a satisfactory answer to our angry critics who want nothing to do with this "Cruel God" of ours. There was suffering yesterday, there is pain today, and tomorrow will bring torment and torture to many.
As a follower of gentle and loving Jesus, I am stuck with this hard accusation against our Christian God. It is a difficult problem, with no evidence that it will be going away anytime soon. When I first realized this, it was quite distressing to me, because all this pain in the world is a massive stumbling block that prevents many from putting their full trust in Jesus and His Heavenly Father. But as I meditated on this problem, I realized a truth that has given me a very large sense of relief about this vexing issue of torment and sorrow in our sin-damaged world. The specific truth that has brought me relief is this: NO ONE HAS ANY BETTER IDEAS.
Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Jainism, Communism, Islamism, Confucianism, Atheism, Paganism and Hedonism all have the same problem that we Christians have: THEY DON'T HAVE ANY BETTER SOLUTIONS THAN WE DO!!
None of the world's major belief systems, either Pagan or Christian, is able to promise it's followers, disciples or adherents that they will experience and enjoy a completely pain-free life by adopting, practicing or embracing the doctrines and teachings of their belief system.
None of these major theologies or philosophies have succeeded in forcing, coercing, manipulating, tricking, or somehow seducing their version of God into removing evil from our sin-damaged world. As Christians, we do not have to be ashamed of our bumbling efforts to give our Pagan neighbors a satisfactory answer to the world's pain. In fact, we CAN hold our heads high, because unlike some religions which teach that evil will exist forever, at least our Christian Scriptures promise us that someday, God WILL destroy all evil: totally, completely and permanently! Revelation 21:3-5
