If God Loved Man, Why Did He Put Us On Earth To Suffer?

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8 Answers

nettie Profile
nettie answered
Because for the most part we don't live the way the bible has been recited to live and even doing the time of Jesus the world was the same as it is now some bad and some good people and they refuse to change and treat each other the same,love one another,God gave us everything we would need to survive,food, water, land to grow the food man comes along and things that God gave us land,water,fruit trees, etc. Man found away to benefit monotarily from it you have to pay water bill,you must buy wood if you have a fire place or a wood stove, you have to pay taxes on the land all your life you may own the home but you never own the land you forever pay land taxes,so it is my belief that some things we bought on ourselves,one man decide and we all pay. Hope this helps a little,it would certainly take awhile to explain further,this is a few points.   
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
It is a test.  If we cant stay true to god during the small trials and tribulations on earth then why would we deserve the things he can give us in heaven.  Sure, the things we go through on earth seem horrible but that's because that's the worst we see.  If we were living during the holocaust or some other terrible time then the things we go through now would seem minor.  But if your used to minor things then they seem to be bigger problems than they really are.  You are being tested.  You will have your free will in heaven as well.  So if you can make it through the trials and temptation now you will be worthy for god to allow to live in his kingdom
Christian Phillips Profile
Bacause, when we get to heaven with HIM, the time we spent on earth would be quicker than a blink of an eye.
Selie Visa Profile
Selie Visa answered
The problem of sin:

God is all powerful and all loving. But when Adam, the first man (our root) disobeyed God man was cast out from heaven and the close relation we have with God was severed. Through the sin of Adam, every one of us is born with a sinful nature. Mankind and the whole universe are contaminated by sins. This is the original sin. So we all have a sinful nature and we commit sins every day--- personal sins. We are sinners living in a fallen world. You don't have to be a Bible scholar to understand this and to know that something is wrong. Wars and strife, hunger and poverty, suffering and dead, natural disasters and calamities and so many problems are all around us.

We have so many problems. But death is our greatest problem. Death is two-fold, physical and spiritual. Physical death is inevitable, from dust we were made and to dust we shall return. But worst than physical death is Spiritual death, the separation from God. But in spite of our inadequacy or sin, God loved us with an everlasting love. So God paved the way to redeem us through His son Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am not saying that we should be pessimistic and simply accept all the problems and sufferings of the world as they come. Jesus who is the light of the world also said "you are the light of the world". Each one of us must not forget our religious, social, political and environmental responsibilities and render whatever we can to make this world a better place for all.

Trials of life:
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James speaks of "trials of many kinds." Trials are a reason for rejoicing because of the wholesome effects they produce. They may be difficulties that come from without, such as persecution or they may be inner moral tests, such as temptations to sin. An outward trial, rather than being a reason for unhappiness, can be a ground for "pure joy."

Why can trials be considered grounds for genuine rejoicing? If a person has truth faith, those trials are capable of developing "perseverance"... The quality that enables a person to stand on one's feet facing the storm. Spiritual stamina is developed when we struggle against difficulty and opposition.
Prof. H. Profile
Prof. H. answered
Un-ask the question, or rather put it in a coherent way. A central axiom of Buddhists is that "Life = Suffering" -- that is, that being alive means being exposed to pain and dysphoria, natural disasters, the folly and wars human beings persist on inflicting upon one another (often in the name of religious orthodoxy) and so on. The challenge of existence is to come to terms with this reality.

Other religions (insofar as you can call Buddhism a "religion" as such) have their "holy stories," the myths that try to explain suffering away in terms of divine purpose. The Judeo-Christian tradition has the story of the fall from Eden (a borrowing from the Mesopotamian Adapa myth, which see) on which it puts the particular spin that we suffer because our first ancestors disobeyed the Deity.

A more nuanced view of the Eden myth is that it teaches us that human beings are intrinsically fallible (including, by the way, people who write down ANY culture's "holy stories"). It has been well said that a myth is "a lie that tells the deeper truth," and if so I would argue that this is the deeper truth that Genesis 2 AND its Mesopotamian predecessor tells; Adapa fails of achieving immortality and goes back to earth with a coat laden with all the ills that have plagued us ever since BECAUSE he screwed up.

My personal feeling is something of a mix of the above: Yes, life is suffering because our being-in-the-world entails both pleasant and unpleasant experiences; and yes, we often make those things worse because we are human and fallible.

This does not necessarily mean that there is no God; but the doctrine of free will seems to me to be a sound one: God could intervene because God is omnipotent and can do just about anything that isn't a logical impossibility, but doesn't because we are endowed with free will and unfortunately that includes the choice to make a complete mess of things if we make the wrong decisions, as we often do. This does not mean that there is no grace either, however; my own feeling is that if grace exists at all, it exists abundantly, but again we have to choose to see it for what it is. Certain people throughout history have done so admirably, and we revere them accordingly, calling them saints or holy folk or inspired.
But the primary responsibility for making a good life or a bad one, out of whatever befalls us, is ours. Not choosing -- or electing to follow someone's idea about a holy myth being literally true -- is a wasted opportunity and in any case constitutes a bad-faith choice by default. If life is suffering, it is also about responsibility. Otherwise at the end of life all we really can say is that we metabolized some certain quantity of calories, and then died -- hardly the sort of epitaph I'd want on MY tombstone, thank you all the same. If by contrast, we can say, like Abu ben Adhem in the old poem, "Write me as one who loved his fellow man," then we might indeed fondly hope to be pleasantly surprised to learn that in Heaven's view, that is the same as loving God; what is certain is that our life shall not have been wasted, and our suffering for naught.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
We have a choice. The more we live in the light, the less we suffer and you would not see this as Hell. It can be however. This is a hard one to understand, and we do not have all of the answers, but the best way you can look at it is....your level of enlightenment is not high enough yet to get out of this place. Become better and you will get better and a better place.
thanked the writer.
Kikuyu Questioning it all
Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross. I am sure you have watched the movie. I saw it so many times and cried a lot that God himself had to go thru all that so that we could get to heaven. He Is the most enlightened being and yet was treated so so badly on this earth by people h knew and trusted, till he cried out to The Father "why have you for saken me"? He was the most perfect person alive. Would becoming better have saved Him from the cross? Its hard so heaven is worth it.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I believe that we are put on this earth to be tried, to see if we are worthy for heaven. And Jesus died for our past sins and our future sins, so that who so ever believes in him will have everlasting life with him in heaven. When we suffer, if we trust in Jesus, he will deliver us from the suffering.
thanked the writer.
Kikuyu Questioning it all
I do believe I have found the answer to this question i have been asking for a long time. The book is called the Poem of the Man God by Maria Valtorta. Its the fifth Gospel. You read it and you will fall in love with God like you would not believe! And He answers so many of your questions. Read it. It is worth all the tears and suffering. Takc Care.
laurie gregory Profile
laurie gregory answered
This is one of the reasons I decided not to be catholic anymore.  Why would I want to have to fear god. Why would god allow so much horrid things? Almost every war is based on religion, I doubt that is what is suppose to happen. I prefer to be a free thinker and not let the hpocritcal catholics or others brain wash me or my kids.
thanked the writer.
Anonymous
Anonymous commented
Hi. I really understand your frustration and disgust with it all. But you you don't have to be a Catholic to be Spritual. To be spiritual has nothing to do with being religious....please don't turn yourself away from Jesus. Just turn away from the politics. Remember, fear this world as IT will brainwash you and your kids.

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