Good Questions all. Let's start with the second and third because they are the same answer. When I first asked this question, I was met with such vague replies I was wholly unsatisfied. Preists, pastors, rabbis and deacons didnt have a complete andswer. For years I struggled with this and then it dawned on me... Chess. Chess is the answer. (or checkers if you like)
For every move you make on a chess board, there is only so many moves your opponant can make. Especially with the opening moves which are to move 1 of 8 pawns or 1 of 2 knights. I have just predicted the future. I know what you will move and the result of each move you can make. You have the free will to make any choice you like. I do not direct your moves. I do not influence your moves and yet I know what you will do and every possible outcome.
So as you can see that this isnt fate. You can see that this isnt planned. It's just the knowledge of the situation and what all of the possibilities are. Good or bad. There is no set plan for anyone who wants to express their free will without guidance.
Which brings me to the first question. Why did god allow the possibility of evil and suffering? Im not gonna get preachy but I am going to refer to the bible briefly. Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and away from God's protection because they chose to disobey him. In other words, the evil and suffering were already there. He had just protected Adam and Eve until their disobedience. He gave them free will, as it states in the bible, that he wanted follower and not automatons. So if he were to intervene in every circumstance of evil and suffering, you would know without a doubt that he exists and only do his bidding because there would be no doubt of his existence.
This is where faith comes in. this is WHY faith exists. Do you believe and follow based upon my word? Or do you follow because you dont really have a choice? In the video link, this person is taking it on faith that none of the puddles are too deep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGSZEVs1eOY but after finding out that one of them is too deep, he will never jump into a puddle again with out testing it with a stick first. Because he now knows for certain that one CAN be too deep.
In the interest of brevity and needing to answer the final question before this becomes a book, I will now tackle the question "If we're all God's children, how can he allow his representatives to hate me?" And this question is meant to address the subject of the church pushing people that aren't like them away. We dont hate you. We have been told to live a certain way and to not be with *the way of the world*. We are supposed to allow you your free will to live as you choose without legislating our beliefs into law, berate you for your choice or to tell you that "God's gonna get you for that". We are to present you with the 'word of God' and let him take over. And if anyone makes you feel hated or despised, they aren't really a Christian. We are to love you as we love ourselves. We are to present you the word and if you reject it, pray you will one day accept it.
But it also tells us in a complex way that confuses most Christians, we are not to allow you to be a part of our lives. That's not hate. That's protection of our ways. For instance, You wouldn't allow Charles Manson in in your house for dinner and allow him to play with your kids. I know that's an extreme but the best example without making this a book.
If you are in a church or around a church that feels more like a shrine for saints than a hospital for sinners, you aren't in the right place. None of us are perfect. And all we can hope for is that we can walk with God and ask him to guide us. It wont be easy and we wont always make the right choice. And you you dont find that kind of humility with people that call themselves Christians, then walk alone and ask God for the help. You dont need a minister. You just need him.
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