I shall make them fear the name of Lothar of the Hill-people!
I've been doing some reading for my philosophy of religion course, specifically a book entitled Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy. Basically it's a series of essays by these philosophers, each with their own explanation for why evil is in the world. As I have been reading, I have formulated my own account. I have come to the conclusion that God is, plainly speaking, one ruthless mo-fo. By this I mean that He is willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the obtainment of His ends. If all are the children of God, then they are His to do with as He pleases. Furthermore, if one accepts the orthodox Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ was the living Son of God and that his death and resurrection were essential to God's salvation of humanity, this becomes all the more clearer. If God is willing to give up His only son for the salvation of humanity, would he not be that much more willing to sacrifice "normal" human lives for such ends? Furthermore, if it is within God's power to right the wrongs of a person's earthly life in Heaven or whatever eschaton one subscribes to, then doesn't it seem as though there is no evil that can be done to a person that cannot be healed? It seems to me that if God has that kind of power, as omnipotence would imply, then why whine and bitch about the little things. Evil exists, hurts, and kills, but if God is really supreme, then evil is but a flash in the pan, a momentary cosmic fad. Yeah, I know it isn't exactly comforting to a holocaust survivor, for instance, but at the same time one can't help but wonder if the truth has to be comforting. If this is really the way of things, why get hung up in the consequences of it all? That appears to be reality. I realize that this all sounds horribly insensitive, and perhaps it is, but simple appeal to emotions is not going to make for a coherent solution.