A Popular Atheist's Rant on God and Suffering
One of the chief apologetic arguments that atheism has against God involves suffering. How can an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, beneficent God allow innocent people to experience suffering. This is especially true for children.
The following text is from the internet. It is the transcription of an interview given by the English actor/comedian Stephen Fry. His blasphemous response to God finds its foundation in "senseless" suffering.
Stephen Fry is a well-known atheist, and the actor-comedian had quite the reply when asked on Irish television how he’d react if it turned out he’s wrong, and God met him at the Pearly Gates of Heaven, which is what he said on this week’s “The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne (Feb 1, 2015).”
Byrne asks Fry what he would say if God “confronted” him upon his death. Fry responds, “I think I’d say, ‘Bone cancer in children?’ What’s that about? How dare you. How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault. It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain?’ That’s what I would say.”
When the host suggests Fry may not get into heaven with that attitude, Fry answers, “But I wouldn’t want to. I wouldn’t want to get in on his terms. They’re wrong.” He goes on to praise the mythological gods of Greece for not presenting themselves as “all-seeing, all-wise, all-kind, all-beneficent.”
“[But] the god that created this universe, if it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac,” continues Fry. “[An] utter maniac, totally selfish. We have to spend our life on our knees thanking Him?” The star adds, “Atheism isn’t just about not believing there’s a God, but on the assumption that there is one, what kind of god is he? It’s perfectly apparent that he is monstrous, utterly monstrous, and deserves no respect whatsoever. The moment you banish him, your life becomes simpler, purer, cleaner, more worth living, in my opinion.”
How do we respond to the charge, "Suffering is not fair!"? The only answer I have is AMEN! Suffering is not a Karmic response to crimes against humanity. Suffering is a presence that has been with mankind since the fall and will not disappear until we with Jesus for eternity. Babies will suffer because they are human, not necessarily because they have transgressed the law of God.
If suffering was the result of crimes against people, then Jesus should never have suffered. It is clear that He did nothing sinful. The hatred that put Him on the cross was unjust. The stripes upon His back were "unfair". Whenever mankind experiences unexplainable suffering, he tends to shake his tiny fist at God and says, "That's not fair!" The Bible tells us that God the Father points to the cross of Calvary and says, "That's not fair!" God made Jesus to be sin for us so that we might be reconciled to Him.