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Huh? I still don't get it. Suffering is the result of human sin, I can follow that one. But because of someones sin, some INNOCENT other has to suffer?
Is that justice, is that true love?
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Jorn, what you are exemplifying here is known as the Problem of Evil. James Rachels discusses the Problem of Evil in his book
Problems from Philosophy: The Problem of Evil asks if there is in fact an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good God, then how can there be evil in the world? (because if God were in fact all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good, then he would want to stop evil, he would be able to stop evil, and he would stop evil). There are several responses offered as to why God would allow evil to exist in the world (in the example that you give above, the evil would be someone suffering due to someone else's actions.)
1. One response states that moral evil (people making "evil" decisions or committing "evil" actions such as rape, murder, and war) is the result of human free will. Let's assume for a second that God does exist. God could have created a world in which all humans were like robots, a world in which we were not capable of making evil decisions. Instead, God decided to give us free will because a world in which we choose to "move toward" God on our own is better than a world in which we are simply programmed to automatically "move toward" him. So God gave us free will and therefore the POSSIBILITY to live in a world that is better than a world in which we cannot make our own decisions, but this free will allows us to make evil decisions as well- and they are indeed our decisions, not God's decisions.
2. Another response to the Problem of Evil addresses what is known as natural evil (as opposed to the moral evil addressed above.) You might wonder how there can be a God who allows all the terrible natural disasters in the world to happen. How can there be a perfect God who allows hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis to kill thousands of people? One suggestion proposes that evil is necessary for the development of moral character. Let's assume again for a second that God does exist. God could have created a world in which everything works perfectly- everyone has enough to eat because all of the trees bear fruit, there are no natural disasters, and there is perfect weather all the time. This world may sound good, and if God is perfect, then why wouldn't he create this world for us? Because if a world like this did exist, then humans would have no way to develop their moral characters. There would be no such thing as courage, because there would be no dangers to face. There would be no such thing as helpfulness or generosity because no one would need help. All of the other virtues- kindness, compassion, perseverance, and creativity- would not exist, because there would be no adversity to overcome. So it is possible that God created these natural evils and permits them to exist to allow us to develop the different qualities that make up our moral character.
Remember that these two possibilities are only suggestions as to why God might allow evil to exist in the world- no one could possibly know for sure how the mind of God works.
