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Originally Posted by politicophile
While I don't find Penn's comments to be especially enlightening, I would certainly agree that "God's mysterious ways" are often used as an excuse for the presence of unacceptable evil in our world.
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Isn't it the medieval Christian idea of freewill used to explain the existence of evil in the world? Rather than God being a tyrant who forces us to behave or suffer a smiting, he instead offers us the freedom to choose our actions. This way, we can choose to live a good life thereby earning an afterlife in heaven; the alternative being eternal damnation for committing evil.
Why is it so hard to accept that God permits evil in this world because a physical existence is merely a test of faith, will, and capacity to do good? And for non-believers, by doing good, even a bodily existence can be rewarding. It is basically understood that people do not like to suffer, so if you help others by alleviating their suffering, you might lessen your own suffering. And I'm sure you've heard the question: how can we know what is good if we cannot know what is evil?
God doesn't want to prevent evil. He gave that up centuries ago. It's up to us to prevent our own evils. It's our own damned choice. (Pardon the pun.)