Suffering does not show that God does not exist. This is because God could have a good reason for allowing suffering. The Bible in Genesis 3 suggests that suffering was caused by human sin at the Fall. God intended us to exist immortally in Eden, but Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and God, in His justice, gave them what they chose; mortality and moral responsibility, which cause us to suffer and die. God could not make human beings free and in His own image (Genesis 1:27) while also preventing them from choosing or ensuring that their choices don’t have consequences. St Augustine used the story of the Fall to develop a theodicy, suggesting that God is justified in allowing suffering because it is the price of free-will, which is part of the best possible world. St Irenaeus was also inspired by Genesis 1-3 in developing his theodicy, which suggests that the world containing suffering is better than a world without, because suffering gives us the opportunity to learn and grow more God-like. As Christian writer John Hick suggested “life is a vale of soul-making”… it can be painful, but through suffering we grow closer to God.

Of course atheists like Stephen Fry would disagree with these arguments, and many Christians find them unsatisfactory when confronted with the extreme suffering that this world contains. They might remember that even Jesus cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” on the cross… why would a loving and all-powerful God allow human beings – and even his sinless son – to endure such agony? Yet Christians could respond by referring to the Book of Job in the Bible, which suggests that we can’t reasonably expect to understand God’s reasons for allowing good people to suffer. In Job 38 God says “where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth… tell me if you understand!” This suggests that we should have faith in God when we are tempted to question why we suffer, and we will be rewarded in the end. After all, Job was restored to his property and reunited with his daughters, when all seemed lost and even after he dared to question God.

In conclusion, suffering does not show that God does not exist, although it causes many Christians to question God and to struggle with their faith. Hebrews 11:1 states” faith is confidence in what we do not see”, which suggests that for faith to be genuine it must endure beyond the evidence and survive when it is tested, such as by suffering.