but from a catholic (and others) point of view,
many will probably disagree
in the begining god himself did get himself involved with his flock, (and he was quite mean and evil , if you read the old testament) but as can be proven via old scriptures the others (them) persuaded him to stay out of it,and let his experiment continue without his input.................
God's intention wasn't to let his children suffer (they are his children after all, if we believe he created life). The problem came cos God made man in his image and once man started thinking for himself well, he seemed to know best didn't he? We're still experiencing it now. ..
god is a strange being, why does he have to be nice to every one?
would you?
suffering on earth is rewarded later on (apparentley)
this is a very 'theology' type question
erm..
lafracaise this is why god reacted at the begining and made them suffer,(old testament)
but then they(??) told him to stay out of it, and so he did and from then on , the worthy will have no need to prove themselves in the next phase or there abouts
In Kurt Vonnegut's novel, 'Venus on the Half-Shell', our space-traveller hero roams the universe to find the answer to this very question.
Finally he meets God, and puts the question to Him, 'Why are we born to suffer and die?'
After a pause, God replies, 'I forget!'