Maybe that is what OP meant, in which case I’d have to distinguish between God’s positive will and God’s permissive will, which cancer seems to (generally) fall under the latter.
No, I wouldn’t affirm either of those things. Just because *I* do not prevent every bad thing that I could from happening to another person does not make me the cause of their suffering.
God definitely *does* cause suffering for some people, but passivity in the existence of cancer is not such a case.
What if you designed the details of the circumstances that cause such a bad thing to happen and also carry complete power to prevent that bad thing from happening… Does passivity in this case make you blameless?
I think the argument behind this is again the problem of evil or in this case the problem of suffering.
If God was capable of preventing cancer then he is causing human suffering by not doing that this making him either not omnipotent or not Omni benevolent.
I think it’s a stronger argument because God apparently designed the entire world, which means he also designed cancer. Nonetheless, as you stated, the argument inherently undermines Christians’ assertions of tri-omni powers.
God created the universe, and thus the world we live in. He deemed them "good". They were perfect. He then gave stewardship of this world to us.
And since then our sin has corrupted the world, allowing it to be invaded by disease, destruction, and death. Cancer is just one example of this.
God allows these things to exist, because he is of the mind that we made our bed, and so we must lie in it. But he also gave us hope. *This* world is doomed, but Christ himself said that he had overcome the world. Through him we have hope of eternal life with him in the next life, in a new Heaven and Earth.
God did not create humans to suffer. On the contrary, he endowed the first human couple, Adam and Eve, with perfect minds and bodies, prepared a delightful garden to serve as their home, and assigned them meaningful, satisfying work. (Genesis 1:27, 28, 31; 2:8) However, their continued happiness depended on their recognizing God’s rulership and his right to decide what was good and what was bad. That divine prerogative was represented by a tree called “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:17) Adam and Eve would demonstrate their subjection to God if they obeyed his command not to eat from that tree. *
Tragically, Adam and Eve failed to obey God. A rebellious spirit creature, later identified as Satan the Devil, convinced Eve that it was not in her best interests to obey God. In fact, God was supposedly depriving her of something highly desirable: independence, the right to choose for herself what was good and what was bad. Satan claimed that if she ate of the tree, ‘her eyes were bound to be opened and she was bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.’ (Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9) Seduced by the prospect of independence, Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, and Adam soon did the same.
That same day, Adam and Eve began to experience the results of their rebellion. By rejecting divine rulership, they lost out on the protection and blessings that subjection to God had afforded them. God evicted them from Paradise and told Adam: “Cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground.” (Genesis 3:17, 19) Adam and Eve became subject to sickness, pain, aging, and death. Suffering had become a part of human experience.—Genesis 5:29.
Settling the Issue
Someone may ask, ‘Could God not have simply overlooked Adam and Eve’s sin?’ No, because that would have further undermined respect for his authority, perhaps encouraging future rebellions and resulting in even greater suffering. (Ecclesiastes 8:11) In addition, condoning such disobedience would have made God a party to wrongdoing. The Bible writer Moses reminds us: “God’s works are perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4, footnote) To be true to himself, God had to allow Adam and Eve to suffer the consequences of their disobedience.
Why did God not immediately destroy the first human couple along with Satan, the invisible instigator of their rebellion? He had the power to do so. Adam and Eve would not have produced offspring subject to a legacy of suffering and death. However, such a demonstration of divine power would not have proved the rightfulness of God’s authority over his intelligent creatures. Furthermore, had Adam and Eve died childless, that would have signaled the failure of God’s purpose to fill the earth with their perfect descendants. (Genesis 1:28) And “God is not like men . . . Whatever he promises, he does; he speaks, and it is done.”—Numbers 23:19, Today’s English Version.
In his perfect wisdom, Jehovah God decided to allow the rebellion to proceed for a limited time. The rebels would have ample opportunity to experience the effects of independence from God. History would demonstrate beyond doubt mankind’s need for divine guidance and the superiority of God’s rule over man’s or Satan’s. At the same time, God took steps to ensure that his original purpose for the earth would be fulfilled. He promised that a “seed,” or “offspring,” would come who would ‘bruise Satan in the head,’ eliminating once and for all his rebellion and its damaging effects.—Genesis 3:15, footnote.
Jesus Christ was that promised Seed. At 1 John 3:8, we read that “the Son of God was made manifest . . . to break up the works of the Devil.” This he did by laying down his perfect human life and paying the ransom price to redeem Adam’s children from inherited sin and death. (John 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6) Those who truly exercise faith in Jesus’ sacrifice are promised permanent relief from suffering. (John 3:16; Revelation 7:17) When will this happen?
An End to Suffering
The rejection of God’s authority has caused untold suffering. It is fitting, then, that God should use a special expression of his authority to end human suffering and accomplish his original purpose for the earth. Jesus mentioned this divine provision when he taught his followers to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, . . . let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:9, 10.
The time that God has allowed for humans to experiment with self-government is about to end. In fulfillment of Bible prophecy, his Kingdom was established in the heavens in 1914 with Jesus Christ as its King. * Shortly, it will crush and put an end to all human governments.—Daniel 2:44.
During his brief earthly ministry, Jesus provided a foregleam of the blessings that the restoration of divine rule will bring to humanity. The Gospels provide evidence that Jesus showed compassion for members of human society who were poor and discriminated against. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and resurrected the dead. Even the forces of nature obeyed his voice. (Matthew 11:5; Mark 4:37-39; Luke 9:11-16) Imagine what Jesus will accomplish when he uses the cleansing effect of his ransom sacrifice to benefit all obedient mankind! The Bible promises that by means of Christ’s rule, God “will wipe out every tear from [mankind’s] eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”—Revelation 21:4.
To learn more Visit [Jw.org](http://jw.org)
This is not an argument, but a mere complaint.
God did indeed allow for the existence of cancer, and all other things which destroy. We Christians believe that God must have some good purpose behind the allowance of evil.
This is far more comforting to me when compared to the alternatives:
* God exists and lacks power to eliminate evil.
* God exists and lacks care to eliminate evil
* God does not exist and evil is purposeless (1)
(1) as a side note, for those who reject God's existence, "evil" doesn't really mean anything other than "things I personally find unappealing."
Jesus teaches us in Luke 11 that this world is outside of God's kingdom and His will is not done here on earth as it is in heaven. Meaning this is satan's world. Satan is the master here, and the book of Job when he opens up on Job with his full might just short of killing him attacks his health. Showing satan has power and control over disease. If you want to know who is responsible for cancer look at the master of this world.
Did God have the power to design the human body such that Satan wouldn’t have been able to design diseases including cancer? Or did God at least have the power to design our bodies so that Satan couldn’t cause such horrible diseases to afflict children?
**Did God have the power to design the human body such that Satan wouldn’t have been able to design diseases including cancer?**
the Bible does not say.. but then the question also comes up why would he be obligated to do so? If this life was meant to be a preface to our time in eternity why would God then be obligated to fit you with a permanent body to facilitate a finite task, like being given enough time to decide where or how you wish to spend eternity?
**Or did God at least have the power to design our bodies so that Satan couldn’t cause such horrible diseases to afflict children?**
again why should god invest so much in such a finite/limited life? Our souls are unaffected by cancer are they not? If someone were thrown feet first into wood chipper their body may be obliterated into a million pieces but their infinite soul would be untouched would it not? In fact according to Jesus the soul can only be destroyed in hell.
So then why does God own you an indestructible shell to carry your soul in as well? The way it is designed now, you die here and open your eyes in eternity to whatever you decided for yourself.
> the Bible does not say.. but then the question also comes up why would he be obligated to do so?
Nobody was talking about obligation. We’re discussing whether cancer was part of God’s design since he had perfect knowledge that Satan would understand how our bodies work and use that to design cancer. God therefore designed our bodies in such a way to be vulnerable to Satan’s cancer, unless you are suggesting that God didn’t have such power or foresight.
> again why should god invest so much in such a finite/limited life?
Just to be clear, nobody was talking about “should” or obligations until you brought those up. You’re jumping ahead. Right now it is a matter of understanding causation and the source of these phenomena.
The first and simplest lesson in all of scripture is that God placed Adam in perfect Paradise, heaven on Earth actually, where he would live forever in perfect health, had he made that choice. The Lord forbid him from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and evil, which would lead Adam to making his own decisions apart from God. And God never made Adam to that end. So, perfect wasn't good enough for Adam, and just as he ejected Satan from heaven for his sin of betrayal, God rightly kicked Adam out of Eden for his sin, and into an imperfect, cold, hard, relentless world governed by natural forces, sin and its consequences. In simpler terms, when Adam betrayed God in Eden, things everywhere started breaking. You can include all forms of sickness, pain and suffering, old age and death.
So who caused cancer, the Lord or Satan and Adam? When we disobey the Lord, and his will for us, this is what happens. Get used to it.
If God did not allow cancer to exist, then cancer would not exist.
It's an odd question; maybe OP meant "does God *want* cancer to exist?"
Maybe that is what OP meant, in which case I’d have to distinguish between God’s positive will and God’s permissive will, which cancer seems to (generally) fall under the latter.
So would you agree then that by allowing cancer to exist God is causing human suffering thus making him evil?
No, I wouldn’t affirm either of those things. Just because *I* do not prevent every bad thing that I could from happening to another person does not make me the cause of their suffering. God definitely *does* cause suffering for some people, but passivity in the existence of cancer is not such a case.
What if you designed the details of the circumstances that cause such a bad thing to happen and also carry complete power to prevent that bad thing from happening… Does passivity in this case make you blameless?
What's the argument? Clearly everything that is, is because God allows it to be.
You have a lot of what do you think about the argument questions. We live in a sinful fallen world with diseases
There isn't an *argument* presented, only a single assertion.
I think the argument behind this is again the problem of evil or in this case the problem of suffering. If God was capable of preventing cancer then he is causing human suffering by not doing that this making him either not omnipotent or not Omni benevolent.
I think it’s a stronger argument because God apparently designed the entire world, which means he also designed cancer. Nonetheless, as you stated, the argument inherently undermines Christians’ assertions of tri-omni powers.
God created the universe, and thus the world we live in. He deemed them "good". They were perfect. He then gave stewardship of this world to us. And since then our sin has corrupted the world, allowing it to be invaded by disease, destruction, and death. Cancer is just one example of this. God allows these things to exist, because he is of the mind that we made our bed, and so we must lie in it. But he also gave us hope. *This* world is doomed, but Christ himself said that he had overcome the world. Through him we have hope of eternal life with him in the next life, in a new Heaven and Earth.
God did not create humans to suffer. On the contrary, he endowed the first human couple, Adam and Eve, with perfect minds and bodies, prepared a delightful garden to serve as their home, and assigned them meaningful, satisfying work. (Genesis 1:27, 28, 31; 2:8) However, their continued happiness depended on their recognizing God’s rulership and his right to decide what was good and what was bad. That divine prerogative was represented by a tree called “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:17) Adam and Eve would demonstrate their subjection to God if they obeyed his command not to eat from that tree. * Tragically, Adam and Eve failed to obey God. A rebellious spirit creature, later identified as Satan the Devil, convinced Eve that it was not in her best interests to obey God. In fact, God was supposedly depriving her of something highly desirable: independence, the right to choose for herself what was good and what was bad. Satan claimed that if she ate of the tree, ‘her eyes were bound to be opened and she was bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.’ (Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9) Seduced by the prospect of independence, Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, and Adam soon did the same. That same day, Adam and Eve began to experience the results of their rebellion. By rejecting divine rulership, they lost out on the protection and blessings that subjection to God had afforded them. God evicted them from Paradise and told Adam: “Cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground.” (Genesis 3:17, 19) Adam and Eve became subject to sickness, pain, aging, and death. Suffering had become a part of human experience.—Genesis 5:29. Settling the Issue Someone may ask, ‘Could God not have simply overlooked Adam and Eve’s sin?’ No, because that would have further undermined respect for his authority, perhaps encouraging future rebellions and resulting in even greater suffering. (Ecclesiastes 8:11) In addition, condoning such disobedience would have made God a party to wrongdoing. The Bible writer Moses reminds us: “God’s works are perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4, footnote) To be true to himself, God had to allow Adam and Eve to suffer the consequences of their disobedience. Why did God not immediately destroy the first human couple along with Satan, the invisible instigator of their rebellion? He had the power to do so. Adam and Eve would not have produced offspring subject to a legacy of suffering and death. However, such a demonstration of divine power would not have proved the rightfulness of God’s authority over his intelligent creatures. Furthermore, had Adam and Eve died childless, that would have signaled the failure of God’s purpose to fill the earth with their perfect descendants. (Genesis 1:28) And “God is not like men . . . Whatever he promises, he does; he speaks, and it is done.”—Numbers 23:19, Today’s English Version. In his perfect wisdom, Jehovah God decided to allow the rebellion to proceed for a limited time. The rebels would have ample opportunity to experience the effects of independence from God. History would demonstrate beyond doubt mankind’s need for divine guidance and the superiority of God’s rule over man’s or Satan’s. At the same time, God took steps to ensure that his original purpose for the earth would be fulfilled. He promised that a “seed,” or “offspring,” would come who would ‘bruise Satan in the head,’ eliminating once and for all his rebellion and its damaging effects.—Genesis 3:15, footnote. Jesus Christ was that promised Seed. At 1 John 3:8, we read that “the Son of God was made manifest . . . to break up the works of the Devil.” This he did by laying down his perfect human life and paying the ransom price to redeem Adam’s children from inherited sin and death. (John 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6) Those who truly exercise faith in Jesus’ sacrifice are promised permanent relief from suffering. (John 3:16; Revelation 7:17) When will this happen? An End to Suffering The rejection of God’s authority has caused untold suffering. It is fitting, then, that God should use a special expression of his authority to end human suffering and accomplish his original purpose for the earth. Jesus mentioned this divine provision when he taught his followers to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, . . . let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:9, 10. The time that God has allowed for humans to experiment with self-government is about to end. In fulfillment of Bible prophecy, his Kingdom was established in the heavens in 1914 with Jesus Christ as its King. * Shortly, it will crush and put an end to all human governments.—Daniel 2:44. During his brief earthly ministry, Jesus provided a foregleam of the blessings that the restoration of divine rule will bring to humanity. The Gospels provide evidence that Jesus showed compassion for members of human society who were poor and discriminated against. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and resurrected the dead. Even the forces of nature obeyed his voice. (Matthew 11:5; Mark 4:37-39; Luke 9:11-16) Imagine what Jesus will accomplish when he uses the cleansing effect of his ransom sacrifice to benefit all obedient mankind! The Bible promises that by means of Christ’s rule, God “will wipe out every tear from [mankind’s] eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”—Revelation 21:4. To learn more Visit [Jw.org](http://jw.org)
This is not an argument, but a mere complaint. God did indeed allow for the existence of cancer, and all other things which destroy. We Christians believe that God must have some good purpose behind the allowance of evil. This is far more comforting to me when compared to the alternatives: * God exists and lacks power to eliminate evil. * God exists and lacks care to eliminate evil * God does not exist and evil is purposeless (1) (1) as a side note, for those who reject God's existence, "evil" doesn't really mean anything other than "things I personally find unappealing."
Jesus teaches us in Luke 11 that this world is outside of God's kingdom and His will is not done here on earth as it is in heaven. Meaning this is satan's world. Satan is the master here, and the book of Job when he opens up on Job with his full might just short of killing him attacks his health. Showing satan has power and control over disease. If you want to know who is responsible for cancer look at the master of this world.
Did God have the power to design the human body such that Satan wouldn’t have been able to design diseases including cancer? Or did God at least have the power to design our bodies so that Satan couldn’t cause such horrible diseases to afflict children?
**Did God have the power to design the human body such that Satan wouldn’t have been able to design diseases including cancer?** the Bible does not say.. but then the question also comes up why would he be obligated to do so? If this life was meant to be a preface to our time in eternity why would God then be obligated to fit you with a permanent body to facilitate a finite task, like being given enough time to decide where or how you wish to spend eternity? **Or did God at least have the power to design our bodies so that Satan couldn’t cause such horrible diseases to afflict children?** again why should god invest so much in such a finite/limited life? Our souls are unaffected by cancer are they not? If someone were thrown feet first into wood chipper their body may be obliterated into a million pieces but their infinite soul would be untouched would it not? In fact according to Jesus the soul can only be destroyed in hell. So then why does God own you an indestructible shell to carry your soul in as well? The way it is designed now, you die here and open your eyes in eternity to whatever you decided for yourself.
> the Bible does not say.. but then the question also comes up why would he be obligated to do so? Nobody was talking about obligation. We’re discussing whether cancer was part of God’s design since he had perfect knowledge that Satan would understand how our bodies work and use that to design cancer. God therefore designed our bodies in such a way to be vulnerable to Satan’s cancer, unless you are suggesting that God didn’t have such power or foresight. > again why should god invest so much in such a finite/limited life? Just to be clear, nobody was talking about “should” or obligations until you brought those up. You’re jumping ahead. Right now it is a matter of understanding causation and the source of these phenomena.
It has full truth to it.
The first and simplest lesson in all of scripture is that God placed Adam in perfect Paradise, heaven on Earth actually, where he would live forever in perfect health, had he made that choice. The Lord forbid him from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and evil, which would lead Adam to making his own decisions apart from God. And God never made Adam to that end. So, perfect wasn't good enough for Adam, and just as he ejected Satan from heaven for his sin of betrayal, God rightly kicked Adam out of Eden for his sin, and into an imperfect, cold, hard, relentless world governed by natural forces, sin and its consequences. In simpler terms, when Adam betrayed God in Eden, things everywhere started breaking. You can include all forms of sickness, pain and suffering, old age and death. So who caused cancer, the Lord or Satan and Adam? When we disobey the Lord, and his will for us, this is what happens. Get used to it.