I do believe I don't believe.

Here's a simple question. If God exists, why does he allow an innocent baby to suffer in agony and then die?

Ask half a dozen believers and you are likely to get as many different answers. Here are a few.

1. It is God's way of testing the faith of the baby's relatives; they are obviously not praying enough.
2. If God was obliged to intervene, then he would be obliged to save every sick or injured baby, and people would lose faith because there would be no miracles.
3. If God was obliged to intervene, then people would be denied the free will He has bestowed upon them.
4. The parents made their home in a place known for natural disasters. She is being punished for her parents' stupidity. Or if they survive, they are punished with her loss.
5. She is "collateral damage" in the punishment of sinners.

OK - let's make it trickier. Say the baby's parents are devout Christians. Say they live exemplary lives far from any obvious hazards such as earthquake zones, ferocious wild beasts or epidemic diseases. What possible reason can the benevolent, omniscient, omnipresent Lord have for allowing a baby to die painfully?

1. The baby, like all humans is not innocent - she was born with Original Sin, and God is saving her soul by letting her die.
2. It is part of God's plan; He moves in mysterious ways.
3. God knows that she will be happier in the afterlife than on Earth.
4. The baby is under the influence of Satan; God will not intervene for reasons best known to Himself.

How about "God doesn't exist"? That would explain a lot of things. We are under only two influences - the forces of Humanity (and its creations) and the forces of Nature. Things happen under these influences and sometimes the innocent suffer and die. We can try to prevent this by any physical means available, but praying to a non-existent being in the hope of a miracle won't help in the slightest. Decapitated Christians have exactly the same survival rate as decapited atheists - 0%.

We are told that the Christian God is:

1. benevolent
2. omnipresent
3. omniscient
4. omnipotent.

If He is benevolent then why does He allow any suffering at all? Oh, because He isn't aware of it... no, He's omniscient. Hmm... maybe He can't be there because He's too busy... no; omnipresent too. I know - He can't do it! Don't be silly - He is omnipotent - He can do anything, even contradict Himself! Well, in that case maybe He just can't be bothered. Perhaps He actually doesn't want to. In either case, is a lazy or apparently sadistic God really worthy of your veneration and devotion?

If every devout Christian in the world prayed at once for all cancer to be cured forever, what do you REALLY think would happen? See - you're thinking like an atheist already! Of COURSE nothing would happen. Yes, we know the mind of God. We know that He has his own mysterious reasons for not curing cancer. Maybe all those Christians weren't praying HARD enough. Maybe it's just not the kind of miracle we're supposed to pray for...

Or perhaps, just PERHAPS, there IS no God. It wouldn't make any difference to the outcome of the above thought-experiment. And it would make the rest of human existence a lot easier to understand too.

Yours in peace,

Simon