If God Is Love, Why Is the World Such a Mess?

General Faith
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If God Is Love, Why Is the World Such a Mess?

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If God is love, why are there so many wars, tragedies, and injustices in the world? Why would a loving God allow the kind of chaos and suffering we see on a daily basis? For many, these are more than philosophical questions—they are personal wounds and barriers to faith.

Some have argued that God must be indifferent or even cruel, using creation as a kind of entertainment. Others point to the overwhelming number of religious systems—over 40,000 by some estimates—and ask, “With all these contradictions, how can any religion be the ‘right’ one?” In a world this broken, is religion truly the answer—or just another part of the problem?

These aren’t new questions, but they remain some of the hardest and most urgent.

Scripture doesn’t shy away from the reality of pain. The Bible is full of lament, injustice, and human failure. But it also offers a radically different lens: that suffering exists not because God is absent, but because we live in a fallen world marred by sin and rebellion. And yet, through Jesus, God entered this mess—not to avoid suffering, but to carry it, redeem it, and ultimately defeat it.

As for religion, many would say it’s not religion that saves—it’s a relationship with the living God. Systems may fail, denominations may divide, but Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), not one path among many, but the one who came for all.

Still, the questions remain—and they’re worth wrestling with.

What do you think?

  • If God is loving and all-powerful, why is there so much suffering and division?
  • With so many religions in the world, how do we know which one (if any) reveals truth?
  • Is organized religion helpful or harmful in today’s world?

For deeper reflection, read:

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If god is love why are there so many wars and the world a crazy place? Why bother with religion, god is always going to stir up trouble for his entertainment purposes. There are like 40,000 different religions, which one do you believe in as so many are in stark contrast to one another? Is religion really the answer?

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Precisely because, while GOD IS LOVE, mankind isn’t.
You, I, and everyone else are NOT God, and therefore NOT Godly.

NO, religion is not the answer; a living relationship with The God of Love is.
If you could have a relationship with The God of Love, would you? If God promised He would do all the work to make you Godly, like Him, would you accept his gift?

KP

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If God is love, then love has to permit freedom—because forced love is abuse, not love. But freedom means rebellion is possible. You see war and madness, not because God stirs up trouble for sport, but because humanity rejected Him and chose self-rule. That’s not divine entertainment, that’s human insurrection.

God doesn’t cause the chaos, we do. He judges it, interrupts it, and redeems people out of it through Christ. The Cross is not God playing games, it’s God absorbing the wrath we earned. If God were indifferent, He’d stay silent. But He spoke, He came, He bled, and He rose.

As for 40,000 religions, quantity doesn’t equal truth. There are millions of counterfeits, but only one original. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, He came to reveal God Himself. He didn’t give ten steps to nirvana, He gave Himself as the only door (John 10:9), the only truth (John 14:6), and the only way to life (John 14:6 again).

Religion isn’t the answer, Christ is. The world’s a mess because we broke it, and only a crucified and risen Savior can fix it. Reject all 39,999 if you must, just don’t reject the one where God took nails for your sin.

J.

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“You see war and madness, not because God stirs up trouble for sport”
“God doesn’t cause the chaos, we do”

I have been studying god for a long time and I know he controls every molecule in our body and can put text in our mind through divine inspiration either through himself or the stewardship of an “Angel”. I also know that there is a narrow pathway to the promised land, despite being painted as a loving god, he has too many strict rules and if you do not follow them or have faith in him you become open season to deception and more opportunity to sin. I like to use this precept for real world problems like how the world cannot get along.

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In that case why make this quote:-

ever read Romans 5 ":6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

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One insidious flaw in fallen man, is he often tries to create a god in his own image.

KP

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“One insidious flaw in fallen man, is he often tries to create a god in his own image.”

Who is that Ali Khamenei, convinced America and Israel is the devil? His flawed religious ideation got him into a little trouble.

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“NO, religion is not the answer; a living relationship with The God of Love is.”

Isn’t god religion? Didn’t he work through Moses, David, and Paul to write the bible?

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No. God is not “religion”.
Religion is an organized set of strongly held beliefs, traditions, and practices. God is your maker.

Respectfully
KP

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“In that case why make this quote”

For the same reason people go to bible study.

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“Religion is an organized set of strongly held beliefs, traditions, and practices. God is your maker.”

How did the people who wrote the bible know the things they wrote about? Isn’t the bible the foundation of religion?

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@Planet6412
You mentioned “the foundation of religion”. The “foundation” seems to me to be a good place to begin, and understand before these questions you have been posting can be answered properly. It feels to me like I’m dodging bullets being shot in the dark.

Respectfully
KP

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“You mentioned “the foundation of religion”. The “foundation” seems to me to be a good place to begin, and understand before these questions you have been posting can be answered properly. It feels to me like I’m dodging bullets being shot in the dark.”

Nothing but direct questions.

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OK, but this feels like Ὕδραν τέμνειν (cutting off a Hydra).
You don’t slay a Hydra by cutting its head off, you incapacitate a Hydra by starving it.

Peace,
KP

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There is a story in the Bible about King David and his son Absalom. Absalom’s death mirrors the death of Christ in some respects, almost prophetically. And I think it holds a key to the larger drama of our world.

David had many children through many women, as kings did back in that day and region. And it came to pass that a son raped a half sister and then refused to marry her, ruining her. No one else would have her. In response, David (who is a man after God’s own heart) did nothing. So Absalom took justice into his own hands and killed his brother in front of his family.

Absalom ran, and David did nothing. Other people had to intervine, counseling David to take action and officially forgive his son and return him from where he was exiled. And David did this.

Not long after being returned, Absalom rebelled, thinking he himself would make a better king. The Kingdom was divided. David went into hiding. But instead of fighting to save his kingdom David still tried to save his son. And ultimately failed.

How does this correlate? There are several instances in the Bible where human drama (the micro) mirrors what is happening in the world at large (the macro). For example, Infidelity in one man’s marriage mirrors the pursuit of forriegn gods by God’s chosen people. God Himself expresses this correlation to that man.

And I think in this instance, David represents God pursuing the salvation of a world in rebellion. A world that believes it can rule better than God, doing a better job judging the world and taking action to implement that judgement. (A judgement that lacks wisdom, insight, mercy, whose sole agenda is to destroy the guilty. Meanwhile, all are found guilty, which I think is God’s intention through the Law. Because if all are guilty, no one can throw the first stone. All people must then fall into the net of God’s mercy.)

God is Love. And the qualities of Love sustain life- if love and right living is how all people choose to live. Holding each other in mutual respect, sustaining boundaries etc. But humans do not maintain love. Thely devolve like a wild pig in the woods when they turn away from God- The Spirit of Wisdom and Love.

And because God is Love, God is slow to move. Because God’s goal is to return all those who have been exiled from Him. God is playing an extremely long game to restore the world. And suffering, the by product of sin and rebellion, remain present with us until the final act.

And I don’t think it is a coincidence that Christ, Son of David, represents the son in rebellion when He dies upon the Cross. God dove deep into symbolic waters in this gesture, to ressurect all who turned away in rebellion, so they are no longer dead to God.

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