"Why play such games with his own creation which, we are told, he loves deeply?"
Exactly Sir! The entire premise is a self-encapsulated and circular self-contradiction. My guess is that most believers do see the logic behind these counter-arguments but simply activate their psychological "faith shields" to deny or circumvent having to address seriously these blatant contradictions in their belief structures, lest the very core of their conception of the universe be thrown off its foundation. I know, since the same things happened to me as I threw off the blinders of the Watchtower indoctrination.
Alas, we are still waiting for a substantive answer(s) to about 20-30 of the questions that have been asked on this thread. Is there not a single theologian on the board that can address these issues?
And no, myelaine, quoting scriptures is NOT an answer, but a deflection mechanism. What I find so disturbing in these threads is the inevitable hand-waving that arises from the opposing team. This is EXACTLY the response I used to get from my JW parents when similar questions arose.....the classic "who are you to question the wisdom of god?" routing. I'm sorry. These sorts of responses are annoying, frustrating and complete bollocks.