Yes it is! Each one of those individual people had their own personal story, and I believe God knew each one personally.DD
Deputy Dog, When I said "This isn't about personal suffering. Most of us here were not personally affected by the tsunami." I meant to say "This isn't about OUR personal suffering." Sorry about the confusion. Of course this is about the suffering of those who were there, thats what the rest of my post said.
I have no problem reconciling it. I'm going to die on the day God chooses by the means He chooses. I'll be fine with that, no matter how or when.DD
So God choses to make infants die on particular days as well? WOW
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.DD
Deputy Dog read this please..
7. Answers that trivialise the reality of human suffering
For example..
Suffering will be unimportant compared to eternal rewardsRational Response
This is ethically repugnant. Suffering is not reducible to arithmetic. This life really matters. Any philosophy that minimises the importance of physical human life is dangerous. It is the same mentality that leads to religious extremism and flies aeorplanes into tall buildings.It is an extreme example of "the end justifies the means" defence, so beloved of tyrants.
Like other theodicies it is dehumanising by reducing humans to pawns in god's game.
Imagine that scientists developed a pill that would eradicate all unwelcome memories and create a feeling of bliss. How would you judge a scientist who imposed the most horrific suffering on millions of people, as unwilling subjects of his experiment, but who offered some of his victims one of the magic pills when it was over? (read this a few times over)