Could you tell me how you would answer a child's question- did God make diseases? I've read what you say in your chapter on evil in 'Exploring Reality' but am struggling to explain it in a way that isn't too complex but at the same time is detailed enough to make sense.
Response (from NB, as are all the others unless indicated otherwise) Depends on the age (and intelligence and interests!) of the child. For my elder grandson I might say:
God has made this world so that we can learn to choose to love Him and love our neighbours. Life and death, health and disease, joy and suffering are essential aspects of this. If you always scored a goal how could you ever learn to play football? If everyone’s life was always perfect how could we learn to love?
For my younger grandson I might substitute “If you had an automatic keyboard that played every piece after you’d played the first few notes, how would anyone learn to play the piano”
Not an easy question though! The truth is that the laws of evolutionary biology which make intelligent adaptive intelligent life that is free to choose to believe in God possible also make diseases and death inevitable.
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