Suffereing

A few weeks ago,on Terri Gross's show I heard another one of her interviews of an apostate Christian intellectual. (The other kind of religious person she interviews are fundamentalist protestants who are exhibited as though they are animals in a zoo.) This particular interviewee was an alleged expert on the book of job but his interpretation of the book and his explanation of God and suffering was hideously evil. Once I recognized it for what it was I put it out of my mind, and rather successfully, I must say. I can't even remember the smallest part of his argument.

Yesterday I read 4 questions on the blog of the Velveteen Rabbi (see side bar) that make me want to give the correct answer to the question that was wrongly answer on Terri's show. I'm thinking about the answers now and will post them later this week. At that time I will tag several people and ask those I tag to answer the the questions, too.

1. if the nature of god is omnipotent, benevolent, and anthropomorphic (that god is a person, who sees suffering as wrong, and can change all of it), why does god not act to relieve all suffering, or at least the greatest amount of suffering for the greatest amount of people the greatest amount of time?
2. if you were god, and you were omnipotent and benevolent, how would you respond to suffering?
3. if this is not the nature of god, what is the nature of god, that allows suffering in the world?
4. if these are the wrong questions to ask, what are the right ones?