Q: If God wants a perfect world, why so much suffering, depression, death and drugs?

A: God certainly DOES want a perfect world, and probably to God—who inhabits the circle of eternity—everything IS perfect. But for us here in a world of time and space, the evidences of goodness and perfection are things that we have to work for—God has provided us with free will, and also with the gift of his indwelling Spirit as a sure guide into eventual perfection.

Is it correct to assume that God micro-manages the universe? Is it correct to assume that God wills bad into the lives of his creatures? God has given us the gifts of personality and free-will and provided a vast and diverse evolving creation in which we exist. Because we are free to choose, we alone decide what we will do with this grand opportunity we call life, and often times we learn as much and more from the bad things that happen as we learn from good times.

Some bad things that happen happen as a result of chance and some because of poor choices. Ultimately, we have the ability to make our lives meaningful and valuable or not. If we did not have this right to choose, even to choose unwisely, our free-will would be meaningless. The answer to why God permits evil and suffering is answered in depth in The Urantia Book, this is why it is of such value to inquiring minds. You might begin your reading with this link (3:5.5)—the “inevitabilities.”

Thanks so much for this important question. It is one that many people struggle with, and just another reason why the revelation of The Urantia Book is so vital to our spiritual progression. Through its pages we find a whole new way to relate to God, and to ourselves…