Why did God make a universe that is somewhat hostile to life?

[Helm]

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That's a gamma ray burst there, it's like a naturally occuring death star laser. Any planet that comes into contact with one of those will be fried, some ofthese things could have hit life or even civilisation bearing planets for all we know, there are also supernovas and blackholes and all kinds of things in space that could ruin your day such as the threat of giant asteroid impact, you can see what happened to the dinosaurs for instance that could easily happen to us. And you don't have to go into space to find a naturally occurring threat to life there are also super volcanoes for instance, there's one due to blow at Yellowstone in the US. So why did an all loving omnipotent God decide that all these things were absolutely necessary? God: "What a superb universeI do like what I have designed here, but I do think it could do with a few more mass extinction aspects."

[Birdofilo]

God is a sadist. He likes to see us suffering.

[Himster]

It's coincidence.

[Helm]

He could have designed a universe that was a little bit safer if he really wanted to, why were gamma ray bursts necessary? Did he look forward in time to see Star Wars and think "I could make a natural version of one of those" then write it into the laws of physics?

[Vizsla]

Determinism.
Everybody’s destiny was decided at the beginning of the universe. If having lives makes people bad and they ultimately end up going to hell because of that, then it was inevitable because of determinism.
God has already decided who is going to heaven and who is going to hell. Now he just has to make it happen. Pissing people off with horrible events or tempting them into sin is how he does this.

[Helm]

I find it easier to just assume that no-one actually designed the universe.

[Vizsla]

I find it easier to just assume that no-one actually designed the universe.

Me too. Just quoting the Calvanists.
Your original question presupposes His existence. Saying He does not exist negates your question.

Determinism also works in a mechanistic universe.

[Helm]

The question was for the vast majority of people who still believe the universe was intelligently designed by a god. It doesn't quite so obvious to me.

[Himster]

It's called faith dammit.

[Helm]

It's called faith dammit.

But even faith requires a certain degree of reason to back it up with, C.S Lewis would agree, his belief in God was primarily based on reason so he claimed.

[Himster]

But even faith requires a certain degree of reason to back it up with, C.S Lewis would agree, his belief in God was primarily based on reason so he claimed.

He was certainly a reasonable man, but:

"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning."

I think there is a nobility to wishfull think, that is something C.S. Lewis truly understood.

[Helm]

I'm not sure how worshipping a God untill you die so you can be rewarded with an afterlife gives the universe any greater meaning.

[Sadreddine]

To make you reflect about the fragility of your material self.

As you can see, your life and material goods can be extinguished any moment now, so...have you performed enough good actions already to grant you betterment in your next existence? If not, perhaps you should start caring right now.

That's basically the tests of life.

[Helm]

As you can see, your life and material goods can be extinguished any moment now, so...have you performed enough good actions already to grant you betterment in your next existence?

So you're saying the only reason to perform good deeds is grant yourself betterment in your next existence? You're only really looking out for yourself then?

[Veliky Kaiser Theos]

To make you reflect about the fragility of your material self.

As you can see, your life and material goods can be extinguished any moment now, so...have you performed enough good actions already to grant you betterment in your next existence? If not, perhaps you should start caring right now.

That's basically the tests of life.

Some of us prefer our lives to be a little more than tests and actually mean something.

I think we have to try and see it through Gods eyes....just because the forces that exist in a supernova and the type of forces necessary to create elements beyond Iron(Fe) would be deadly on our fragile bodies doesn't mean its deadly to life itself. In fact such event(s) are necessary to sustain life throughout the universe. Again there is still the problem of physical space. Though, I suppose God could have created fewer life across the universe that would simply live forever and then not have bothered with such things as reproduction and evolution for example, but I think the fact that God did bother makes the universe and God even more remarkable..

Your god is stupid and makes no sense. Why would it make supernovas to make iron, rather than make a universe with iron pre existing, or make the pretty fireworks make iron without making them so dangerous. For an omniscient and all powerful being, your god sure is quite the lazy bastard. More to the point, why did god create life ending diseases that affect babies who don't get a chance to believe in it, therefore they burn in hell? Try and see through a brick walls eyes, and you will see nothing because it's eyes don't exist. If there were a god, when I cut myself I would see rainbows inside, rather than bleed.

[Tacitursa]

Why do people defend god in such stupid ways. You claim he's omnipotent. If that's the case he could just create trillions of harmless and friendly vending machines scattered all over the universes spitting out elements and minerals for planets/life to form.

To say a random and chaotic universe with supernovas and the like is the best way but we can't see the big picture like god can is just silly. The fact that star's blow up atall is a problem for an omnipotent god. It would be incredibly easy to make sure they have an infinite source of fuel with that kind of power at your fingertips.

Anyone could create a better universe with omnipotence quite easily. Game's come to mind, Sun's would have infinite ammo cheat and planets harbouring life would have God mode turned on. That's already improved the universe 10 fold and it would only take a split second for those effects to be implemented with omnipotence.

[Himster]

Why do people defend god in such stupid ways. You claim he's omnipotent. If that's the case he could just create trillions of harmless and friendly vending machines scattered all over the universes spitting out elements and minerals for planets/life to form.

To say a random and chaotic universe with supernovas and the like is the best way but we can't see the big picture like god can is just silly. The fact that star's blow up atall is a problem for an omnipotent god. It would be incredibly easy to make sure they have an infinite source of fuel with that kind of power at your fingertips.

Why should the universe be perfect?
Besides this percieved "chaos" is strictly controlled by unbendable rules, I think you'll find that that makes the universe the exact opposite of chaotic.

Anyone could create a better universe with omnipotence quite easily. Game's come to mind, Sun's would have infinite ammo cheat and planets harbouring life would have God mode turned on. That's already improved the universe 10 fold and it would only take a split second for those effects to be implemented with omnipotence.

Anytime i've used cheats in games I've become very bored very fast (except vice city, but come on, a flying tank, that's so cool).

[♔DARTH LEGO♔]

I didnt know Christians believed in Gamma rays and the such.....?!?

[The Dude]

I'm not even a theist and I find it easy to come up with a rebuttal for this. How about the following:

What if, in your anthropocentric world view, you fail to realise that things aren't good insofar as they affect human beings but are good insofar as they affect god's plan for the universe? God may well be omnibenevolent and omnipotent, but as such it is also easy to posit that with those two qualities he understands that a far better, far superior universe is produced via these conditions than any other. And that humans experience this suffering as horrible may well stand in pale contrast to the infinitely greater good it achieves.

[Helm]

What if, in your anthropocentric world view, you fail to realise that things aren't good insofar as they affect human beings but are good insofar as they affect god's plan for the universe? God may well be omnibenevolent and omnipotent, but as such it is also easy to posit that with those two qualities he understands that a far better, far superior universe is produced via these conditions than any other. And that humans experience this suffering as horrible may well stand in pale contrast to the infinitely greater good it achieves.

But it's just a matter of sheer luck that we haven't been hit by a gamma ray burst or other major extinction level event so far, such things didn't necessarily have to be designed as a part of the universe, God could have made it anyway he liked and it would have still would have been a superior design because he can do anything. He happened to like it exactly like this but I dunno what that says about him. Apparently the universe was designed for us specifically in mind. But we seem to be here in spite of the grand scheme of things, which is fairly deadly, rather than because of it. So we're here this small isolated haven for life, and even this isn't a perfectly safe haven.