# An Analogy for God's Providence

**URL:** <https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/an-analogy-for-gods-providence/12912>\
**Category:** Conversation\
**Tags:** Theology\
**Created:** [January 1, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/an-analogy-for-gods-providence/12912 "2021-01-01T03:08:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 68

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**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/an-analogy-for-gods-providence/12912/68 "2021-01-08T04:51:40Z")

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> [@structureoftruth](#):
>
> 1. Undergoing a _process_ of learning to love, trust, and obey God (which may include times of disobedience and/or suffering) can make someone more able to freely obey God for eternity; this is where “soul-building” comes in.

_This_ is the point, the “why” of which [“has never been made particularly clear”](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/an-analogy-for-gods-providence/12912/62). Its necessity is simply asserted, not substantiated.

_Why_ is God unable to create beings that are _immediately_ able to “love, trust, and obey God”?

I would also point out that the relationship between “disobedience and/or suffering” and “of learning to love, trust, and obey God” is likewise asserted not substantiated (and what I have seen in the past has generally been far more of a thin _rationalisation_ for the existence of suffering, than a compelling explanation of its necessity).

Addendum: do Christians who fail to suffer sufficiently during their lifetime, or fail to disobey sufficiently, fail to get into heaven?

Further addendum: what about children who have died too young to suffer or disobey _at all_?

And if _God cannot create_, directly, what this world _can_, then we are again left with the not-unreasonable conclusion that _God is not omnipotent_.

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