Short (2½ minute) interview of Stephen Fry on the possibility that our universe was created by an intelligent being.

@Rolexeo God could have made life not boring and meaningless without hardship and suffering.

@Rolexeo but does it need to be this bad? And why are some people made to suffer so much more than others outside any fault of their own? (Or why do others get to suffer so little despite many faults?)

@JimboSaturn Not really no, hardship and perserverance are what makes things meaningful. It's the journey, not the destination.

@Rolexeo But God could have made it that it is meaningful without it.

@NerdyPotato It's literally easier than it has ever been in history.

@JimboSaturn That doesn't make sense. You can't have meaning if you strip away the meaning

@Rolexeo But if God is all powerful, he could have shaped our existence that it would be meaningful without suffering.

@JimboSaturn That's not how that works, all you've done is make an incoherent statement.

@Rolexeo But God could make it work that way if he was all powerful. My statement is completely coherent.

@JimboSaturn It isn't though. You're basically asking why we can't have meaning without meaning.

@Rolexeo that may be true in the world as it is, but surely life could have been meaningful in other ways with infinite possibilities.

And so what if it's easier now than before? It's still very unfair and random. And why was it even harder before if god was in control back then too?

@Rolexeo I don't think I'm saying that at all. I'm just saying that an all-powerful God could have made our existence meaningful without suffering.

@NerdyPotato I don't know what to tell you, you're kinda just complaining about how you don't like how things are.

Because whether or not there is a God he doesn't hold our hand and do everything for us like we're a baby?

@Rolexeo no, this isn't about guiding us through his creation. It's about the creation itself. Why did he create genetic diseases for example? Surely he could have shown us some bad things to appreciate the good when we inevitably make some bad choices. Why does he throw such things at random people before they even enter this world and sometimes rewards the most heinous behavior?

@Rolexeo I'm asking that you step outside the box and see that an all powerful God could have created life that was meaningful without suffering.

I don't know why you are getting angry at me?

@NerdyPotato The world is said to be run by the devil

@Rolexeo and why would an all powerful god put the devil in control, or even create a devil? You keep defending what we know and arguing against minor changes to that. But the point is that an all powerful god could have created literally anything from infinite options even beyond our imagination. How did we end up with this hellhole and why does that deserve praise and devotion?

@JimboSaturn No, I'm explaining the flaw in your logic but you refuse to see it.

Suffering is a component to meaning, period. So you can't have meaning without suffering.

You ask these paradoxical incoherent questions and want a sensible answer.

"Can God make lions and crabs identical, without changing anything about them?"

Like, do you want them to be identical? Do you want them to remain how they are? Do you want the definitions of these words to be changed so the meaning is different?

Think what it is you're asking.

@NerdyPotato And yet, you choose to be alive.

@Rolexeo Suffering is a component of meaning to you in this existence. But I think you are missing my point, God could have made it that suffering wasn't a component of meaning. It's not a difficult or paradoxical logic at all.

@JimboSaturn You're just not grasping it, idk if I can help you here. Refer to my lion and crab example again.

@Rolexeo I had little choice in being born, and me being alive is irrelevant to the question why god chose to create this kind of world with an infinite number of other options.

@Rolexeo Your example is not satisfactory to me. We not talking about two things being the same. We are talking about the possibility that God could have created our existence that has meaning without suffering. No analogy required very simple.

@NerdyPotato Exactly. I love my life and I'm happy I'm alive but that has nothing to do with Fry's response.