Many people reject the idea of God because of all the unjust suffering in the world.
This point of view is based on a hidden premise, namely, that if evil appears pointless to me, then it must be pointless. This reveals within supposedly hard-nosed scepticism an enormous faith in one's own cognitive capabilities. It also ignores the character growth and personal development many people experience through their suffering.
Moreover, some people get mad at God. However, if you have a God great and transcendent enough to be mad at because he hasn't stopped evil and suffering in the world, then you have (at the same time) a God great and transcendent enough to have good reasons for allowing it to continue that you can't know. In fact, you cannot have it both ways.
Evil and suffering may be (if anything) evidence for God. Some atheists object the idea of God based on a sense of fair play and justice. People, we believe ought not to suffer, be excluded, die of hunger and oppression. However, the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection depends on death, destruction and violence of the strong against the weak - these things are all perfectly natural. On what basis then does the atheist judge the natural world to be horribly wrong, unfair and unjust? If you are sure that this natural world is unjust and filled with evil, you are assuming the reality of some extra-natural (or supernatural) standard by which to make your judgement.
Based on: Keller, T. (2008). The Reason For God. p.22-34
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