You will never get a good, logical, rational and meaningful answer this question, only evasive nonsense about “free will”, and whitewashing God’s responsibility.
Hmmm, first and foremost, free will doesn’t seem too nonsensical to me. I mean, i’m sure you and everyone else out there are pleased with the fact that we can chose what to eat for dinner each night, or what color shoes to wear, or what time to go to bed, or decide what kind of pet to own, or chose their own wife, to chose their own work, and the list goes on. Without such options we live a very robotic life. What fun is a robotic life? What joy do we get out of mindlessly doing anything and everything?! We also have the opportunity to chose what is right or wrong. Through my own experience, this is the best means by which a person can experience life through the senses. We feel good when we help others. We feel down when we are insulted by others. Simple examples, but they hold truth. And the same goes for when we serve God in HIS world.
God easily could have created a world without suffering, with free will and without sin at all. Or he could have created everyone into heaven - directly. Catholics believe that Mary was fully human, she was created without sin, and she chose not to sin. Therefore, God could have created everyone just like her.
You’re absolutely right Mary was born without sin and that she chose not to sin throughout her life (as Eve failed to do at the beginning of time when her pride overwhelmed her and she chose to disobey God) But the argument against Mary is that she lived a very human life! She suffered greatly, probably more than anyone on Earth today. She witnessed the persecution, torture, and death of her Son! A son that she knew to be God. She, like every human being, experienced great pain throughout life, but she also felt great joy! The wedding at Cana for example with the miracle of wine, I’m sure she was very pleased with her son. Or all the other miracles that Jesus did to make her proud to raise such a person. So you’re saying that if we were all created without sin, we would have lived a non-suffering life?? That is far from the truth. With great suffering comes great happiness. That can be said in this life and the next. We WILL suffer here on Earth, Christian or not, and the end result will be eternal suffering or eternal joy.
Now why wouldn’t God just create us into Heaven? First we have to answer the question as to why He created us on Earth. We were put here on Earth to simply show our love for God. Remember, the world that God originally created for us was free from sin, thus it was essentially a Heaven. And also, recall that we humans hold a special and unique position than any other being in the universe, including the angels. We may not be higher up than the angels, but we have more of God’s mercy and love at our fingertips. (I can find the Bible quote if i searched hard enough for anyone who doubts that…) With that said, God actually loves us more than he loves the ones in Heaven, because we are being tested each day and each moment, and when He sees us choosing His path, He is overwhelmed with great joy. Unlike those in Heaven, who already love and cherish Him. Think about it as your children. Are you pleased when your son obeys you? Are you dissatisfied when one disobeys? Now what about if we had robots running around doing your chores, playing games with you, or having sex for that matter… would you feel anything at all? Any feelings whatsoever? Or would you take that all for granted and lose interest? Free will is a crucial thing for satisfaction and joy, something that God experiences and something that we ALL experience. And most importantly, a gift from God. I also must say, that we humans cannot even fathom why God placed us here on Earth, all we can do is hold faith to what we know to be the facts.
I see that you are not Catholic, so this argument may not work for you. But I am sure you are aware of many good people, who have a good conscience, who see the right or wrong paths they could take, but always choose the right way. Nothing “mystical” or magical about that. Many of those people are not Christians, so obviously they do not “serve” God. (What a nonsensical idea is that God needs “servants”!)
I think i explained that quite clearly in the previous passages… Of course non-Christian people chose the “right” path, why? Because they are satisfied with the results! It makes them happy. Christian or not, we were ALL created in the image of God, thus, we all have the same feelings, emotions, and senses. And nope, you’re right, those people don’t serve God, and God will not serve them back in the afterlife. That is simply there loss, and a sad one at that. And lastly, as i also explained, sure God doesn’t “need” servants, He wants and desires servants! He is God, He can make the rules, and by doing so, He feels joy when His servants actually serve Him!
And God must bear the whole responsibility for all the suffering, all the “sins”. When one has the knowledge and has the power to stop suffering, then it is his responsibility to act - provided of course that he wants to be called “loving” and “caring”.
The thing is, He did stop all the suffering and sins, and His name was Jesus Christ. And the only way to find true and legitimate joy is through Jesus Christ! This does not mean we aren’t sinners nor does it mean we will not suffer any longer, it simply means that we are forgiven for our sins (through confession, a right granted by Jesus himself) and that we can now deal with our sufferings as Christ dealt with His. So do i believe that despite our sufferings God can be called “loving” and “caring”?? You bet!
Anyways, God bless, and keep the faith alive!
The good solution is always prevention, not later “tinkering” with an ill-conceived and badly executed “creation”.