I saw this meme on Instagram the other day: "Atheists be like: If god exists, why my tummy hurt? 😂😂😂😂" The comments were just people clowning on atheists, acting like it's a ridiculous argument.
But honestly? It's actually a pretty solid point. It's just the "problem of evil" stripped down to its core.
Religious people usually try to defend suffering by splitting it into two categories. First, there's "good" suffering—like a tough workout or failing a test. Stuff that builds character. They say this is part of God's plan because it makes you better.
But then there's the completely pointless suffering. Kids getting cancer, random accidents, testicle torsions, stuff with zero character-building value. The usual defense is "God works in mysterious ways" or "It's a test" and that we just can't comprehend the master plan.
Here's the problem: we have to judge things based on what we can actually see. If you saw a guy violently beating his kids in the street, you wouldn't say, "Well, maybe he has a hidden, benevolent reason we just can't understand 🤓." You'd assume he's a piece of shit.
So why do we abandon all basic logic just because the guy doing it is supposedly divine?
The "tummy ache" meme is literally just pointing this out. If an all-powerful, all-knowing god is supposed to be entirely good, they wouldn't just sit back and watch intense, pointless suffering happen when they could easily stop it. The fact that pointless suffering happens all the time is pretty solid evidence that this god doesn't exist.
If a god allows this much unnecessary pain and hides behind "secret reasons," they're basically indistinguishable from a malicious or completely indifferent being. The tummy ache isn't a stupid meme, it's actually the exact reason the whole "divine plan" argument falls apart.