Most Christians agree that God gave them free will. They live their lives as they choose and say that, if God interfered every time people did something that would cause harm to themselves or others then people would be puppets of God.
Some Christians believe that suffering is a punishment for sin and so try to live their lives according to God’s teaching and repent any sins they have committed.
Some Christians believe that God is the power of good and Satan is the power of evil and that humans are just pawns in a power struggle between these two great forces. These people preach and spread the word of God in order to help good defeat evil.
Many Christians believe the idea that evil can not exist on its own, but is merely an absence of good. These people therefore do good deeds such as charity work, e.g. Bob Geldof in Africa. They say that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” (Edmund Burke).
Most Christians said that the Dumblane massacre was an act of evil. Some said that, Thomas Hamilton, the murderer, had been corrupted by Satan and this was why he killed the innocent children. But many others disagreed, saying that he had a damaged mind, due to a bad parentage or bad friends. The idea that a person commits evil due to his state of mind is very popular with scientific Christians. This is because they are able to prove this idea by looking back over the subject’s past, but they are unable to prove that Satan exists. Atheist would also prefer this view as it shows that the question of good and evil can be answered conclusively without believing in God.
Many Christians believe that all people are born with the tendency to commit evil. They say this because of “Original Sin” (when Adam committed the first ever sin on the World). Many Christians say that God has given humans free will and so we are able to make our own decisions between doing good and evil. Committing evil is often easier than doing good and so many people chose this path.
Many people of eastern religions lead their lives accepting evil and suffering and do not question the will of their God. However, people in the West are more interested in why there is suffering and to try and prevent it.