(1) A lot of believers say life is a test.
(2) If God knows everything, then by creating everything, God knew who would fail the test, and therefore would go to hell. So why create those people? (Creating those people and sending them to hell would be evil.)
(2.a) Some people answer to this: because God gave us free will, somehow God was unable to not create people that will fail his test. What does that mean?
(2.a.1) God did not have a hand in creating people that will fail his test. So who created them?
(2.a.1.a) The devil? (2.a.2.b) A random process?
Given either (2.a.1.a) or (2.a.2.b), people who will fail the test are still victims of a process external to them. Either the devil made them fail the test, or some random process. Why does God send those people to hell?
(3.a) What other way could there be for God to create everything, without him being culpable for either (1) creating people that will fail his test with him knowing it beforehand, or (2) creating people that will fail hist test with him not knowing it beforehand, by delegating the creation of those people to some other process (either the devil, or a random process)?
(3.b) Perhaps some believers will say: people will be tested in different ways, so you should face up to the challenge. However, given the power of the devil, how can you accomplish that? Why would the devil restrain himself to the point that you can cope, and then stop? Why not go all the way, and break you down? Or, if its not the devil, but a random process, then inevitably some people will end up in a situation that is unbearable, and fail the test. Again, why send all those people to hell?
(4) Some believers reject (3.b) because they want stick to free will. So what does it take for a person to make a decision, freely?
(4.1) A person’s genes will be given to them. The person has no influence over that. Lots of things are determined by genes. For example, certain forms of psychopathy. Other people will get a horrible disease. How did God determine that a person with bad genes should end up with those genes? And the ability to cope with for example a horrible disease, that ability also depends on having certain inclinations that one is born with.
(4.2) The person’s parents will be given to them. It is a known fact that, with few exceptions, only children that are raised religiously will end up as believers. Almost all children raised by unbelievers will and up as unbelievers. Unbelievers go to hell. But they did not choose their parents. Same goes for being raised in the “wrong” religion.
(4.3) The person’s environment will be given to them. Peers, teachers, available information, culture, etc. None of these influences are chosen freely. Instead, these determining factors are a given.
(4.4) Even if (4.1 - 4.3) were not true, a person must have sufficient capabilities and information to discern the truth. If a person fails to discern the truth, because of lack of sufficient capabilities or lack of information, and goes to hell as a result of this, did this person choose to go to hell, freely?
