It surely does!! Consider: if God created the Universe by becoming the Universe, this was done with a purpose, a necessary purpose for a massively powerful--but not an all-powerful--being....

What can that purpose be? I think to answer a question that such a being can not, otherwise.... I think to experience existence as the Universe and to therefore understand what it is to face limitations, to face fear and overcome it with courage (God alone has nothing to fear), to face pain and overcome it by finding comfort (how could God alone be made to feel pain?)....

So, God puts everything that it is into a Universe set forth with laws of physics that make it inevitable that life will arise somewhere (perhaps many places), that life will evolve through natural selection, that intelligence will evolve through this same process, and ultimately that thinking beings will be able to reflect on their experiences (I often wonder, tho, if the intellect that would suit God's needs is still far from evolving on this planet!!)

Pardon the pun, but in the beginning I don't think God knows good and evil from Adam.... so, in essence, we exist to TEACH God what it is to feel all these things, and since God is the Universe and we are all part of God, all of these things are part of a collective experience for God that we create; i.e. if I strike you, I strike God; if I bring you joy, I bring God joy.... none of these are immediate, but all experiences of the Universe are recorded by God now to be synthesized and understood after the Universe has run its course and God has returned to consciousness....

And when God does come to the stage of synthesizing this experience, all who have ever existed will share in this process; and all will experience the joy, and the pain, that they have created.... if I strike you, I strike God; and if I strike God, I strike myself, for that will be part of my experience in the next world; hence, I strike no one, and if another wishes to strike me, I admonish them but do not take steps to prevent them, for they ultimately strike themselves!!

If God, and he must be if He is the Creator, is eternal. If God is not material, then he is a Spirit, and also is the "highest being possible" then He must be without limit. 

What limit could you put on God?  Maybe I just do not understand your objection. Can you explain further what you mean.

If there is a God who creates purposefully, then by His nature, would He not have to care about all of His Creation, including indiviual happiness?  You are asking a question of the problem of evil, which is a long topic, tackled by many, including Darwin. Hume is a good read, try Dialogs Concerning Natural Religion.  He will address the problem and show how theism has failed to answer his questions.  But of course, that does not answer your question. 

Tell me your definition of good and evil, and tell me what happiness.  And I will see if that is where the problem lay.  Also, I do not know if you know the distinctions between Moral Evil and Natural Evil... and "divine justice and mercy." These are not difficult topics, just long topics, and I can try my best on a forum.  

 You did say "I do not see how God can..." I find this interesting.  If you do not believe in God, why and how can you make that statement.  (I am not suggesting that I know what you believe in).  You would have no reasonable basis to make it, you should merely say "God does not exist.  There is suffering in this world."

I obviously failed, so where is the problem in the proof, so I can address it.

Evil could create, but it would be good...Our standards of good and evil would be different.  I am not going to speculate on what this could mean, because I could not possibly tell you. God is the determiner of Good and Evil in Theism because of His Nature.  If in God's nature was different than as we currently know Him (assuming His existence) our standards would be different.  So it is not a matter of evil or good creating, it is a matter of the nature of the creator which determines good and evil.

Let me know if this helps.

 

Well, many people have agreed with you on this.  But that was not your original posting.  You asked merely on the attributes of God, and there are more basic issues that need to be addressed before we can move forward on this.  I hope you understand why I am not going further.  (If we move forward, we are either going to end up right back here, or many steps back, because we are at a disagreement here). 

I do apologize for not responding sooner, I am a student, and it is finals time (I have 3, 25 page papers due at the end of this week) so I might not be on for awhile again.