Wording of this Handout:
Another common charge against God, by ignorant and unreasonable people, is that He must be cruel because He "lets" all sorts of bad things happen in the world.
In some ways it would be very convenient if God really was cruel, because it would help us explain why there are so many bad things in the world which just carry on unchecked.
But the fact is, God is good, and people who accuse Him of being cruel simply do not know Him or how He works. For example, suppose someone said to my daughter "Your Dad is a liar, a cheat, a gambler and a drunk!" she would instantly say "No he isn't!" because she knows me.
Now suppose someone says that God is dishonest, unkind, hardhearted, miserly, sadistic and cruel. The Christian (someone who actually KNOWS God) would say "No He isn't." Those who know the truth about God can also see that there are other reasons for the suffering and troubles in this world. To go blaming God for them is actually the very worst thing anyone could do, because it attributes evil to the only Being in the universe who is pure, perfect and absolutely good!
Is God cruel? Not the True God, the God of the Bible - but the god of people's imaginations can be anything they want.
The Bible says "But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king" Jeremiah 10:10 (King James Version)