God exists

It does not matter if it is for a friend- this is good experience for me and your questions keep me on my feet, I am glad to help. First of all, let's address the controversy of "the big bang". In this case, it does not matter if you believe in it, and there's no point of persuading you (I assume you're a creationist). When I said "big bang" I was simply referring to the beginning of the Universe- its just that the big bang is a good common ground and is quite widely accepted; neither does it disprove the existence of God. The point still remains. Replace "big bang" with "the beginning of the cosmos" if you feel necessary and the argument is still viable. You shot a barrage of dilemmas, and some of them have the same focal point: -Everything is predestined, so we have no free will (like you said, whats the point of prayer) -Evil, suffering and our imperfection (all related) -Why does he make us? Let us start with the last point. The most common theist answer is that he is love, and so therefore there must be the beloved: the beloved being us, humans, whom he loves. Or just say its a mystery. The problem does not need an answer as it is unimportant (regards to existence). Let me also point out that the questions "why did he make us" is by no means an argument against his existence; rather, an inquisitive notice that only serves to fulfill our curiosity- our own existence would be the evidence for his existence. What about everything being determined? The issues of free will has several philosophies. For this argument, let me point out determinism (the concept that because of scientific laws, cause and effect, we have no choice over our will) and interventionism (the idea that we have free will because of an external agent e.g. a soul has an impact on earthly actions outside of the realms of the universe- it can transcend both in an out). Determinism (or even compatabilism, which follows determinism but gives a slightly different definition of free will) argues very consistent logic that there is no free will. However, only when it omits the existence of God (or a soul) is it viable, other than that, interventionism is perfectly reasonable philosophy to follow and at the end of the day it comes down to subjective belief as to what you agree with. As far as we are concerned, we reached a conclusion that God exists with no rebuttal- so we assume he is real, ergo souls are real, ergo there is free will (as souls do not succumb to determinism). Nevertheless, if you are referring to scripture (from the top of my head, there's one about God knowing you from the moment you were made in your mothers womb) we are diving into theology, which I prefer to steer away from. Neither do I know what point exactly you are trying to make when you say "predetermined" as you have the BoP and fail to present it. I tried my best at answering it. What then is the thesis response to evil and suffering? Once again, Thomas Aquinas comes to the rescue. Using the analogy- 'there is a wolf and a rabbit. For the GOOD of the wolf (eating, which is ultimately survival), there must be the BAD of the rabbit- being killed and eaten by the wolf'. The point here is that for good to exist there must be evil- the natural order of the world. Perhaps we must experience evil to perceive goodness- after all, you only know that you feel happiness because you've suffered in the past, otherwise, you would not be aware of it- God wants us to be aware of our morality. Perhaps suffering is a preparation for paradise. One would argue "Why didn't God just make everything perfect. Why have this Natural Suffering. Humanity would be better off without it". One of the many answers would be, that he loved us so much he gave us free will- he did not want mere slaves with no choice but to worship. Is the gift of freedom not the greatest sign of benevolence? Does a loving father not allow his son to make his own decisions? Dammit. No more letters remaining. Continue later :(.