Why does God allow bad things and suffering?

camimac said: God gave us free will so that we could decide whether to follow him or not.  God is omnipotent. He could make us follow him, if he chose too, but he wants us to choose.

And, in terms of why does suffering need to be part of life.  I can think of a number of reasons for this, but I'll just mention one of them.  One that I heard this morning on one of those tv minister shows.  What he said wasn't new, but I liked the example that he gave.  He talked about how he had a sister who had always been an overachiever, made good grades in school, and was particularly athletically inclined, ran marathons, etc., and won awards for her athletic prowess.  In recent years she has suffered a number of ailments, one of them being guillan barre syndrome.  It left her in a situation where she had to learn to accept help from others. Her suffering helped her to understand weaknesses in others and be more compassionate towards them.  She is now on the mend but participates more in family life than she did before she knew suffering. 

  So, one thing suffering can make you more grateful for what you have and can help you to become a more compassionate person.