You: Even if I were to assume that going to Heaven would make up for earthly suffering, I would not be convinced that that suffering was necessary. Why couldn't God just let the children die painlessly? If he did so, there would be no pain and suffering to make up for.

Aaron: I am trying to show that God has a plan; I cannot give you the details of it because I do not know the mind of God. God is infinite in wisdom and power, we cannot contemplate his motivations, only look for signs of his actions.

You: What you are saying is that good things are proof that God is good, and bad things are proof that we do not understand God's motivation. This sounds more like bad science than good philosophy to me.

Aaron: We must agree that God is good if we are to reach agreement on even the simplest of subjects.

You: Then we will not ever reach agreement. I am not going to assume that God has certain qualities when I don't even believe he exists in the first place. Would you have me assume that the White Rabbit carries a pocket watch because everyone knows that he does? If we were to discover an island of giant white rabbits tomorrow, would they necessarily be carrying pocket watches because of our preconceived notion? Not at all. In the same way, we cannot assume that God, if he exists, is good because we hope that he would be.

Aaron: I can see no purpose in your comparing God to a fairy tale character. I can also see no purpose in this conversation going any farther. You are being purposefully rude and pigheaded.