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"suffering and God's role in it?"...........
God is sovereign and may do as He pleases. scripture is rife with illustrations where God has caused/and/or allowed conditions to deteriorate which caused human suffering. this is not to say that He causes all suffering - we are responsible for much or most of our own suffering. but if we go back to Gods creation of the first two earth inhabitants we would find the original cause for all suffering throughout the entirety of humanity....it's called sin.

Buz, yours is a standard-issue theodicy. The fact that there is a special word to describe a branch of theology dedicated to dealing with the "problem of evil" indicates that it's a serious one for Christianity indeed. I've studied my share of such arguments, but none of them has been able to get around the basic issue: If God is "in control," then he's the one responsible for suffering... not the victims.

"then he's the one responsible for suffering... not the victims"....................
i would agree if God had created us as automatons (i.e. a machine or control mechanism designed to follow automatically a predetermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions), however He provided His creation with free will and scripture further states.......
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."
as you might be aware, Satan has dominion currently over the earth and is responsible for much of the destruction of all types that are taking place - i know you don't believe any of this eric but that in no way alters what scripture tells us - there is spiritual warfare going on constantly all around us (unseen to us of course) and eventually when God decides it time, He will conclude His plan and all prophecy(s) of scripture will be fulfilled.
so for me i can make the distinction between God "allowing" and God "causing". if i believed your scenario then the God i serve would be the monster thatyou already perceive Him to be.

Very simply: suffering of all kinds is the result of sin (doing things our way instead of God's), and sin is the necessary result of free will, which came as part and parcel of the imago dei. There are implications in the Scriptures that there was a breach of obedience in the angelic realm before Eden, in that the Deciever was already seeking to subvert God's Kingdom by temping God's vice-regents of the earthly realm - Adam and Eve.

And so, sin entered into this realm by Adam's fall. And God has ordained that the various levels or realms of creation must maintain their integrity, and work out their decisions in that realm. His intervention into our time and space in Messiah was an act of grace to alter the ineveitable ruin that continued, unrestrained, and rampant sin would bring to this planet.

In His infinite and perfect wisdom, God has preordained MOs for all his creation. Creatures created in His Image must bear the consequences of their words and actions - in TIME and space. Instead of complaining about what is and indicting the Creator, we should be working to allay the disastrous effects of sin by believing the Gospel and building the Kingdom. We can be part of the problem or part of the Solution.

So, say my year old is projectile vomiting: you say her suffering is from her sin? That's twisted. Any supposed omnipotent being who could end an infant's pain but doesn't isn't deserving of any praise. It's disingenuous to then attribute recovery from serious illness to the same.