Okay, if you are nothing but a result of deterministic environmental factors and it is true that your consciousness is merely an illusion (which is the deterministic belief), I win the debate because you do not exist and therefore you are not making arguments. I am the only one left standing.
This is the natural result of your worldview.
If we were to go by your worldview, life is without meaning, therefore you are without meaning, making everything you say meaningless. Why should I listen to anything you say?
And regarding the "suffering" you claim to have afflicting you, how can billions of people who do not exist suffer? You do not exist; your consciousness is an illusion so how are you able to suffer?
This is why the deterministic/materialist mindset is fallible; it is built on quicksand and collapses in on itself.
I'm describing more along the lines of soft determinism/compatibilism. It does not in any way imply that the self is an illusion. That is some whack Sam Harris crap that I don't describe to in the slightest. Hard determinism, which states that all actions are entirely out our own control, doesn't even go as far as to say that our conscious is an illusion. Also, there is a fine line between illusion and delusion. This is more along the lines of solipsism, which implies that the only person that can be confirmed to exist is yourself. If we want to see actual determinism, simply observe the ways on how children grow up in different environments. If a man is born into a Christian household, he will be taught the Bible, attend church, and base his morals off of what Christ and the Apostles had brought forth.
Conversely, if you are brought up by Hindus, said child would not eat beef, would seek out the purification of his moshka, and ultimately accomplish all aspects of Dharma. In both cases, the child did not have a say in how he was raised, as it was determined for him by outside forces (parents, culture, tradition, etc...). Sure, it isn't hardcore Calvinist pre-determination, but I trust you can see what I'm getting at here when I say that the environment heavily dictates the people we become and how we respond to life's events.
In accordance with your belief system of Christianity, you too should regard everything as meaningless toil.
As stated by Kohelet in the Hebrew Bible, who relents at his efforts being for naught:
“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.”
-Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
There also numerous examples of determinism from God's perspective, seeing as how he is omnipotent and all that shebang. Some of these may differ if you assume biblical prophecies to be similar in terms of determinism, but recall the psalmist exclaims to God that "In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed" (Psalm 29). It would appear that God had determined quite a bit before it had even happened, does this mean it is an illusion as well? Should the objective meaningless insinuated by both our sides of the court cancel out any sort of discourse previously had?
I shall put forth another example that was used from a previous debate:
This is a small example, and one I'm not entirely sure of myself regarding the circumstances, but consider the story of Joseph in Genesis.
Had Joseph never reached this point, he wouldn't have been able to interpret the Pharaoh's dreams, along with advising him store grain and to aid the Israelites during the great famine. None of that also would have been possible had Joseph not been casted out by by his siblings and subsequently bought by the captain of the guard. Would said guard's wife have always made the false rape accusation against Joseph had he refused?
Following the emigration of the Israelites from Canaan to Egypt, Joseph exclaims to his brothers the following verse: "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life." Genesis 45:5 KVJ.
It seems to me, that it is heavily implied that God had intended for Joesph to be abandoned by his brothers and sold into slavery, so that he may eventually work his way up to the position of vizier. With this power, he would be in a position to help sustain the Levant (and Egypt) during the famine that the Pharaoh had seen in his dreams. Was God aware of the fact that Joesph's colored coat would lead to his exile? Did he predetermine the dreams Joseph had so that he would eventually find himself in the position of vizier, a position influential enough to help the Canaanites?
If i'm going to take the stance as a Christian and answer why there is suffering. What I have to say is this:
Life is not without struggle or suffering. There has never been a single person who hasn't struggled or suffered in life. Pain is a way to show what not to do and what to stay away from. For example if you were to put your hand on a stove it would burn and you would feel pain, which lets you know not to do it anymore. You learn a lesson. We invited evil into the world by our own hands, and we are given freewill to commits acts of good or evil. You ask "why does God allow trillions to suffer", but it isn't God who is allowing them to suffer it is ourselves perpetuating that suffering. We are not "good" believe God calls us. We are always sinning. The only man I would call good is Jesus Christ the Son. He is the god-man. He is what we should all desire to be like, for God came down as a man (Which is important, Jesus Christ is man) to show us the way. If God came in to stop every evil-doer and make a world fully good he would be taking away our freewill, and the entire test on Earth would be pointless. Mankind will come to an end, but people don't want to accept that death is coming so we try to immortalize ourselves. I do not believe in Heaven because I fear death, I believe in Heaven because I fear God. In the same way you would fear a king or your boss; he put rules in place and if you break those rules you will be held accountable. When my time comes and I have to face the Father and he looks into my heart, I want to be confident I lived a life full of meaning and that I lived it walking in the path he set out for us. It seems most people nowadays want a Personal God that they can leverage or push over, that they can order what to do, so they themselves can be a god.
I should end this by saying that like you I used to be a atheist/materialist, but a little over a year ago God revealed himself to me, and I cannot deny his voice any longer. It seems to me you want to believe in The Lord, but you are too upset to accept him right now. I truth do empathize with you because I was once in your position, and I know how difficult it is to believe at the start. I still have many questions of my own, but I just started this lifelong journey and I hope I continue to be a steward of God.
I urge you to pray for God to reveal himself to you (If he hasn't already); I will also pray for you.
I'm quite puzzled by this piece, so I'll refrain from making a fool of myself by butchering the theological point of view you ascribe here. Instead I'll just say..... thanks I guess? This reads like something I would have received from a pamphlet after Holy Communion. In fact, I can't even be sure if you are being dead serious here.