I do agree with your Paul quote. For me though the dilemma is the way in which God uses bad things to good ends and I don't think it is simply because of human sin in a fallen world. I have always felt that that somehow limited the extent of God's presence amongst us - though that may well be something I just havent yet understood. . . .
I just cannot go along with the idea that we live in a 'fallen' world (except in a descriptive sense) because the world was being created for millions of years before man came on the scene. Dinosaurs didnt eat each other because Adam ate the apple. Earthquakes do not happen because we sin. I just cannot accept that. I do believe that God is creating the world the way it is and that it is the vocation of mankind (through Jesus) not so much to redeem the world as make real sense of it . . . perhaps I am being too semantic here and I know it is not Christian doctrine but there we are . . . .