How would you respond?

I got this message

How would you respond?




I just dont understand a god that can "love" his creations and have no remorse for things like natural disasters causing mass casualities, children dying of the most basic necessities (hunger, dehydration), and the biggest one for me is newborns with life threatening conditions.

TlDr if he is all powerful, he doesn't give a ****
If he isn't all powerful he isn't god.



My response

Simply GOD gave man free will. He then gave us his his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. He also gave his ANGELS free will. They rebelled hence the devil.

Not once does the Bible promise us freedom from disasters, trouble or bad treatment. In fact, it says we will encounter these. What the Bible does promise is that God will be with his people through trouble. How he is with us is not always apparent. But he's there nonetheless and you wouldn't want him not to be.

Christians look beyond their temporary time here on earth. Non-Christians do not. Christians understand that adversity on earth is being used by God for our good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DCP

I just dont understand a god that can "love" his creations and have no remorse for things like ....

---

The person that you're replying to has made an assumption (his or her opinion) that God has no remorse for things that happen like natural disasters. That assumption is unsupported anywhere.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DCP

I got this message. How would you respond?

I just don't understand a god that can "love" his creations and have no remorse for things like natural disasters causing mass casualties, children dying of the most basic necessities (hunger, dehydration), and the biggest one for me is newborns with life threatening conditions.

TlDR if he is all powerful, he doesn't give a ****
If he isn't all powerful he isn't god.



My response

Simply GOD gave man free will. He then gave us his his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. He also gave his ANGELS free will. They rebelled hence the devil.

---

I don't think you addressed his question at all.

If I were you, I would have replied with "I am comfortable with my belief in God and that He has a plan, despite what you see as inconsistencies. You should be equally comfortable with your disbelief. We don't need to discuss this."

I would not respond at all if this person can't at the very least spell God with a capital "G". I would only pray that this person's heart would be softened (not hardened any more) to be open to God's calling, if indeed God is calling him/her.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by John Ross

I don't think you addressed his question at all.

If I were you, I would have replied with "I am comfortable with my belief in God and that He has a plan, despite what you see as inconsistencies. You should be equally comfortable with your disbelief. We don't need to discuss this."

---

Agree completely. Your response, DCP, was a non-answer that “proves” to an atheist that there is no good reason we can comprehend of why many bad things happen and God appears to do nothing.

Many “inconsistencies” can not be understood or answered. It is why it is easier to be an atheist than a believer.

My own belief is that God is not all powerful or perfect. Yet, I believe He has immense power and He loves us as a true Father would. This allows me to rationalize the inconsistencies I see and to pray for His guidance in dealing with them. One day, when we are with Him, we may understand....or even then, it may be beyond our comprehension.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ickisrulz

Not once does the Bible promise us freedom from disasters, trouble or bad treatment. In fact, it says we will encounter these. What the Bible does promise is that God will be with his people through trouble. How he is with us is not always apparent. But he's there nonetheless and you wouldn't want him not to be.

Christians look beyond their temporary time here on earth. Non-Christians do not. Christians understand that adversity on earth is being used by God for our good.

---

This along with a reference to James 1

Remember God started with a perfect world in the Garden of Eden. It was through man's disobedience that brought on all the calamities to the earth. God determines perfection and when man acts less than perfect ,it is sin. Sin can be punished in this life time or eternally. Natural disasters are not all punishment from God.
God never promises us a smooth sailing through our lifetime. The Bible gives us untold examples of how to act in good times and bad. Joseph was falsely put into prison, David was hunted by Saul, Paul was beaten and stoned. But God never left them to face adversity by themselves.
It was man's sin that brought on the calamities. For God to be "fair" it must rain on the just and the unjust. So good people face bad problems.
God wants us to be obedient to His will and ways. Many times we learn God's will through adversities in our life. God has given us all untold opportunities to believe in Him.
If this person is into a perfect world, God does promise that for eternity if he is obedient to Him in this world. But man has messed this one up due to disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

The original question here indicates the sender is a person who simply has the wrong impression of God. It seems clear that he is one of those who see god as some "Sugar Daddy in the Sky." This is an erroneous perception of God, and thus, cannot lead to any really good understanding of who God really is, or how He works, or why He works the way He does.

So really, it's a question that cannot be answered as asked. First, one had to have a basic understanding of who God is, what He does, and why He does it the way he chooses to. And as to who God is, well, He's simply the almighty sovereign of the universe, who created all that we know as our universe from nothing. We are told He spoke the words, and all that is was created. I doubt any of us have the mind capacity to really understand how that went down, but we're getting little clues here and there on a regular and increasingly brisk schedule.

As to how He works, we have to remember that WE don't KNOW all that He does. He knows the past, the present and the future. That is almost impossible for us to truly understand. Hugh Ross in "Beyond the Cosmos" has the best explanation I can imagine, but even then, it's really not adequate to really be able to claim "I understand." Mostly, we just have to ACCEPT, which is another thing entirely.

And as to WHY He works the way He does, again, we don't possess enough information, compared to what He knows, to question Him or what He does, or why He does things as he chooses to. But I can look back on my own experiences in life, and see a number of places where if I'd gotten what I wanted, I'd have missed many things that I value even more than what I'd originally asked for.

And there's another aspect of the question, which is basically summed up in the question of "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?" That question has been a persistent one through all ages, I think. And again, that kind of thinking is evidence of seeing God as some big "Sugar Daddy in the Sky" who causes all things to happen the way they do. But this forgets the story of creation, wherein after all was made, and God had created man, he sent him forth to conquer and enjoy the fruits of this world, but it had to be by the sweat of his brow and with careful thought and planning.

God is NOT here to do everything FOR us!!! He's by our side to help us through all the trials and efforts we go through as we wend our way to the end of our lives here on this mortal coil.

So the author of the original question has a lot of thinking and reconsidering to do. God is indeed all around us. He HAS to be with our erroneous and willful natures! If he weren't, this world would have ended long ago! LONG ago! He's our helper, our support, our guide, and our salvation, if we just allow Him to be. Instead, many jump to conclusions based on their former more "earthy" perceptions of what's around us. Coming to understand God is not something that is automatically injected into us upon coming to light. We still have a lot of reading, discussion and study and contemplation ahead of us, if we're ever to really mature as Christians. But the funny thing about all that is, that once one begins that, it becomes VERY pleasurable and even amusing at many times and points along the way. God gave us ALL his advice and direction with the intent that it'd make us happy, and truly satisfied, and so we could understand just a little about what all He has truly done for us. But He can't and won't do it all! Some things He leaves up to us to handle, so we can learn and grow, and come to a greater understanding of who He is, what He does, and why He does it the way He chooses to do it.

We know so little. He knows so much! Many times, we don't even know enough to know how to ask a good and revealing question! Such as the one in the original post here. As asked, it HAS to answer. But it can make for the beginning of coming to understand and love the Lord even more, once we correct our understanding of who He is, etc. The person who asked it originally, is richly blessed with a wealth of things to learn ahead of him or her. Seeking to understand the Lord is one of the most richly rewarding experiences a human can experience. But you can't be lazy, and become a mature Christian! How many times did Christ admonish us to read and study and contemplate the words He left us? I think that's a good first clue to start with. That's my 2 cents' worth anyway.

The response I say is this. Why do I expect God to solve my problems. Why would he solve anyone's. It is up to us a people to solve our problems.

The reason those kids are hungry. Are us humans and greed.

What have you done lately to solve a issue.

I donate to my chruch. Who In Turns donates millions in relief efforts.

I teach what do you do?

It's not up to God to do good. It's up to you.

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

Ok, having been through bankruptcy, and death of a spouse, with 2 daughters to get through college. I have a perspective. May not be the complete one, but it is comprehensive.

I always wondered what God or his Son Jesus would say if He sat down with us in person. After a lot of reflection I believe He would tell us " This is not what I wanted. I did not want you to suffer or even experience death. But you do!. I am still here for you always. I will never leave. …..What are you going to do with this suffering???".


Will we keep honoring him? Will we keep seeking His direction? Do we acknowledge that our suffering, no matter how hard, is not the defining circumstance of our lives?


I have been given a blessing beyond my imagination. I met a woman who had suffered far more than me. She is now my wife and we are living our lives happily helping kids find their way. Laughing as we go. "Don't sweat the small stuff, everything is small stuff." Is our motto.

It is not about me, her or any of us. It is about using what our Father gives us in love for others.

Don

We are being tested. God is testing all of us. If the test kills you does not mean you failed, it was just your time. If you suffered but kept the faith, rejoice.

Tim