I know this question has been asked for thousands of years, but..."Why, God?"
And is there a single answer, one that covers the tragedies of cancer and murder, of the Burma cyclone and the Rwanda genocide?
Is every thing that does happen God's will, or is there some factor that will make God act in some scenarios but not for others? (argued either that God protects some and lets things happen to others; or that God gets fed up and 'smites' some, but lets others go). Or is this just a 4000-mile radius ant farm where God just lets us 6 billion critters go nuts, hands-off until the end of the world?
Although I understand and agree that a lot of things in life are cause and effect, I do NOT believe that 'everything happens for a reason.' Not the way I hear people use the phrase. That is sentimental fatalistic baloney. I reject that completely with every fiber of my being. Terrible stuff happens, and it's not always God's will. Sometimes it's just stupid people doing really dumb stuff.
Why do we pray 'Thy will be done' unless it ain't being done on earth yet? Tragedy is not God's will. Senseless violence is not God's will. The winner of the football game is irrelevant.
I believe in God, but I also believe in Henley:
I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
(Reposted and tweaked from Republic of Swain, which was an expansion on a point in a blog here)Do you believe that all tragedies and unfortunate circumstances are God's will?
True
Comments (76)
No. The world is a warzone between those who oppose God's will and those who uphold it. God is not the author of evil, God opposes evil.
God permits things to happen in the world. He also wills certain things too.... but tragedies and disasters are not a part of that will. We have our own fallen human nature to thank for that. Sin entered the world through Man's desire to be His own God.
The bright side of things, is that God can use these tragic events to demonstrate His love to the world. That is where His Church and those who are His body come in. We are God's hands to a hurting world.
Hi all,
Sure some great topics here!
To answer this, I am going to borrow a quote from the script of the move "Love comes Softly" When Marty questions his faith, how he could believe in a God that would let his wife die and her husband die. He answer using his daughter Missy as an example. I've borrowed this quote alot! Profound, simple and clear.
Clark Davis:
Missy could fall down and hurt herself, even if I'm walking right there
beside her. That doesn't mean that I allowed it to happen. She knows,
as far as unconditional love, I'll pick her up and I'll carry her. I'll
try to heal her. I'll cry when she cries. And I'll rejoice when she is
well. In all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside
me. The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen.
It's His promise that he'll be there with us when they do.
I love that answer.
Hope
I think we need to distinguish between someone's being a cause of something and someone permitting something. there may be reasons behind why God allows evil to occur, but those reasons don't compose his wishes for what should happen.
I still question why things happen. I'm still learning all there is to know about God and His will, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. It takes time to understand the actions of God, and we may never understand it, but we should always have faith in God..even in tragedies that affects millions of people.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
"remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'" (Isa. 46:9-10)
"Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?" (Amos 3:6)
"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." (Isa. 45:7)
"all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" (Dan. 4:35)
"'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.'" (Deut. 32:39)
Well, Satan kind of became ruler of the earth since the fall of man so... that might explain something.
It's all in the book of Revelations. Read it. God is not a mean God, but this is all His plan, and it's for a purpose.
@nyclegodesi24@xanga -
This unfortunately doesn't cover natural disasters.
And if it is not his "will" that these disasters would happen, why create such a unstable living place in the first place where random horrific acts will occur every so often? It's a hard question to answer.
I completely agree with you. I don't think these things are in God's will to happen. However, by our poor choices, sinful actions, and lack of obedience to God, we bring these things upon ourselves. So God must allow these things to happen to teach us a lesson or put us back into His will or something else. These things are a result of sin, not God. God is in the process of saving humanity, and one day we will see this controversy between good and evil put to an end.
@hope42moro@xanga - That is a great answer. I saw that movie too.
quite hard to answer
@whataboutbahb@xanga - Scientific research has been conducted bringing information out of the stability of Earth's original environment. The Bible alludes to this and speaks of the resulting effects.
Since the world has sin, the world will be filled with destruction and hate.
Hateful, Unrepentant Hearts = Destruction
Our sin is not God's will.. He knows we will sin (because we are in fact, sinners) but, He has a more perfect plan for our lives.
I am not so sure about the natural disasters.. but I saw a verse from Amos here.
God gave us free will. He gave us forgiveness for our sometimes altered idea of life with that free will, but He gave it to us. We just need to make sure as people we don't hate and contribute to that destruction. Live by the Spirit!
In Christ, Kate
@compelling_purpose@xanga - I'd love to see this research. Define "original environment".
@compelling_purpose@xanga -
This in no way answered my question.
I'll go with Epicurus:
“If God is willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
If he is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
If he is both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
If he is neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
Clawman
Well, firstly, who's to say we're worthy of life at all? It's by God's
grace that He lets us live, gives us second chances to get right with Him and be redeemed. Yes, God is sovereign over the earth. If He's not, and if it's not His will, then clearly He'd just stop them.
Yes, I believe He wants everyone to know Him. I believe He loves everyone. But I believe He has a greater will inside of Himself to make His glory known.
Constantly throughout the Bible God says "For my name's sake I save you" "For my name's sake I spare my wrath against you" "For my name's sake I guide you through paths of righteousness and restore your soul." Therefore, even our salvation is for God's glory.
Yes, God is a God of love. But He is a jealous God, that will have nothing else take His place. He is a God of justice. People like to think that God is a goody goody two shoes fairy mother God who just loves everyone and doesn't want anyone to die, but He's a God of justice - "God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day." (psalm 7:11)
Or how about his mercy? "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (romans 9:15)
Who are we to say "God you can't do this! It's not fair!" Really, if we want fair, we get death and hell. Christianity, life, salvation - it's all unfair. It's all grace. It's all given to us freely. If God wants to take life away, He could.
And as for bad things happening, I believe God would will it if He makes good come from it. How do we know grace if we do not know wrath? How do we know judgement if we do not know sin? How do we know God's glory if we do not know our own depravity? Likewise, there must be destruction in order for there to be compassion and love. Such an understanding of love cannot be comprehended if there is no destruction.
Led Zeplin sang "the sky is filled with good and bad, and mortals never knowwwwww, Owwwow!" Remember the story of Elisha when he opend the Kings eyes and the sky was full of chariots and angels ready for battle, and then the Angel Michael commander of all the angels was fighting the Princes of Persia in Daniel, * * * All we have to do is take the situation at hand,[from day to day] and deal with it to our best ability in his Spirit, in peace and love.
The whole earth groans and travails, because of our sin.
@SirNickDon@xanga - God is not the author of evil, God opposes evil.
What about natural disasters and the random misfortunes that befall individuals?
Applying reason to this question leads to interesting answers. The believer holds that God created the world.
Well, we live in a world where killer whales feed by jumping out of the water onto the beach in order to snatch cute, innocent baby seals who've wandered too close to the water.
We live in a world plagued with ticks, fleas, chiggars, disease, bad weather, earth quakes and lest I forget, each other; all created by God, the first mover, first cause, ultimate designer and governor.
The realist who accepts God and creation the way they are would conclude that those who expect life to be freedom from suffering (paradise) are delusional.
The demand that this delusion be made reality coupled with blaming God for not creating that delusion is pure madness.
The Christian understands that God sent his Son into this world. The Son suffered. God subjected himself to the very reality that he, himself created for us.
Therefore, life in this universe with all its trials and vicissitudes is blessed, through the mercy of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We are called to make disciples of all nations so that God's blessing be given to all of mankind.
@whataboutbahb@xanga @LoBornlite@xanga - The historic Christian answer (not as fashionable post-Enlightenment, but what can you do) is angels and demons. That's why the language Jesus uses when he "calmed the storm" is actually identical to the language he used to cast demons out of people, because he perceived the storm to be the result of hostile spirits.
It's not a compelling argument with moderns, but it's logically self-consistent with Christian free-will theology and has the virtue of being explicitly scriptural.
@LoBornlite@xanga - That's an oversimplified answer, of course. It's also true that humans had dominion over the earth, so their fall left the earth in some sort of disarray as well.
@ramblesofalison@xanga - i have a heard time excepting that answer. it seems like a very Re-used Christian answer, Obdience has nothing to do with one's actions if they aren't even following Christ, its basically shere evil is all it really, twiste, dark. evil.