Posted on 01/01/2013 5:35:59 AM PST by Kaslin
As a Christian, it can be difficult to reconcile all the evil that happens in the world with an all knowing, all powerful loving God who could stop it if He wants, but chooses not to do so. If our hearts break for the innocent children who were senselessly murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, how can a God who loves us not feel the same way? If any of us had known what Adam Lanza was going to do, we would have done anything in our power to stop him, so why didn't God? All too often we tend to quote some arcane scripture, chalk it up to God "moving in mysterious ways" and shrug our shoulders. While none of us have the authority to speak for God, there are plausible explanations for why God would choose not to intervene to prevent a tragedy.
1) He gives us free will: God didn't make robots who were designed to execute His will. Instead He gave us the freedom to make our own decisions. He lets us choose between being right and wrong, good and evil or wise and foolish. We can follow Him or scorn Him. We can obey Him or ignore Him. We can take His advice or go our own way. It's our choice...and sometimes choices have terrible consequences. But, of course, how could it be otherwise and still be a choice?
2) It's a necessity for faith: "If God wanted to remove all doubt about his existence, He could do so — but, He doesn’t because the cornerstone of Christianity is faith. Imagine what would happen if bad things DIDN’T happen to good people. What if when an airline crashes, only the non-Christians die while all the believers walk away unscathed? What if the moment someone becomes an atheist, he is immediately struck by lightning and killed? What if every rape, murder, robbery, and painful illness only happens to non-believers? If that were the case, then no faith would be required to be a Christian."
3) He has a different perspective: Our God gave "His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Imagine being in his place as Jesus was jeered, whipped and had to suffer and die in agony on the cross. What would run through your mind as your Son was crucified and uttered the words, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" when you had the power to free Him, heal His wounds and strike down His tormentors at will. Our God made that sacrifice for each and every one of us so that we could be saved. That's how much He cares for us. Yet and still, God has known the hopes, hurts, loves and secret dreams of all of us who've come into this world, lived our lives and passed on. After watching billions of people He cares for die and shouldering responsibilities we can't even begin to fathom, God doesn't see the world through the same eyes as we do.
4) We often turn to God in times of tragedy: One of the sad truths of human nature is that when we're happy, healthy, loved, secure and our pockets are full, most of us think we already have all the answers and don't turn to God. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." It's not that God wants us to ache, causes it, or wishes for it to happen, but He realizes that's often what spurs us in His direction. A long pleasant existence full of leisure, contentment and pleasure that ends with a trip to Hell because there was never a need to reach for God is a failed life.
5) Ultimately it's about Heaven, not earth: What we do with our lives is no small matter. We should try to make the most of our talents, do what we can for others and make the most of what we have. But, it's worth remembering that Billy Graham was right when he said, "My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." Our lives seem long and crucially important because it's all we can see, hear, and touch, but God knows there's an eternity that stretches beyond our time here. It can be incredibly painful when our time here ends with those we care about, but God gets to see the reunions in the next lifetime.
I believe God gave great gifts to mankind. I also believe that love eternal will not be denied eventually, even though the force of evil would like to deny.
God has given man the choice to do good or evil and he will be the the judge .
Even death is a learning experience for the soul. Not even an atomic bomb drooped on one’s head can destroy a soul. But sin sure can keep a soul shackled in hell for a long time!
We are ALL here on this world for only a brief moment in time, the tenancy of our bodies is all we really own, and that brief time is the only thing we ever have to sell to others. How we use this opportunity, and the greater or lesser good we accomplish while here, is the only legacy that counts with Heaven.
For those who do not or cannot bring themselves to believe and express their faith, the world must seem a dark and unyielding place, filled with unending dangers and fraught with negativity.
Do souls ever really expire, or are they reborn again and again, while striving toward some distant ideal of perfectability, taking these lessons from lifetime to lifetime? It would seem to be a most extravagant waste of energy to simply make one cast of each spark of soul that makes up the psyche of every human being, then throw it away upon expiration of bodily life.
Gloom is not eternal, hope is.
Sandy Hook was a terrible tradgedy, but only a drop in the bucket to the thousands aborted every day.Why doesn’t God give Palsy to every abortionist on the face of the earth?
Why did God allow the Holocaust, or the Inquisition?
Why does God allow drug dealers to prosper?
We start asking questions like these and it can go on into affinity.
Sandy Hook was a terrible tradgedy, but only a drop in the bucket to the thousands aborted every day.Why doesn’t God give Palsy to every abortionist on the face of the earth?
Why did God allow the Holocaust, or the Inquisition?
Why does God allow drug dealers to prosper?
We start asking questions like these and it can go on into infinity.
*
Thank God for His forgiveness and Divine Grace. Without it, this journey would be hopeless.
“It would seem to be a most extravagant waste of energy to simply make one cast of each spark of soul that makes up the psyche of every human being, then throw it away upon expiration of bodily life.”
I agree. God recycles!
For me it is reality. Having died and returned here due to an illness, the bigger picture becomes much clearer.
I’m at the age where one kind of spectacles goes on, and another kind comes off. So I have answers, but I’ll just shut up.
HNY and may you be HAL.
Excellent points.
>>>Do souls ever really expire, or are they reborn again and again, while striving toward some distant ideal of perfectability...
It is appointed to man ONCE to die, then comes the judgment.
The soul is eternal... that does NOT mean souls are re-born into another body here on earth.
God says in His word that those who have died that belong to Him will receive an incorruptible new body that will dwell with Him forever in heaven.
Only God knows why things like this happen.
The only difference between God and John Hawkins is God never thinks he’s John Hawkins.
Just Believe!
While there is some truth to every point that the writer makes, personally I think it is a bit of human vanity to try to explain why God allows evil. Even possibly absurd.
Most of the time - if not all - it cannot be explained, and to try to explain it only somehow diminishes in our understanding of who God is.
We can only explain that which scripture states, and let it rest there. The human mind will never fully grasp who God is - or He would not be God, and we more than His creatures.
What we can state is that in the face of the greatest evil (that screams to us that God is unjust, or not good Himself) that God is indeed good, holy, righteous, and that His ways (so far beyond man’s understanding) are beyond us.
We can also state that through the incredible work of the cross of Christ, He redeems evil - and turns it for good - for those who love God, for those called according to HIs purpose. The fav verses of more believers than any other: Romans 8:28, 29 (you should never separate them).
What is the worst unimaginable evil that ever occurred? Hitler? Stalin? Mao? Rwanda?
I would say, no. The worst evil in all of history was the false trial, conviction, torture and murder of the only perfect, pure, good, loving and righteous Man who ever walked the earth. No other evil compares with this - not even Newtown.
But then we must next ask, what was the most wonderful thing to ever occur in history? The best thing of all? The same thing. The death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, whereby man is redeemed from his hopeless state of sinfulness, made righteous, and given an open heaven into the very presence of God.
This is the ultimate act of redemption - of turning evil for good - for the salvation of the world. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...”
We are a bit foolish and arrogant I believe to try to explain evil.
We cannot.
But, we can state that God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, redeems evil and turns it for good in the end. Not for all - but for all who believe........
“Sandy Hook was a terrible tragedy,”
Public education is a terrible tragedy!
Brainwashes children. Turns them to liberals/socialists, etc.
What if they had been homeschooled?
“God has given man the choice to do good or evil and he will be the the judge.”
The counties containing Newtown (Sandy Hook shootings) and Staten Island (Hurricane Sandy devastation) went heavy for Obama in the last election. Perhaps this theme could be identified for other “natural” tragedies; I haven’t researched others.
But, in case God is raining down punishments, if I were to relocate in the near future, I’d be checking recent voting stats when considering potential residences. Just saying...
your number (4) is particularly upsetting. i dont beleive that for a minute. God visits us with suffering so we will turn to him. thats ugly.
It might be upsetting to you, but it is fact
A homeschooling parent or family member could be just as sick and evil as anyone else. And I say this as someone who as been homeschooling her kids for the last 20 years. I'm as big an advocate of homeschooling as anyone I know, but I know that anything can happen to anyone anywhere. There are evil people everywhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.