Here’s my problem. A person gets in a serious car wreck. She barely escapes with her life. But she thanks God that she lived and only has a broken back. Excuse me, serious question here. If God was looking out for her why did he let her get in a car wreck at all? It makes no sense.
Oh people might say, God let you be in the wreck so you can learn something from it. Really? Would you let your child get 3rd degree burns all over his body, so he learn something from it? No of course not!!
I don’t think anyone really knows one thing about God or God’s motives. He always seems far less than Godlike and loving than God would really be, if there is a God.
I agree.
I grew up during the polio epidemics of the early fifties. I never understood why a loving God would allow so many children to have polio. I would go to Sunday School and learn “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” and on Monday I would give money to the March of Dimes. That has haunted me these many years. I still wonder what became of those unfortunate children who posed for those posters, especially those who were imprisoned in the iron lungs. Just so you all will know, I was five years old in 1952.
The short answer would be that God is a not a goody-dispenser and that you're missing the point of life.
The longer answer can be (partially) explained with Pascal's Wager.
Pascal's Wager is roughly as follows. (Forgive me for oversimplifing it)
Pascal says you should wager on the former because the upside can be very good. And if you're wrong nothing happens anyway.
Now before you think about it too hard, here is a heads up: Pascal's Wager is bogus. It is a compelling Mr.Spock-type argument to throw at an agnostic or an atheist. However if you do believe in God as he is known in the major world religions, you will be able to identify the faulty premise of the argument.
Most of the Christians can probably pick out the flaw right away. However an atheist typically can't.
Answer:
The flaw in Pascal's Wager is selfishness.
It can be summed up in Job 1:9-10. Basically Satan was claiming that Job is sucking up to God to score points, like an employee brown-nosing the boss. But God doesn't want that. He wants us to love God, not his goodies. So to show Satan his accusation is wrong God inflicts great suffering on Job to test him, and to prove to Satan that Job's love of God is independent of Job's fortune or circumstances or rewards.
Thinking of heaven as some sort of eternal playland (which is what Pascal's Wager does) is to miss the point. God wants us to love Him as much as He loves us. It's a relationship. The purpose of heaven is to get closer to God, and He to you.
So the answer is that (perhaps) God saved the woman's life, even with the broken neck, because He knew it would make her stronger spiritally and improve her relationship with Him. Or because she would witness about God's love from her bed in a stronger way than she ever thought possible and bring more people to Him. We will never know the exact reason in this lifetime. All we know is the relationship. That's the key.
I would hope that you would know that the freedoms we have in this country and what the founders envisioned were modeled after the love our God has for us and “the freedom he gives us to choose” no matter that we will also need to ‘suffer the consequences’ of bad decisions. Please don't wish for God to be just another Hitler or Obama Rock on!
I agree too. Well stated.
You are looking for an earthly parent, guardian or physician to keep you safe from harm, not God. God gives help and guidance to ease the suffering until our spirits are released. The Bible repeatedly reminds us that our bodies are going to die and God never said he was going to stop that from happening.