god

[henrymullen]

If there is suchthing asGOD why did GOD allow all of those people die in Asia as a result of GODS doing.Why did he let it happen on boxing day when the day  before they where probably praying to GOD for Peace and Goodwill on earth and to celebrate his sons birthday.

[Peter Pedant]

This is called the problem of suffering.

viz why does God allow pain?

ONe famous bishop told me thirty years ago - because he has no power to prevent it.

I have to say I found this answer no help when an eight year old asked me, when she was dying from cancer

 

However I can see that if he prevented it and we only had good things happen to us, then there would be no free will.

SOrry to be no help

[Wraith]

It is a very sad time for those poor people of Asia.

I for one don't believe in God. I seem to remember that God did help his/her people in the Bible. God was said to have spoken to many in the Bible. The Red Sea was parted. Jesus used Gods power to heal and raise the dead, even to feed people. If this were all true why would God suddenly turn his/her back on his/her own creations?

 

It could be argued that God gave us free choice, but how does a baby make decisions for itself?

Then again it could be argued that God doesn't stop these tragedies from occurring because of the greater good that it creates. When something on this scale happens thoughts are turned (temporarily) away from war. Countries work together to give aid. I heard on the radio today that GB has already raised over �25 million in charitable donations from us.

 

I know it sounds terrible, but tragedies like these do bring out the good in people. If there is a god, maybe that's the plan.

[Marsh]

If you have a pet dog, you do things that affect him.  Does he understand why you do what you do? Of course not.  Man and God (if there is one) have much the same relationship (IMHO).  "God moves in mysterious ways" is another way of saying mcuh the same thing.

[Samedibee]

In philosophy one answer that can be given to this question is the idea of 'epistemic distance' (i think thats how its spelt!). Basically the theory is that when God made earth and man he gave humans free will (so they can do what they want). To then intervene in the life on earth would be a contradiction of his original plans for humanity and so he is said to keep an 'epistemic distance'. He is avaliable to those on earth who wish to have a relationship with Him through the knowledge we have of religion etc but he cannot be anymore involved as it would be violating the concept of 'free will'.

[Thunderchild]

Well i know this answer is going to be controversal and i don't intend to upset anybody but this is my opinion:

we r a genetical experiment of a superior race of men that came from space thousands or millions of years ago, they have long since proved what they wanted to know and have left us to it as it were. owing to the theory of relativity "god" as we call this other race of men can reapere at distances of thousands of years because time here on earth is fathers that that of a man in soace travelling above the speed of light.

he/she/they have long since left as jesus was the last certain physical interaction we had with this race of people.

 

now we must bear in mind one thing. we ourselves have advanced enormously in the last decades and soon will be thinking of the same things god did in his time.

hadn't we better be careful with all our modern powerful technology.

how can god control nature and especially us. if we let off nuclear bombs under the ground we r going to have the after effects. remember that the time of the earth is much slower than ours. events (geological especially) occur and mature over tens and sometimes thousands of years we r a mere speck in that process sad as it is that is the fact.

 

naturally my opinion does not affect my sorrow for all the people killed and for their fasmilies. the millions that have lost every thing. nothing will ever repay them their loss but that is nature i am afraid u have to cope with it and learn to live with it.

[TOSHA]

For some altrenative ideas, try reading say, Bertram Russell, look up Agnostic, and Atheist, Make your own mind up.

In all religions, the pattern is the same, a very special person, arrives without the usual need for conception, who gets done in, rises from the dead, performed great deeds and etc. How far back does the various religions take us? 4- 5- 6000 years, how long have we been a species on this planet..... 50, 000, and how far back beyond that others, 5, 6, 20 million?

At various times, the religious, if you did not believe, saw you off, at the stake, drowning etc, and still do! Persecution experts. In nearly all cases, those that exhort others to go to their devine deaths, are usually, nowhere to be found in the queue to do the same! Killed and still kill thousands in the name of one god or another. Seems to me, if whichever god is the genuine article, then he must be a right evil person to carry out the sort of things that occurr daily, bare in mind, when the excuse is made, babies and young children, have no conception of SIN! They go the same way, by the thousands?

The systems will find excuses for all of the tragedies, otherwise, they would all be looking for new jobs!

 Check out the property markets then check out the bible..... the money lenders and etc etc.... check out also the biggest property owners, then checkout the property they have an interest in, then try checking the market again....and its investors.

Wake up a little.... you really dont have to be a Fundementalist, Zealot, Bible Punching Preacher etc to be a Christian? Just live and care for each other...

[thebookbloke]

there is NO god that is concerned with the daily trivialities of humanity, There may be a 'mother nature' but she sure don't care about mankind either

[El D]

Marsh

 

Sure, but then if I killed 150000 dogs for no apparent reason would you say I was evil? What if I claimed you could not understand? Does that make it right? In actual fact natural disasters are separate from the problem of evil. They in no way impinge on our free will and theoretically possess no interest to god. Unless your god gets his kicks from watching babies drown.

[Merlin]

henrymullen

An awful lot of nonsense has been posted in response to your natural question.

The tragedy is impossible to explain if God (as generally understood by Christians) exists.

The tragedy is very simply explained and understood if we accept that there is no God.

The conclusion is obvious.

[Tiltie]

they wouldn't be praying. most of them are muslims, they dont celebrate christmas!

[RevShirls]

Good question, Henry. I am a Church of Scotland)minister (now working in Sweden - since I married a Swedish guy). I first heard a new flash about the tsunami on the morning of the 26th just as I was leaving to go to church to conduct the service. I mentioned this in my prayers that day and there were a number of gasps in the congregation - but it was only when I got home and the news began to emerge of the extent of this disaster that the horrors of it all really hit me. I am conducting a service for English speaking people on Sunday evening - a daunting task.

I don't have any ready made answers and to be honest I am suspicious of people that do. I am sickened by those who claim this is God's punishment etc etc. I would never want anything to do with such a God. I do understand that it is because of the very nature of our planet that such things happen - ie the earth couldn't sustain existence without volcanoes, earthquakes, the movement of teutonic plates etc (most of our dramatic and beautiful landscapes have been caused by violent activities of nature) - but that doesn't explain why a supposedly loving God could let people suffer and die in the process. The Bible tells us that Jesus calmed the storm and calmed the waves so why not in this instance? It is important at this time that people should ask questions of God, rage at God, and even question God's existence.

[RevShirls]

oops meant to say "tectonic plates" (rather than teutonic)

[mindpencil]

i thought that the problem of suffering was exactly that- a problem. I've never heard of anything that satisfies it. There's no real reasoning around it- a force of omnipotence and omnibenevolence towards humankind would obviuosly create a utopia- which doesn't exist. The only answer to the problem is that God, at least in the traditional sense of Judaism, Christianity and Islam , and probably other monotheistic religions, doesn't exist.

[Merlin]

Another answer is that there is a god but it is not loving kind and benevloent. It is capricious, vindictive and spiteful.