Is God Cruel?

[locusts]

Is God really to blame for such suffering?
According to investigators, evidence was found in the wreckage that pointed to sabotage by a terrorist bomb. When men fight against one another to further their own selfish interests, should God be held responsible for the harm it may bring to others? No! It should be expected that humans would not be immune to the consequences of what they do. The apostle Paul wrote: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” What is more, regarding the innocent victims of the cruel and irresponsible actions of others, says that “time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” Thus, a person may get hurt or even lose his life, not because God wants man to suffer but because, by chance, he is in the wrong place at the critical time.
Ecclesiastes 9:11( Galatians 6:7) Genesis 18:25)
If it were true that God causes children to die because he needs more angels in heaven, it would imply that he is unfeeling, even cruel. The Bible says otherwise. A compassionate father would not snatch a child away from its parents just so that he could enlarge his own family. Yet, no human parent has more compassion than GOD , whose dominant quality is love. His great love would never permit him to act in such a harsh way. (Job 34:10) (1 John 4:8) (ROMES.9.14-18)

[bert_h]

Check up on that text about '... casting pearls before swine'. There is a substantial AB membership for whom posts like yours only serve as an extra justification for their disbelief.

[naomi24]

Locusts, //A compassionate father would not snatch a child away from its parents just so that he could enlarge his own family. //

No, a compassionate father wouldn't do that - so why did your God create the evil that is cancer that so many, including little children, fall foul of?

[bert_h]

Hmmm. See what I meant?

[naomi24]

Do you have an answer, bert?

[mikey4444]

He doesn't allow horrible things to happen, as he doesn't exist in the first place ? Why religious people stop blaming their Gods when anything bad happens ?

Sh*t happens...get used to it !

[mibn2cweus]

What's cruel is telling a child they were born in sin, that they are deserving of everything bad that happens to them and equating the devil with the voice of reason . . . that's cruel!

[jomifl]

Oh no, not another bible basher. I'm beginning to think there might be something in the concept of original sin otherwise why would we be exposed to all these unhappy people who can only resort to religion.

[naomi24]

Bert hasn't answered my question. Perhaps locusts will.

[Jeza]

As God does not exist, it is man who is to blame for the suffering in the world. Note I said Man and not woman.

[sandyRoe]

To imagine God to be cruel is to attribute to him one of our petty human frailties. When he gave us the gift of life it carried with it a sting in the tail, death. And that comes in many forms. That's just the way it is.

[pixie373]

Does that mean God can't be kind, either?

[joggerjayne]

God created all things.

Including Man.

And Man's evil ways.

God is omniscient. He knows everything.

He knows that Man will bomb and maim innocent people and children.

He knows when it's going to happen, because He is omniscient.

But He still lets those innocent people walk towards the bomb.

He lets the children get their legs blown off.

And He tells us that we, Mankind, should be compassionate and loving.

Why does He not tell us to follow His own example and, frankly, not give a flying f**k about other people?

[sandyRoe]

My honest feeling is that God is indifferent, not kind or cruel or judgmental. He set the world spinning and turned his attention to other matters.

[anneasquith]

how often do we look around and see lovely things, an ill person gets better, a premature baby survives . a kind act ?

[Hypognosis]

You'd think the fourth generation would be smart enough to see the pattern, work out that God had it in for the entire family and just not bother having children of their own?

[Hypognosis]

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that the Bible is packed with hyperbole about how amazing and fearsome and all powerful he is and (where they went a bit o.t.t.) all the stuff about how vengeful and unforgiving he is.

Put into the context of trying to convert Romans and Pagans, who were into a whole pantheon of deities, to this new-fangled one God, it all makes sense. It's like trying to persuade the population of the world to ditch the 27 varieties of coffee they like to drink, from time to time and convert to Bigbucks all year round.

Just sales & marketing patter then, so maybe we shouldn't spend too much time or energy analysing it?