Is God good?

[Rebeka]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

At the risk of repeating myself ...

if God then

for all X

God != X​

 

[Rebeka]

I don't understand.

At the risk of repeating myself ...

if God then

for all X

God != X​

 

[WalterTrull]

I'm not Jewish and your views about God are very different from mine. However, it can be very confusing when we try to anthropomorphize God. God is. We are the children. We learn. Carrot and stick seems to be our goto school.

 

[shunyadragon]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

God is not good. God is God. Your presenting a rather anthropomorphic view trying to define and question what God can do and why. god does not conform to fallible human expectations.

the Baha'i view of God is compatible and comparable to the view of many Jews that God is apophatic and unknowable and undefinable from the human perspective.

 

[stvdv]

I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

Welcome Rebeka,
There is one good thing in the negative list. If God is almighty, and so He allows this to happen [actually He is the Creator] that means He is not judging, because if He would He would judge His own creation ["He" not meaning man. I didn't find proper definition of God yet; that seems quite a problem when finding answers to such difficult questions]. But in all His compassion He does send messengers now and then who point human in the direction of the good stuff. So it seems God wants the best for us, but let us be free to choose to make a mess of it (until He finds it enough and sends a smart guy again).

 

[Thief]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

I believe God moves with us
He doesn't look ahead
(at least not too far)

that would spoil any surprises

as for the grief we suffer......God gave Man dominion

 

[Rebeka]

Welcome Rebeka,
There is one good thing in the negative list. If God is almighty, and so He allows this to happen [actually He is the Creator] that means He is not judging, because if He would He would judge His own creation ["He" not meaning man. I didn't find proper definition of God yet; that seems quite a problem when finding answers to such difficult questions]. But in all His compassion He does send messengers now and then who point human in the direction of the good stuff. So it seems God wants the best for us, but let us be free to choose to make a mess of it (until He finds it enough and sends a smart guy again).

That's a good answer that actually makes sense to me. Thanks!

 

[outlawState]

I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

Everyone has to die, because God has decreed it. To save life that is inevitably destined to die through sin is not God's primary purpose. His primary purpose is to create a people with faith. Suffering promotes faith. The bible shows the end of man where no-one suffers (cf. Sodom). Suffering encourages men to seek God and so glorify God.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That's called the problem of evil. It's been debated for centuries and monotheists who view their deity as all-knowing, all-good and all-powerful have never really given a satisfactory answer. At least one that wasn't morally repugnant.

 

[WalterTrull]

Suffering encourages men to seek God

Maybe. Seems I've seen it not.

 

[outlawState]

Maybe. Seems I've seen it not.

Not everyone, for sure. Consider Pharaoh and the ten plagues. Consider the other thief on the cross, the one whom did not repent. Oftimes sin is too delectable to forfeit the pleasure of unbelief, even when the destiny of one's own soul is at stake.

 

[Skwim]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

Welcome aboard Rebeka.

Looking at the god of Abraham, the only reason god allows what he does; violence, suffering, and mayhem, is because it entertains him. I've long contended that for the world to make any sense within the Jewish-Christian framework, god would only have created it and let it run amuck for his personal pleasure.

.

 

[Skwim]

Welcome Rebeka,
There is one good thing in the negative list. If God is almighty, and so He allows this to happen [actually He is the Creator] that means He is not judging, because if He would He would judge His own creation ["He" not meaning man. I didn't find proper definition of God yet; that seems quite a problem when finding answers to such difficult questions]. But in all His compassion He does send messengers now and then who point human in the direction of the good stuff. So it seems God wants the best for us, but let us be free to choose to make a mess of it (until He finds it enough and sends a smart guy again).

In the mean time, between the arrival of your so called now-and-then messengers, millions suffer and die. Some compassion.

.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The good or evil that comes out of God all depends upon the person pulling the puppets strings.

 

[stvdv]

In the mean time, between the arrival of your so called now-and-then messengers, millions suffer and die. Some compassion

Maybe the lesson human needs to learn, is to take responsibility. It's humans who kill and hurt other creations. Why blame God?

If someone gives you 2kg of icecream. And you eat it all at once. You get sick.
What you do? You blame the one who gave you the icecream?
Or you man up and admit "Oke, my mistake! next time I share it with a homeless man"

I think it's just as simple as this
IMHO

 

[Skwim]

Maybe the lesson human needs to learn, is to take responsibility. It's humans who kill and hurt other creations. Why blame God?

Because he's the guy Jews and Christians say is in charge of the whole mess. The guy with the ability to remove all the suffering, etc..

If someone gives you 2kg of icecream. And you eat it all at once. You get sick.
What you do? You blame the one who gave you the icecream?
Or you man up and admit "Oke, my mistake! next time I share it with a homeless man"

I think it's just as simple as this
IMHO

Extremely bad analogy. In sooo many case one isn't given the opportunity to choose to eat the ice cream or not. Far too often one is force fed the crap. And whose to blame for that? "Born with no legs? Tough, It must have been because of something you did thousands of years ago as a viking.

.

.

 

[stvdv]

Because he's the guy Jews and Christians say is in charge of the whole mess. The guy with the ability to remove all the suffering, etc.

I am not a Jew, I am not a Christian, I don't see God as a Guy.
Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable!
How can we blame something that is unknown or unknowable?

Extremely bad analogy.

Again it seems that we are on a totally different wavelength. It's a good analogy IMHO. It shows that human sometimes choses unwise. That's all. Don't read more into it then I put into it.

 

[Skwim]

I am not a Jew, I am not a Christian, I don't see God as a Guy.
Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable!
How can we blame something that is unknown or unknowable?

Well, you're the one who said, "Why blame God?" Implying he's not worthy of blame. But how can you assume he's not worthy of blame if he's something that is unknown or unknowable? According to the Christian concept of omnipotence, If god chose to he could end all killings and sufferings with the snap of his fingers. But he doesn't. Instead he let's the mayhem and suffering continue.

Again it seems that we are on a totally different wavelength. It's a good analogy IMHO. It shows that human sometimes choses unwise. That's all. Don't read more into it then I put into it.

Then don't make crazy implications. Your analogy implies that humans are responsible for their misery because of the poor choices they make, whereas I pointed out that a lot of their misery comes from things that have nothing to do with their choosing.

.

 

[JoshuaTree]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

I suppose if God isn't doing his part we could pick up the slack and kill all the bad people for him, right? But then aren't a lot of the people we are calling bad doing just that?

Welcome aboard Rebeka!