Why do bad things happen when God exists?

[ThePainefulTruth]

In no way did I defend terrorists, no matter what faith they adhere to. But IMO, grouping all of one faith and stating they are terrorists is a very bigoted thing to do.

And he didn't say that.

In my state, we welcome refuges, most of which are from Africa and many of whom are Muslim. So what? Are you Native American? If not, you, too, are ultimately an immigrant, albeit many generations removed. OTOH, I AM NA. Fully one half. And I say to that....So what? We are all human, no matter what race.

We're letting them wholesale in without vetting. The CIA and ISIS both say ISIS is coming into the country that way. The rest of that is irrelevant. Even American aboriginals were immigrants. In case you haven't noticed, things were different back then. But the biggest problem is ALL Muslims want sharia law, to which end they are all bound to struggle for if not fight for. If you allow Sharia, you allow theocracy pure and simple.

And faith is just one aspect. Shall we return to the place of internment camps? What if it were your race? And as for Trump V Clinton, I regret stating anything about my views. I will not engage in a battle of which is better here. I have my opinion and it will be reflected in my vote. End of story.

If the Left continues, you'll let the tide of Sharia wash over us and if you live to see it, You'll live to regret it more than your indoctrination will allow you to foresee--especially if, as I suspect, you're a woman.

 

[Smart_Guy]

you say you do whatever you want and God takes care of any consequences. That seems to me to say that one can do whatever they wish and not have to worry about it, such as murder, stealing, etc., in addition to positive things, which is what the Buddhist path embraces. Am I reading this wrong? Such a place would be the very worst thing I would think of. But again, I may be misreading you.

Um, I also said:
"also, we will receive peace of mind and have all our negative emotions like hatred or envy revised and our reasoning as well to fit that. It is like living this life without those negative emotions, which does happen sometimes depending on our choice and reasoning.", which is like giving us another emotion that prevents us from thinking of committing any bad acts like murder, stealing, etc.

In Heaven there will be no needs (I mean feeling of lacking), no poverty, no hatred, not hard feelings, etc. which will also keep us from those bad things.

Description of heaven in Islam is a very wide separate subject of its own. One of its attributes is that its goodness is something no eye ever seen, ear ever heard of or heart ever thought of. The Quraan says that we don't hear bad wording, lies or bad happenings, we only hear of peace. Comparing this with this life, we do hear of bad news, like reports of murder or rape, from time to time. That does not happen in Heaven.

I understand this is a complicated subject, but that's what we believe in; Heaven in the after life is a perfect place to be. In Islamic teachings there is actually so much to talk about and explain in this.

I might be the wrong person to give more extended details due to my lack of enough information and reasoning skills in this.

And please come over here now and then to see us. I miss you and your caring and compassion my friend. So many here misunderstand your faith and a few, IMO, are not doing the Muslim faith any favors with what they say. You, OTOH, are the best of the best of the best. Kiss kiss darling.

I'll keep that in mind

You're a nice person and I really like you

 

[Sonofason]

Can God stop people from lacking God?

Well, I believe there remains a great deal of debate regarding this matter, even amongst Christians. But even so, lets see what the Bible has to say about this.


John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jesus is saying that “no man, at any time, can, or is able to, of himself or herself come to Him. The word “come” in the Greek is “erchomai” which means “to come from one place or another.” So therefore, no man can or is able to come to Christ by his own actions - something else must happen first. That something is unless the "Father…draws him". The word for “draw” in the Greek is “helko” which means to literally “drag” or to “draw by an inward power.” I believe that “inward power” is of the Holy Spirit.

If when we are called or in other words dragged by the Power of God through His Holy Spirit to a place of faith in God, we may by the grace of God find ourselves at the threshold to the road of salvation. It is a moment of choosing, a crossroad.

I believe that not one of us, except perhaps for a few exceptions that I would not dare to mention or even ponder, lack God completely. I believe God is present and influences all of us. The difference I believe is a matter of our knowledge and awareness and acceptance of Him. God's influence extends to all of us. The question is whether or not we perceive and become aware and know and believe that it is He who is calling us, it is He who is influencing us, He who guides us, He who loves us. It is the faith in God that people lack.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

[Sonofason]

So why doesn't God remove sickness and disease?

Sometimes He does. God is willing to move mountains for us. Surely he can heal the sick and remove disease. If you desire to put God to this test, you'd better be doing it with faith.


So why doesn't God remove sickness and disease?

"And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
(Mathew 17:14-20)

 

[jeager106]

If it hasn't been said already, and I'm not reading all these posts to find out, but
Satan is in control of this world.
Read the Bible & research this and learn for yourself.
If Jehovah and His followers were in control we'd have no crime or other
societal issues that we deal with today.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Satan is in control of this world.

Where did Satan come from?

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world, since the apple incident in the Garden of Eden. God created a perfect world in the Garden, absolutely perfect. Once man, with our free will, choose to not believe God, but believe the lies of satan, we became alienated from our creator.

But God made man with free will. Didn't He anticipate it might lead to trouble?

 

[muhammad_isa]

Ah, but are we now coming to why you chose the word responsibility for your argument?

You said "I'm afraid I do not personally believe god has given us any responsibility. If I did believe that, I would question such a being's wisdom, giving responsibility over to a species like humans."

In fact, that's exactly what the angels said, "Why do you create mankind knowing that they will shed blood and corrupt the earth?"
Almighty God said "I know what you do not"

So .. the evil is coming from us.
It's for you to think about

I'm satisfied that there is a very good reason for it. In any case, your arguments change nothing, except to criticise Almighty God's wisdom, and hence become a disbeliever

 

[jeager106]

Where did Satan come from?

Oh, for the love of Pete. You couldn't just google that up?
One wonders why you are posting on a religious forum and don't know where
Satan came from.
New York city according to his birth records.

 

[jeager106]

Here. One of a bunch of web sites one can learn from.

http://www.scripturessay.com/where-did-satan-come-from/

The noun Satan means "the original Hebrew term satan is a noun from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose", as it is found in Numbers 22:22, 1 Samuel 29:4"

 

[Unfathomable Tao]

In any case, your arguments change nothing, except to criticise Almighty God's wisdom, and hence become a disbeliever

I do not believe in 'Almighty God', and becoming a disbeliever isn't so terrible. Except in certain belief systems.

 

[Sonofason]

True, but then neither do you. Neither can you prove that there IS a God, of any faith or lack thereof. Until the day that one can prove without doubt that there is a god, the argument is never going to be decided. I respect that you think there is, as my beloved mom is a devout Christian and has been her whole life, but I also respect the position that there are those who choose different paths. One would hope that all people, at some point, will also engage in that respect.

Of course I know. You do not know that God is the source of all that is good, because you do not know God, and so therefore do not understand the nature of God. Perhaps you may grasp this intellectually, but God requires faith, and so you are left without a more complete understanding. I experience God, and know Him intimately. And I understand his nature at least to some degree greater than simple intellectual understanding. I believe in Him. My faith in Him allows me to perceive and understand that He is indeed the source of all that is good. But yes, I could be wrong. Maybe God created us with the ability to do good all on our own. But if God created us with the capability of doing good, is not He responsible for the good that we do?

You're right, I cannot prove there is a God. Thankfully, with regard to His existence, God has proven Himself to me.

I do not accept that people choose different paths. I surely respect the people who choose different paths, but I cannot respect the paths they choose. I often hear people suggesting that belief in God is a result of some kind of brainwashing. Surely, knowledge about God can be learned. And if such knowledge were to result in someone believing in God, surely we could say that their faith is a result of those learning processes. Well, atheism is learned as well. We believe something when we are convinced that it is true. If you have been convinced that there is no God, then you too have been brainwashed. I prefer a brainwashing that leads to salvation. And I hope, if I should ever be so blessed to exist as an eternal creature dwelling in an eternal place where our loving God is ever present, to see you there. Nope...I have no respect for your atheism. I have better plans for you.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Here. One of a bunch of web sites one can learn from.
http://www.scripturessay.com/where-did-satan-come-from/

According to that one "Satan–an angel created by God–was given the free will to choose whether or not he would obey God. He disobeyed, and that disobedience was evil."

So God created Satan, and then gave him permission to be evil and create chaos and suffering in the human world? Rather than telling Satan "No, I made you, you are going to be all good and nice, and help humans to be happy".
Weird.

 

[jeager106]

According to that one "Satan–an angel created by God–was given the free will to choose whether or not he would obey God. He disobeyed, and that disobedience was evil."

So God created Satan, and then gave him permission to be evil and create chaos and suffering in the human world? Rather than telling Satan "No, I made you, you are going to be all good and nice, and help humans to be happy".
Weird.

In a nutshell without posting links, the heavenly creatures were created with
FREE WILL as were the first humans.
With the ability to CHOOSE.
We ALL make choices all the time.
Do some goolging fer yerself.
I tire of posting links that anyone that can use a keyboard can do thus avoiding
redundant post, after post, after post.
Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn.
Sadly my step daughter is severely schizophrenic and paranoid, yet even that poor
woman has learned to make better choices to avoid the consequences of bad
choices.
If no one gets the hidden meaning in that last I'll explain.
She's nuts and knows how to make better choices than the so called "normal"
people of this world.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

In a nutshell without posting links, the heavenly creatures were created with
FREE WILL as were the first humans.
With the ability to CHOOSE.
We ALL make choices all the time.

It still doesn't make sense. If you are an all-powerful being, why design in the capacity for evil in your creatures, knowing all the suffering it will cause?

 

[Sonofason]

If it hasn't been said already, and I'm not reading all these posts to find out, but
Satan is in control of this world.
Read the Bible & research this and learn for yourself.
If Jehovah and His followers were in control we'd have no crime or other
societal issues that we deal with today.

No, God is sovereign. He remains the ultimate authority over this world, but in His infinite wisdom God allows Satan to operate in this world, and he is only permitted to operate within the boundaries that God has set for him. When the Bible says that Satan has power over this world, we should remember that God has only given him power over those who do not believe in God. True believers are not under the rule of Satan.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4: 2-4)

It is only the unbelievers who are caught in the "snare of the devil", who lie in the "power of the evil one", and who are in bondage to Satan.

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." (2 Timothy 2: 24-26)

"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (1 John 5:18-20)

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved" (Ephesians 2:1-5)

 

[Sonofason]

According to that one "Satan–an angel created by God–was given the free will to choose whether or not he would obey God. He disobeyed, and that disobedience was evil."

So God created Satan, and then gave him permission to be evil and create chaos and suffering in the human world? Rather than telling Satan "No, I made you, you are going to be all good and nice, and help humans to be happy".
Weird.

So you prefer oppression? Well, that explains a lot about the condition and fate of our current political system.

 

[jeager106]

So you prefer oppression? Well, that explains a lot about the condition and fate of our current political system.

A political system run by people who probably don't follow Scripture very well.
It does explain the corrupt world we live in.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

So you prefer oppression? Well, that explains a lot about the condition and fate of our current political system.

God is responsible for all the oppression and suffering. God set it all up, God designed it. God created Satan. God built in the capacity for evil in his creatures, so He is responsible for crime, war, genocide and so on. He also built in disease, cancer, physical and mental disability, etc. God is a sadist if He exists, like a mad scientist torturing lab-rats.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Because miracles and other forms of divine revelation can all be written off as hearsay. Any belief in them is faith that is totally blind.

What about the possibility that God is not (fully) capable of preventing (all) bad things from happening? Or that there are multiple deities competing with each other?