iouae
Well-known member
Why do men suffer?
One cannot blame it on Satan. Even things which Satan is allowed to do are with permission of God. God is responsible for the good and the bad.
And its not man’s fallen nature which is responsible for the problems either. God created the thorns and cursed the land. And animals have been eating each other since the Cambrian. Diseases have probably been killing off the weak since pre-history.
We can cause some of our own problems through stupidity. The movie “Jackass” comes to mind.
God makes no claim to fairness either. All men are not created equal. Some are born talented and beautiful, and others not so lucky.
Time and chance happen to all. Turns out God does play dice.
And God is not opposed to suffering. Why would He send His Son to die an agonising death if God’s priority was to have no suffering in the world?
And nothing is predestined either as the Calvinists wrongly believe. So fate cannot be blamed either.
If God had created a perfect world where it was impossible to need anything, then why would anyone need God?
God’s priority is to give people life and freedom to choose. Try designing a world where mortals have freedom of choice and no chance of hurting themselves. The world would look like a padded cell, with a person in a strait-jacket. Instead, God created a world with sharp edges, hot and cold, poisons, stinging plants and animals, edges one can fall off, rocks which can fall and crush us.
People are like fish to God. If one dies, He has more. God created an excess of humans, knowing that many would reject him. For God, it’s a game of odds.
For those who do choose Him, the rules change. They become HIS fish. Only now do they gain intrinsic value. He promises to watch over them. This does not mean that time and chance are suspended. Bad things can still happen to good people. The worst that can happen is death, and God has power over this even, to resurrect his saints.
It is a requirement of believers to develop faith. This means not falling apart and losing faith when bad things happen to them. For all eternity, God will send us places we might have second thoughts about going. That is why faith is a prerequisite to eternal life. We will not balk at His command, but go with trust in his watching over us.
One other thing. Parasites, deep water, broken glass, fire, poison, God created a world with sharp edges. We mostly manage to negotiate our way around these. And in the process we learn the meaning of the word "No". "No don't touch, go there, drink that,..."
Which is why "law" is such a big word in the Bible.
Beings with free will have to learn to say "No" to themselves.
If parents don't teach it.... then prison will.
If prison doesn't teach it, then nature will when one takes an overdose. Either way, you will learn to deny yourself. And God created the world to teach us “No”.
Where did God ever promise a perfect world? Show me the place in the book of rules. But we do live in an extremely benevolent world where 99% of the time we are neither hungry nor in pain. The people born in the worst places are generally the last to complain too. When the smallest misfortune comes upon us we cry “Why me Lord?”. In the 99% good times we never question “Why me Lord” when He blesses us.
This is not to trivialise any person’s suffering.
This is a beautiful world and we do not deserve one bit of good that we get. Every thing that brings pleasure is God’s grace. And for those who have trials, God promises His people that they will never be tempted above what they are able to bear. God will reduce the trial, or strengthen His believer, one or the other. For the uncalled, they take their chances, and God owes them nothing.
Yet God’s ultimate goal is to create us needy. Only then will we come to Him for help. Later He will give us a perfect world where all tears will be wiped away.
One cannot blame it on Satan. Even things which Satan is allowed to do are with permission of God. God is responsible for the good and the bad.
And its not man’s fallen nature which is responsible for the problems either. God created the thorns and cursed the land. And animals have been eating each other since the Cambrian. Diseases have probably been killing off the weak since pre-history.
We can cause some of our own problems through stupidity. The movie “Jackass” comes to mind.
God makes no claim to fairness either. All men are not created equal. Some are born talented and beautiful, and others not so lucky.
Time and chance happen to all. Turns out God does play dice.
And God is not opposed to suffering. Why would He send His Son to die an agonising death if God’s priority was to have no suffering in the world?
And nothing is predestined either as the Calvinists wrongly believe. So fate cannot be blamed either.
If God had created a perfect world where it was impossible to need anything, then why would anyone need God?
God’s priority is to give people life and freedom to choose. Try designing a world where mortals have freedom of choice and no chance of hurting themselves. The world would look like a padded cell, with a person in a strait-jacket. Instead, God created a world with sharp edges, hot and cold, poisons, stinging plants and animals, edges one can fall off, rocks which can fall and crush us.
People are like fish to God. If one dies, He has more. God created an excess of humans, knowing that many would reject him. For God, it’s a game of odds.
For those who do choose Him, the rules change. They become HIS fish. Only now do they gain intrinsic value. He promises to watch over them. This does not mean that time and chance are suspended. Bad things can still happen to good people. The worst that can happen is death, and God has power over this even, to resurrect his saints.
It is a requirement of believers to develop faith. This means not falling apart and losing faith when bad things happen to them. For all eternity, God will send us places we might have second thoughts about going. That is why faith is a prerequisite to eternal life. We will not balk at His command, but go with trust in his watching over us.
One other thing. Parasites, deep water, broken glass, fire, poison, God created a world with sharp edges. We mostly manage to negotiate our way around these. And in the process we learn the meaning of the word "No". "No don't touch, go there, drink that,..."
Which is why "law" is such a big word in the Bible.
Beings with free will have to learn to say "No" to themselves.
If parents don't teach it.... then prison will.
If prison doesn't teach it, then nature will when one takes an overdose. Either way, you will learn to deny yourself. And God created the world to teach us “No”.
Where did God ever promise a perfect world? Show me the place in the book of rules. But we do live in an extremely benevolent world where 99% of the time we are neither hungry nor in pain. The people born in the worst places are generally the last to complain too. When the smallest misfortune comes upon us we cry “Why me Lord?”. In the 99% good times we never question “Why me Lord” when He blesses us.
This is not to trivialise any person’s suffering.
This is a beautiful world and we do not deserve one bit of good that we get. Every thing that brings pleasure is God’s grace. And for those who have trials, God promises His people that they will never be tempted above what they are able to bear. God will reduce the trial, or strengthen His believer, one or the other. For the uncalled, they take their chances, and God owes them nothing.
Yet God’s ultimate goal is to create us needy. Only then will we come to Him for help. Later He will give us a perfect world where all tears will be wiped away.
