Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Post Reply New Topic

Voltaire.


I saw this as graffiti when I lived in Texas. It's on I-35E near Carrollton I think.

Assuming God's existence:

Q: Why does God allow evil in the world?

First there's individuality and freedom of choice (also known as "reasonable self-determination), which accounts for human induced evil. I could go into all sorts of word games as to the definition of evil, but everyone seems to have a pretty good idea what it is with minor discrepancies. I also know that everyone does right in their own eyes, even if they see it differently later. If you've ever done anything you agree is wrong, ask yourself "Why?" because you are your own eyewitness to the inner workings of human nature.

Second, and more controversial although I see as correct, are the effects of the curse after Adam violated the one command God gave him. He did his part in choosing, as head of the human race, what our stance toward God would be. Did God know what Adam would choose? Yes. Did God control Adam's thoughts and make him sin? No. The plan of salvation has been in existence eternally, but are we robots because of it? No.

God is Sovereign, but He allows some freedom in this passing world. You have choices and they result in consequences.

But if God allows some people to have the freedom to harm and take the life of others, what is the point of praying for, say, a loved one to recover from a disease?

ALL people are free to harm others.

In my own miniscule experience of prayer ( since deciding to believe in god about 3 weeks ago) i have only thought of praying for someone else once, and what happened is that i immediately realised that i was presuming a good deal in believing that they needed anything else than what they had. So my prayer in the end limited itself to "thinking" of them with hope. I suppose. And i got, in theory at least, that i don't know what is "best" for other people. I need reminding about that constantly!
I don't think i believe it actually has any effect on the person being prayed about, ( except in so far as may help me behave more understandingly/acceptingly/supportively with the person in question afterwards). But i am open to believing otherwise.

I have fairly weak faith when it comes to believing God will answer my prayers, but I have seen prayer been answered in relation to the last day my dad was alive. I just see it this way: God is NOT a force to be controlled; He is the one in authority and He decides what He will do and not me or anyone else.

I agree, and if you take all of Scripture together (specifically, God's love for us + His infinite knowledge), the only logical conclusion is that God denies our wills only when He's got something better planned. (As in: most of the time.) And in that case, I use wisdom in saying, "Please, yes, go right ahead -- don't listen to my foolish prayers which pale in comparison with your grand-scale perspective." I've even prayed that before! I'll say a prayer that sounds selfish or short-sighted upon reflection, I'll sense He's showing me that, and then I'll say, "Don't listen to this foolish man, Lord!" I try to remain cognizant of the wise saying, "Be careful what you wish for." A Biblical example is Solomon asking for wisdom from the Lord, and that wisdom being quite naturally accompanied with great sadness, as Solomon later reported. One wonders if he would have rather not had the wisdom? That depends on the person, I think, though truly no one wants great sadness! But the benefits of wisdom can outweigh the sadness it brings.

Last edited by Ragtime on 15 Feb 2008, 11:11 am, edited 2 times in total.

If there was a God he wouldn't be man's janitor, he shouldn't have to clean our own mess.

He doesn't have to, no. There is a difference between necessity and desire however.

Well, It is not a deal of not having to do it but more of a deal of having to not do it. In many ways God would have the obligation to avoid cleaning our own mess as much as possible.

Interesting idea, but who decides? I would say He isn't responsible for our actions, but if He wishes to help, who is to stop Him?

Well, it would be God himself, I don't think God wins anything out of a peaceful world that's totally perfect because of his direct work, in fact I would say that he wants us to do it independently to allow an outcome that's more perfect than what he would do alone, I dunno...

A very lame way to put it would be, why doesn't certain player use cheat codes when he plays sim city?

I would think that God would want us to willfully do what is pleasing to Him.

A song asking the same question:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9C0c-8EOphc

God allows bad things to happen in order to test our endurance. He would never give too much to bare. He loves us and wants to know that we will be faithful and acknowledge him in times of trouble.

So...a rape and/or murder victim isn't given "too much to bear?" "He" gives plenty of people too much to bear.

What about natural evil? (Sorry if that falls outside the discussion topic...) Diseases, natural disasters, severe mental illness, etc. aren't always clearly or directly caused by human misuse of free will. I can't believe that a benevolent omnipotent god would allow as much suffering as there is.

If God is omnipotent, then would people need to know and experience any evil to feel happiness? Surely he/she/it could do anything...