Why does God allow bad things to happen?

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I agree totally. I am somewhat of a pantheist. In my opinion, it is the most plausible theory. And yes, energy can only change. It can't be created or destroyed. This is why I believe that when you die, you don't just simply cease to exist. What happens to all the energy and emotions that made you "you"? It can't just simply disappear. And as for that stars and rocks being alive, that is actually a concept called "animism". I somewhat agree with that too. Who says the scientific definition of life is totally accurate? Rocks and stars are made of molecules and atoms just as we are. My girlfriend told me that when she was a little girl, she believed that when nobody was in the room, all the furniture would come alive and have conversations with each other. I told her i thought that was cute. Then she told me she sorta still believes that to an extent. Most furniture is made of organic material. According to animism, the furniture IS alive. The universe is our god. The solar system is just a type of atom and vise versa.

I'd debate that there is no Satan - more God putting us up to trials, perfect bliss tends not to be the best mental state to learn or gain strength in.

Like I said, I was trying to make logical sense of the God argument for why bad things happen, and I acknowledged that I deviated from Holy Roman Christian Dogma. I don't believe in this being you call God.



Exactly my point. Perhaps the tree is nothing but a symbol of this idea.

God is dead.

Bayle's theory of God


This explains about free will and the extents of abilities god may or may not have.

That's Neitchze (sp?)

Sounds more like Trent Reznor to me.

How can a mythological, fictional being prevent bad things in reality from happening? that's what I want to know *munching popcorn*

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.