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Suffering and existence of God
by elbib 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Fisherman
When someone has the power to help someone from immediate harm or fatal consequences it becomes a moral duty. It does not apply to God because he is the ruler of good and bad.
A father would do everything in his power to help his son even if it is against his son's will, unfortunately, one can only restrain a son for so long until he decides to insist on a harmful course for himself and also resulting in harm to others.
Ultimately God has to put a stop to it. Hopefully, people stop on their own. I have alwsys sought to understand if wickedness is actually a choice or a gene.
God can alleviate sufferings with billions of miracles but that would be like restarining someone temprarilty, BUt eventualy satan attacks again and some other suffering comes up, everything is inegrated and part of a bigger picture, the picture we are given in the Bible is resistance to God's Holy Spirit so that God's will is not being done resulting in harm and things require God's full control to end suffering as we know it. I try to reconcile suffering in my mind -very hard. Justice requires a personal answer or reason for suffering to each creature from God.
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elbib
Cofty,
You have done your best as you are a worshipper of evolution theory—I envy your zeal and integrity to a theory.
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LisaRose
You are acting as if each person's problems were brought upon only by themselves, which is absurd. A child born into poverty or abuse did nothing to deserve his life of pain and misery. Their pain is real and serves no purpose.
If you had children and stood idly by while your children beat each other up, or died from something you could easily treat you would be considered a poor father, yet we are to believe our "loving, heavenly father" leaves us to suffer the effects of disease, famine and war? That makes no sense. Either he doesn't exist or he isn't a loving, heavenly father. I vote he doesn't exist.
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prologos
LR: "--Either he doesn't exist or he isn't a loving, heavenly father. I vote he doesn't exist."
We humans are the top predator. do we think about the animals whose family life we have disrupted by our appetite for meat? In a well functioning, healthy, universe. Success does not suck, but has to be rewarded. so: enjoy life that you have, as it is, after all you are the latest in a line of succeeders. The tragedy of a giraffe baby, or elephant eaten by hyenas is the price paid for having any forest at all, herbivores unchecked would denude the earth of chlorophyll. If your vote stands, the universe made itself. quite a feat.
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Lieu
Humans aren't the the top predators. Go wander around the SE Asian rain forest or the Amazon and you'll quickly learn the truth.
If it weren't for firearms, modern humans wouldn't be able to do much about a pack of vicious dogs, lol.
To the OP, Biblically speaking:
James 1:13 WEB
Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
See? There ya goA lot of suffering over the millennia has been caused by the greed of humanity. Whether for resources, land, or riches ....
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cofty
When someone has the power to help someone from immediate harm or fatal consequences it becomes a moral duty. It does not apply to God because he is the ruler of good and bad. - Fishy
You win this month's prize for the dumbest statement on JWN
God's failure to alleviate suffering makes him a liar.
Jesus claimed to have been sent to reveal the nature of his god and father. Not only does christianity claim that god is love, it defines the meaning of love, and explains the importance of love expressed as positive action in the interests of others.
I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matt.5
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt.6
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. - Luke 6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Luke 12
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - Jas.1
"Love ... always protects" - 1 Cor.13
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defender of truth
@Elbib
Many people find it difficult to reconcile suffering and existence of God. It seems they feel that it is God’s obligation to shield humans from ill-effects of their short-sighted acts.
I do see your point here. Humans often do cause problems for themselves and others.
This is especially true if you believe in Adam and Eve spreading sin, suffering and death to all of mankind.
One question, though:
Why would a loving God design a world where animals suffer and die due to natural causes, as well as suffering caused by the predator/prey relationships that go back millions of years?
Animals did not sin. Animals have suffered, due to natural causes and predation, long before Adam and Eve supposedly existed.
Animals have suffered, either because:
a) Life evolved in this way, there is no loving Creator God, and that is just the way it is.
or
b) God designed things in this way, suffering was part of his plan from the beginning.
Elbib, what are your thoughts on this?
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For anyone else reading this, here is a good article on Jwfacts.
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doofdaddy
Ha they're baaack!!
BK's as noted by Cofty were supposed to stop preaching on this site. They are "hoist by their own petard"
There is no point interacting with them unless you enjoy frustration