God's perspective about human suffering is not relevant.
Well that's God telt.
But what if God says your perspective is not relevant?
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
I am interested in questions about God and reality and sharing and discussing ideas. It's not much of a discussion if we can't probe the boundaries of what is possible. The idea that the human mind may not be able to understand the answer, or the idea that God has a different perspective on suffering (that it doesn't matter as much to him) may be difficult, but they are ideas worth exploring, if we are genuinely interested.
All you seem to want to do it shut down anyone who doesn't toe the line by calling names and ascribing bad motives. A poor way to genuinely explore any topic.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
I just solved the problem of evil and all you can say is "ridiculous"!
If God can prevent suffering now, then can he prevent suffering in the past? If God is outside space and time maybe it doesn't mean very much to make a distinction between present and past. If God's will is to make all suffering non-existent in all time, then how can we say that's impossible. Has anyone come up with this solution before? I think it's genius, if I do say myself.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
I'm not talking about simply "not remembering". Im talking about making it not have happened at all in the first place. Is that impossible? How do we know? We are creatures that live inside time and space. If God can make suffering in the past (from our perspective) non-existent, then maybe the question "why does God allow suffering", misunderstands the nature of reality in a fundamental way we cannot grasp.
I don't know if that's a viable solution. Probably it is not. But what I am saying is that the universe and reality are stranger than we can imagine. And for us to say we "know what is good" and we "know how God would need to act in order to be good" just seems presumptuous.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
No I'm not talking about God making it up to people, like the story of Job for example. I mean more fundamental than that. What if God can make it so the suffering never happened? Not just "forget" or "make it better", but literally make it not exist at all, ever. Is that impossible? Who says?
The point is God surely has the ability to see, know and do things we can't even begin to comprehend. So to say "I can't see how a God of love is compatible with suffering" may not be saying very much except our inability to understand.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
-
-
slimboyfat
The God of the Bible lets people suffer, explicitly. So how can the God of the Bible be incompatible with a God who allows siffering?
Maybe God takes us more seriously than we know or can understand.
For example can God reverse all the suffering when he restores all things? You may say it doesn't count if God puts things right because people still suffered in the meantime.
But what if God can do more than simply reverse the suffering. What if he makes it so it never happened in the first place? You can say that's impossible because it already happened. But are you sure it's impossible? Can't God do anything he wishes, including making past suffering completely non-existent.
Isn't it likely that God has the capacity to perform solutions greater than we comprehend.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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slimboyfat
I think a basic conviction for Christians is that God knows better than humans can know.
Whereas some atheists appear to be convinced that God must conform to their standard of goodness or he should not or cannot exist.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
-
-
slimboyfat
I see you haven't backed away from putting words in my mouth.
How about trying to understand perspectives other than your own, rather than potshots and distortions.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
-
-
slimboyfat
I know it's not an answer. That's the point. Many Christians accept that they don't have a good answer to the problem of evil. They trust that God has the answer.
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131
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?
by jukief inby evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
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-
slimboyfat
A first cause might be the God of Christianity. Being agnostic doesn't rule it out, it says we don't know.
I think many Christians would agree that evil and God's goodness seem incompatible, and this is a real problem. But Christians also believe the Bible where it says God knows better than we do. Really believing this means believing that God knows the reason for things even if we don't know or can't know. Perhaps as JWs and former JWs we have a particular problem understanding this distinction because JWs believe they have a definite answer to the problem of evil. Many other Christians will candidly admit they don't have a solution, but they trust God.
I am reminded of those legal cases you sometimes hear about where the evidence against someone seems overwhelming, perhaps even including DNA or fingerprint evidence, and almost everyone believes they are guilty. But they protest their innocence and one family member or partner sticks with them for years despite all the evidence. Eventually some new unexpected evidence emerges to reverse the guilty verdict. Sometimes they may ask the partner how they knew. They may simply say: "I just believed him". It's an intuition, a trust, a conviction, not based on identifiable evidence, but not irrational or stupid either.