Because that's HOW we end the suffering?
A nice thought, but people are still suffering......
peacedog
JoinedPosts by peacedog
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
What can God do about that situation?
He's the omnipotent God of the Universe so I would think he has many means at his disposal....
I'm certainly not craving the "day of Jehovah". Just trying to understand why a supposedly loving God who is at the same time all-powerful allows his creation to suffer each and every day (and yet tells us to be "good Samaritans" and help those who are suffering).........
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
Good comments, thanks.
I said in a previous post that I wish I could consider suffering as beneficial in some way (PSac) or that in the future it would all make sense (EndOfMysteries). Problem is, neither of these views does anything to alleviate our suffering. Perhaps the priest and the Levite held these views. So what was the point of holding them out as inferior to the Samaritan in Jesus' parable?
PSac:
God can fix these things but then where would we be?
Happy, maybe? Not suffering, at least.
Again, deep down we know that the vast majority of suffering is self inflected in the sense that we as a people can put an end to it, why don't we?
Tell that to the cancer patient. Or the alzheimer's sufferer. Or the person suffering from anxiety disorders or depression. Or the child born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Is their suffering self-inflicted? God walks past these people every day....
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
BurnTheShips:
You're breathing, aren't you?
I wonder if the priest and the Levite said the same thing to the man lying at the side of the road as they strolled on by.....
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
jaguarbass: Great comments. Great attitude.
PSac:
The parabl;e had actually nothing to do with what was done buT WHO did it, it was a lesson on hypocracy and how those that SEEM superiour because they act that way and blieve themselves to be so, are not and those that we normally wouldn't even associate with, are the ones that may "save us".
True enough. I'm just saying there was a "good Samaritan" in the parable whom we are presumably expected to imitate and yet I don't see God acting as the Samaritan did.
God does not ALLOW suffering, no more than he allows tsunamis, earthquakes, the spread of diseases, etc.
If one has the power to prevent or remove suffering and yet he does not, I think it can be said that one is ALLOWING suffering.
Good comments, Thanks.
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
Good comments.
PSac: Generally speaking, you do make a good point. But in the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus didn't refer to 'doing everything for someone'. The situation was very specific: a man had been robbed and beaten and was left to die at the side of the road. In the parable, two men came by who had the power to help this person in his sorry state of suffering; yet they chose not to. In the same way, God (who has the power to help those of us who are suffering - some of us even literally lying at the side of the road waiting to die) chooses not to. For whatever reason, he chooses not to. For whatever reason, he is not a "good Samaritan".
Sometimes I wish I could ignore the fact that God allows suffering. I wish I could accept that it is beneficial in some unknown way, or perhaps God will take care of everything at some future point in time. But do these viewpoints help those who are suffering now? Who here would sit back and allow their child to suffer and even die when they the power to prevent it? Who would do it even to their pet? And yet the omnipotent God of the universe, our "Father", does this to us every day.
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
PSac: good points.
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
Thanks for the comments.
My epiphany was more about the *irony* in Jesus telling the parable of the good Samaritan when all the while God is passing us by just like the priest and Levite.
The older I get, the more the idea of a loving God who permits suffering seems like an oxymoron.
-
79
God is not a good Samaritan
by peacedog ini don't start threads very often, but yesterday i had something of an epiphany as i was doing some work in the yard.
deep in thought, as i usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while jesus encouraged us to be "good samaritans", god himself is not a good samaritan.
in the parable by jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road.
-
-
peacedog
I don't start threads very often, but yesterday I had something of an epiphany as I was doing some work in the yard. Deep in thought, as I usually am when doing mundane tasks, it occurred to me that while Jesus encouraged us to be "good Samaritans", God himself is not a good Samaritan. In the parable by Jesus, a traveler is left beaten and robbed on the side of the road. A priest and then a Levite both pass the man by, ignoring his need. Finally a Samaritan comes along and tends to the man's need. I realized that in this parable, God fits the roles of the priest and the Levite, not the Samaritan. While so many of us suffer and are in need each day, God simply passes us by. Though he has it in his power to appease our suffering and assuage our need, he chooses not to.
Thoughts?
-
13
Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 06-27-10 WT Study (THE CHRIST)
by blondie infor gods service.
or to allow our zeal for gods service to diminish.. (heb.
gods service?
-
-
peacedog
The WTBTS actually wrote an article focusing on Jesus??? Amazing...
Did they really, though? The article is about "the Christ". In Watchtower vernacular, "the Christ" is not simply a reference to Jesus, but to Jesus + the 144,000...
But we have already shown that one reason why we are called the Christ, is that we are like our Leader, anointed of the Spirit or power of God. P. 1, 5/1881 WT
So when the GB says "follow the Christ", they are really saying "follow us".
Matthew 24:23,24 springs to mind:
At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.
Peace.