God and the Crash at National

[Anonymous]

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

God could have spared their lives but generally, God is allowing events to unfold without intervention. It is appointed unto everyone to die, then judgement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for this post, OP. Those are my thoughts exactly. If there were an omnipotent God, then he/she should have prevented the crash.

Most of us non-religious folk agree with this, but this is not something to question when people are hurting and seeking comfort in familiar rituals. We all know the most common reason people stop believing in God is because they are aware of so much unjust suffering around the world and cannot square this with a supposedly benevolent deity. Unless you believe in vengeful and murderous gods, of course, like many ancient civilizations did: that solved that problem!

But religious phrases, gestures, hope of a peaceful afterlife with loved ones, have profound and emotional meanings for a lot of people with even tenuous connections to their faith. It's not cool to choose a moment of vulnerability to start pissing all over their support systems.

This whole discussion isn't really about religion. It's about etiquette and common decency. What not to do when people are scared and lost.

Which to pp's mind, includes not expressing one's thoughts anonymously on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to come together after something awful happens, like the crash at National Airport last night, but they don't need religion to do it.

It makes me sick to hear people invoke God for comfort after the crash, when God, if he existed, supposedly could have prevented the crash.

It would be nice if people could just come together after a tragedy without pulling religion into it.

Why is OP hanging out in the religious forum? I mean, I don’t have kids, so I wouldn’t hang out in the parenting discussion telling parents that their parenting style makes me sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to come together after something awful happens, like the crash at National Airport last night, but they don't need religion to do it.

It makes me sick to hear people invoke God for comfort after the crash, when God, if he existed, supposedly could have prevented the crash.

It would be nice if people could just come together after a tragedy without pulling religion into it.

Why is OP hanging out in the religious forum? I mean, I don’t have kids, so I wouldn’t hang out in the parenting discussion telling parents that their parenting style makes me sick.

This forum is about religion. It's not limited to pro-religion discussion.

It would not have the equivalence on the parenting forum that is suggested above.

[Anonymous]

There is a thought or interpretation that basically humankind operates under free will. He may weep along with us but does not intervene. His existence is supposed to provide strength and comfort but we as humans do not know all. I’m not religious but that angle is the only one I can entertain that reconciles existence and all the evil and tragedies in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to come together after something awful happens, like the crash at National Airport last night, but they don't need religion to do it.

It makes me sick to hear people invoke God for comfort after the crash, when God, if he existed, supposedly could have prevented the crash.

It would be nice if people could just come together after a tragedy without pulling religion into it.

I am not religious but the fact that it makes you “sick” suggests you should spend an extended period of time in self reflection examining why you are such a horrible person.

In your opinion. Seems like you could be called a horrible person for calling OP a horrible person.

No, I agree with the other PP. OP is being quite hateful and is lashing out at religious people. It's not right. I'm not religious, and even I can see that!

OP here and needless to say, I disagree and am so sorry that I'm perceived that way by supposed non-believers. I certainly don't deny people the desire to come together in a tragic moment, but really wish that more people, including the 2 pp's, could do it without the intervention of an invisible supernatural being.

I am surrounded by people who don't believe any more or never believed. None of them would act like you, OP. There is a time and a place. You are cruelly lacking in basic empathy. Even my staunchly atheist husband on the autism spectrum knows to shut his mouth in such circumstances!

This is an anonymous board and the OP may very well be your DH.

I think it’s a fair point to make and I hope more people will pause and reflect on who and what they beleive.

I’m not an atheist, and have experienced a divine presence but I don’t pray or ask it for anything or credit it for anything.

What happened was tragic, but tragedies happen daily. In this time I am reminded of that and remind myself to live in the present moment because that’s all there is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a thought or interpretation that basically humankind operates under free will. He may weep along with us but does not intervene. His existence is supposed to provide strength and comfort but we as humans do not know all. I’m not religious but that angle is the only one I can entertain that reconciles existence and all the evil and tragedies in the world.

Religious people certainly do not react logically to disasters. Neither do a lot of non-religious people. Why should they? Disasters aren't logical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for this post, OP. Those are my thoughts exactly. If there were an omnipotent God, then he/she should have prevented the crash.

That just means you guys don’t really understand what God is. And that’s OK if you don’t want to. But the fact that others have a different understanding and are comforted by their religion and moments of tragedy is a good thing, even if you personally do not understand it.

The idea that if God existed, nothing bad would ever happened to humans is an immature view of the world. Even the Bible is full of bad things happening to people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. It’s the hypocrisy that gets me. If they are thanking God for saving them, they are implicitly thanking God for not saving the others.

That’s not true. And if you think it’s hypocrisy, then you just don’t understand it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for this post, OP. Those are my thoughts exactly. If there were an omnipotent God, then he/she should have prevented the crash.

That just means you guys don’t really understand what God is. And that’s OK if you don’t want to. But the fact that others have a different understanding and are comforted by their religion and moments of tragedy is a good thing, even if you personally do not understand it.

The idea that if God existed, nothing bad would ever happened to humans is an immature view of the world. Even the Bible is full of bad things happening to people.

It's immature to think that there is a supreme being that oversees human events. Sometimes good things happen and sometimes bad things happen.

[Anonymous]

I think the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner might help anyone here struggling with the idea of an omnipotent God in the face of unspeakable tragedy. It's really an attempt to think about (if not answer) the question "How could God let that happen?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to come together after something awful happens, like the crash at National Airport last night, but they don't need religion to do it.

It makes me sick to hear people invoke God for comfort after the crash, when God, if he existed, supposedly could have prevented the crash.

It would be nice if people could just come together after a tragedy without pulling religion into it.

*tips fedora* Not everyone feels the need to drop cringe Reddit internet atheist takes from 2014 into every tragedy; I respect the commitment. There is, of course, literally centuries of literature and thinking, just in the Christian tradition, about the problem of evil, free will, etc.—but you’ve cut through it all with your incisive take. Good job!

[Anonymous]

You want people to come together but then post something provocative to offend people. Remind me of Trump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to come together after something awful happens, like the crash at National Airport last night, but they don't need religion to do it.

It makes me sick to hear people invoke God for comfort after the crash, when God, if he existed, supposedly could have prevented the crash.

It would be nice if people could just come together after a tragedy without pulling religion into it.

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth; declare, if thou has understanding.”

[Anonymous]

If you believe the world exists by chance and you are here through a process of survival of the fittest, with no moral absolutes, then life is just about getting power.

Niettzsche says that is the authentic way to live if the Christian God does not exist.