"God has a plan"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I believe I said I did not believe God made me infertile, anymore than I believe he gives people unplanned pregnancies so that infertile women can become mothers. God, IMO, is not "doing" anything here. And I am leaning on the side that He is not doing anything because he does not have a plan for nor intervene directly in our lives.

Or doesn't exist at all.

+1 Believers excuse all the shit that happens to them as "part of God's plan," because otherwise their faith in that invisible puppeteer in the sky who loves them dearly makes no sense. Classic cognitive dissonance.

"All the shit that happens" is in no way part of God's plan. He wanted perfection for us.

Yeah, God made this great perfect plan, then people came along and stirred up the shit. Another instance of God getting credit for the good stuff and being excused of the bad stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe God does have a plan, it is just a very fucked up, shitty one?

And your plan is to cruise forums that deal with religion and post banal and profane statements.

And your plan is to post ad hominem statements when you are stumped?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

Couldn't god find other ways of preventing evil in the world besides letting someone die in misery or not allowing a woman to get pregnant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe God does have a plan, it is just a very fucked up, shitty one?

And your plan is to cruise forums that deal with religion and post banal and profane statements.

And your plan is to post ad hominem statements when you are stumped?

Stumped? Not in the least. Only a foolish person attempts to engage someone like yourself in meaningful debate. Your mind is closed and you apparently delight in drivebys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe God does have a plan, it is just a very fucked up, shitty one?

And your plan is to cruise forums that deal with religion and post banal and profane statements.

And your plan is to post ad hominem statements when you are stumped?

Stumped? Not in the least. Only a foolish person attempts to engage someone like yourself in meaningful debate. Your mind is closed and you apparently delight in drivebys.

And a smart person engages in ad hominems instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

This works for dead children, too. "Don't be sad -- little Larla probably would have grown up to be a mass murderer!"

And for those mass murderers that God doesn't strike down in infancy, there's always the corollary explanation -- "All those people Larlo shot in that theatre would have become even worse mass murderers!"

Not to mention how well His plan works with airplane crashes -- so many future mass murderers taken out all at once! It really is a blessing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

This works for dead children, too. "Don't be sad -- little Larla probably would have grown up to be a mass murderer!"

And for those mass murderers that God doesn't strike down in infancy, there's always the corollary explanation -- "All those people Larlo shot in that theatre would have become even worse mass murderers!"

Not to mention how well His plan works with airplane crashes -- so many future mass murderers taken out all at once! It really is a blessing.

Why don't you go pour yourself another cup of coffee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

This works for dead children, too. "Don't be sad -- little Larla probably would have grown up to be a mass murderer!"

And for those mass murderers that God doesn't strike down in infancy, there's always the corollary explanation -- "All those people Larlo shot in that theatre would have become even worse mass murderers!"

Not to mention how well His plan works with airplane crashes -- so many future mass murderers taken out all at once! It really is a blessing.

Why don't you go pour yourself another cup of coffee.

It's only when these seemingly comforting religious explanations are pushed to their natural limits that it becomes obvious how ridiculous and hurtful they are. I think the well-meaning people who are saying such things just aren't thinking clearly at the time and the people who hear them are too shocked or confused or hurt to respond readily.

Hopefully the pp who started this line of thought is still reading and will get the message and search for another, more benign allusion. There must be something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe God does have a plan, it is just a very fucked up, shitty one?

And your plan is to cruise forums that deal with religion and post banal and profane statements.

And your plan is to post ad hominem statements when you are stumped?

Stumped? Not in the least. Only a foolish person attempts to engage someone like yourself in meaningful debate. Your mind is closed and you apparently delight in drivebys.

And a smart person engages in ad hominems instead?

First...instead of a period at the end of my original sentence it should have been a question mark rendering it a rhetorical question.

I called what you posted banal....so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring...that was my opinion of what you wrote.

Profane? Was there profanity in what you wrote?

Neither was ad hominem. What did you present that I would attempt to undermine? I didn't question or assail your character nor did I add anything about your personal traits. In other words, you didn't present anything that I would be attempting to render moot by shining a light on those things but rather what you wrote.

So, of the various forms of ad hominem, the most common of which is argumentum, I cannot find one that fits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

This works for dead children, too. "Don't be sad -- little Larla probably would have grown up to be a mass murderer!"

And for those mass murderers that God doesn't strike down in infancy, there's always the corollary explanation -- "All those people Larlo shot in that theatre would have become even worse mass murderers!"

Not to mention how well His plan works with airplane crashes -- so many future mass murderers taken out all at once! It really is a blessing.

Why don't you go pour yourself another cup of coffee.

It's only when these seemingly comforting religious explanations are pushed to their natural limits that it becomes obvious how ridiculous and hurtful they are. I think the well-meaning people who are saying such things just aren't thinking clearly at the time and the people who hear them are too shocked or confused or hurt to respond readily.

Hopefully the pp who started this line of thought is still reading and will get the message and search for another, more benign allusion. There must be something.

allusion...an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

illusion...a false idea or belief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe God does have a plan, it is just a very fucked up, shitty one?

And your plan is to cruise forums that deal with religion and post banal and profane statements.

And your plan is to post ad hominem statements when you are stumped?

Stumped? Not in the least. Only a foolish person attempts to engage someone like yourself in meaningful debate. Your mind is closed and you apparently delight in drivebys.

And a smart person engages in ad hominems instead?

First...instead of a period at the end of my original sentence it should have been a question mark rendering it a rhetorical question.

I called what you posted banal....so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring...that was my opinion of what you wrote.

Profane? Was there profanity in what you wrote?

Neither was ad hominem. What did you present that I would attempt to undermine? I didn't question or assail your character nor did I add anything about your personal traits. In other words, you didn't present anything that I would be attempting to render moot by shining a light on those things but rather what you wrote.

So, of the various forms of ad hominem, the most common of which is argumentum, I cannot find one that fits.

So it was just an insult meant to close conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And you may be right. And I may be right that it has nothing to do with some big, grand divine plan for my life. It could all just be one big coincidence. Because once again this line of argument is asking me to ascribe the bad stuff to "bodies break down" and the good stuff to God. If God is who Catholic Christians say he is, then he is responsible for all of it. And I find that a hard pill to swallow.

I know someone dying of terminal cancer. What should I tell him of God's plan? What good is coming to his life as he slowly dies from a metasticizing cancer?

Christian pp would say "bodies break down." Or maybe that if he lived a full life he would become a mass murderer, so a benign God is sparing him and us from that horrible fate.

See -- god comes out the good guy again -- it just takes faith and an active imagination.

This works for dead children, too. "Don't be sad -- little Larla probably would have grown up to be a mass murderer!"

And for those mass murderers that God doesn't strike down in infancy, there's always the corollary explanation -- "All those people Larlo shot in that theatre would have become even worse mass murderers!"

Not to mention how well His plan works with airplane crashes -- so many future mass murderers taken out all at once! It really is a blessing.

Why don't you go pour yourself another cup of coffee.

It's only when these seemingly comforting religious explanations are pushed to their natural limits that it becomes obvious how ridiculous and hurtful they are. I think the well-meaning people who are saying such things just aren't thinking clearly at the time and the people who hear them are too shocked or confused or hurt to respond readily.

Hopefully the pp who started this line of thought is still reading and will get the message and search for another, more benign allusion. There must be something.

allusion...an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

illusion...a false idea or belief.

both apply in this case.

[Anonymous]

I'm Catholic. I had a full term stillborn child. Was that God's plan? I don't believe it was. I think we live in a broken world where bad things happen to all people, and you yourself being "good" or "bad" has nothing to do with it. I don't believe God causes bad things to happen.

In the wake of my stillbirth, I believe God used other people to comfort me, heal me, and love me.

That doesn't mean I wasn't furious with God. I was. And I think God understands and forgives me for that.

I don't know how or why God answers or doesn't answer prayer. I prayed for a healthy child. After I lost that child, I realized maybe I was treating God like some kind of Santa Claus- be good and God will give you good things. I don't think it works that way. I think God gives us strength, grace, and wisdom when we ask for it to help us deal with life's hardships and devastations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Catholic. I had a full term stillborn child. Was that God's plan? I don't believe it was. I think we live in a broken world where bad things happen to all people, and you yourself being "good" or "bad" has nothing to do with it. I don't believe God causes bad things to happen.

In the wake of my stillbirth, I believe God used other people to comfort me, heal me, and love me.

That doesn't mean I wasn't furious with God. I was. And I think God understands and forgives me for that.

I don't know how or why God answers or doesn't answer prayer. I prayed for a healthy child. After I lost that child, I realized maybe I was treating God like some kind of Santa Claus- be good and God will give you good things. I don't think it works that way. I think God gives us strength, grace, and wisdom when we ask for it to help us deal with life's hardships and devastations.

I'm sorry for your loss, pp. Your post is moving.