Reply to I believe in God...and I think s/he's a nasty SOB

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "I believe in God...and I think s/he's a nasty SOB"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm kind of with you OP.  It's hard to argue against a creator, but I can't fathom worshiping whoever allows babies to get cancer or be horribly abused, and then there's natural disasters, like Houston at the moment.

It boggles my mind to see someone on TV saying "We only survived because God was watching over us!" after being rescued, without addressing those who didn't survive, why wasn't God watching overly er them?  Like the story I read today of the six month old baby who drowned when he was ripped out of his parents arms by flood waters while they were trying to stay alive in a tree!  Why wasn't God watching over him?  No, just you and your kids, right lady on TV? And by the way, who exactly caused the hurricane and the flood?

I'm sure there's a minister out there who has an explanation for all this, but the bottom line is nobody knows the answer.[/quote]

I'm the PP Minister. I held an eight month old baby as she died not long ago. She was born to a drug addicted mother. All we could do was try to provide pain relief and hold her tightly when she had seizures. Her death was heartbreaking. It shook me to my core. She was with us in the inpatient unit for months. We all bonded with her. Her entire life was suffering. She smiled and cooed. But I know she was in pain even on the strong narcotics. How do you talk about that kind of death? How could I provide spiritual care to the nurses, doctors, social workers, etc who cared for her and loved her? You are correct - We don't have all the answers. But that baby's short life had meaning and purpose. Her mother's bad choices caused her death. But her life taught all those who knew her a lot about unconditional love, about compassion, grief, and letting go. She brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.

I don't think God ever causes bad things to happen. I do think he allows bad things to happen exactly because we all have free will. And the actions (or inaction) of others affects us. I think God uses those bad experiences to help us grow into more loving, compassionate people.

Just my thoughts. Others will have different, but equally important explanations. I grapple with this every day. I'm asked questions like this at work all the time. I believe part of our purpose is to think about these things. I'm not sure there is one right answer. My only role is to lead people towards their own answers. [/quote]

Not trying to be disrespectful to ministers, but please explain the correlation between a baby who suffers because her mother was a drug addict and a baby who is ripped out of it's mother or fathers arms as they hang onto a tree trying to save themselves from a flood.  What exactly did they do wrong?  How does "free will" come into that scenario?  Just wondering. [/quote]

I don't think there necessarily is a correlation. I don't think the parents did anything wrong. But other people's decisions, good or bad, led to that baby's death. God did not cause the baby to die. I do not believe God wanted that infant to die. I believe God grieves when we hurt. I could list a hundred possible causes from bad urban planning to climate change to choosing not to evacuate. Most of the time, I can't come up with any cause. But I do not believe God  causes suffering. And I don't believe in any evil being. I think we live in a world where we have choices. And that free will can lead to suffering.

Again, I want to stress that I don't have the answers. I became a minister because the questions are important to me. I'm just sharing my thoughts.  
[/quote]

I believe you when you say you don't have the answers, but you nonetheless seem quite sure when you say certain things about God, like he grieves when we hurt and doesn't cause bad things to happen.

Do you think he can cause good things to happen?  What does he do for us, besides grieve with us?  What is the point of a God who grieves with us. or what is the point of praying to such a god, when the ultimate result might that he grieves when our prayers are not answered.   Plenty of people can grieve with us and some can also offer practical help that could prevent the need to grieve -- e.g., a doctor or someone with a rescue boat in a flood.[/quote]
NP. The minister said she/he believes these things to be the nature of God, seems certain only in her beliefs. 
And the point is love. Grieving with someone is loving them, doctors and rescuers from your example ARE  love. 
I don't have any answers either, just my own experience. The only way I've known great grace and mercy and yes, love, is by going through tremendous suffering. When I am at the end of my own resourcefulness, when I am with those who are dying, listening to the stories of the homeless, hold hands of the grieving, and when I find I'm not alone in my own grief is when I see God. This is when connection with the divine is at its deepest for me, and that brings meaning to the suffering. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics