(October 26, 2017 at 12:59 pm)Shell B Wrote: Interestingly enough, within the grand scheme of things, little things happen. These smaller events may not be so grand as seeing all of space and time, but they have an impact on the so-called children god supposedly loves so much. There is no big picture that would excuse the rape of infants, cancer in small children, innocents starving to death, women in the bush getting raped with rifles so hard their anuses and vaginas become a single hole, etc. These are all things that indisputably happen on this planet. It would seem your god is ignoring the "little" picture. I think you're a kind and thoughtful person, CL, but dismissing atheist arguments as being simply unable to understand how all-knowing god is is doesn't cut it.
Maybe in the grand scheme of things, free will (which allows people rape/murder) is incredibly important in some way. I can't pretend to know how, but since I'm only living in and seeing a tiny fraction of the entire universe and all of eternity, i concede that i may not understand. And for that reason, I can't rule out the possibility that the goodness that comes from human beings having free will may ultimately outweigh the bad that comes from it.
Though even without free will, there is still suffering in the world, as you pointed out. Diseases, natural disasters, famine, etc. Why does God allow suffering if He loves us so much? Why doesnt He divinely intervene to cure people who are sick or to stop a hurricane? Again, I don't know. But I'm just a little person living for a tiny amount of time in a tiny part of an infinite universe.
Maybe in some crazy way suffering builds compassion, brings out the good in us when we go help? Maybe without knowing suffering we can't fully know joy and happiness? Maybe it's just all in God's plan to let nature take its course and not intervene, and whatever happens and happens, and He knows it will all work itself out in eternity?
I really don't know, I'm just throwing possibilities out there. The point is, considering how small i am and considering the fact that I'm not even remotely close to seeing the entire picture, i cant rule out the possibility of a good God existing simultaneously while bad things happen.
As a Christian personally, it helps to also remember that I believe Jesus, God Himself, suffered a lot too, probably more than anyone ever has or will... and He didn't deserve any of it. I havent suffered nearly as much as many other people do, but during my darkest time there was a particular quote that spoke to me:
"Our tendency in the midst of suffering is to turn on God. To get angry and bitter and shake our fist at the sky and say, "God, you don't know what it's like! You don't understand! You have no idea what I'm going through. You don't have a clue how much this hurts."
The cross is God's way of taking away all of our accusations, excuses, and arguments.
The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, "Me too." - Rob Bell
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
