(May 4, 2022 at 4:36 pm)h311inac311 Wrote: Hey guys, I'm new here but I was encouraged by a few members to start my own topic so hopefully this is okay even though I just got here.
For my first topic I would like us to discuss the book of Job as it is one of my favorite books of the Bible. For me personally I have always viewed suffering as a necessary thing that tests and proves our values and convictions. But I also find that the problem of suffering is often the biggest obstacle to faith for many people. It is such a personal thing, how can a loving God allow for an innocent man to suffer? How is it that he could allow for some of the worst things to happen to some of the best people?
So simply put, this thread is dedicated to the problem of suffering in our belief system but to make the topic a little more specific (and interesting) I would also like to get your guys views on the story of Job specifically.
That is one of many extremely horrible and vile stories if one is going to claim it to be an example of good morality.
If a spouse treated the other like God treats Job, most sane people would tell that abused person to get out of the relationship. If I had a friend who treated me like God treats Job I would separate company with them and never speak to them again.
So why do good things happen to bad people? Because it happens. Just like nobody wants an earthquake hurting them, it still happens. Our species ability to be extremely cruel, or extremely compassionate is in our evolution as individuals. Inserting an allegedly "all powerful" being into it puts you into the position of being a lab rat. In real life compassionate people do everything they can to stop something when they have the power. The God character, under the "all powerful" parameter, has absolutely no excuse.
