(April 7, 2014 at 1:10 pm)Tonus Wrote:(April 5, 2014 at 7:48 pm)RobbyPants Wrote: So, Christians: how can you trust God?I think that for many Christians, god is initially defined as the epitome of positive traits. God doesn't just love, god IS love. He is merciful and just, he only wants what is good for us, he would do anything if we only asked, he is a kind and generous father.
When you get to the parts that counter that image, you automatically reject it and seek out explanations. If those won't do, then it's on to the rationalizations, even though the end result of those is to create a being who has every right to treat you however he so wishes, and displays the willingness to turn your life into a nightmare because he damn well wanted to. I wonder if Job, after his family and fortune had been restored (well, with the exception of his first ten children and all of his servants and helpers who had been brutally slaughtered) ever had a good night's sleep after what he went through, knowing that god had allowed his life to be ripped apart and was angry with Job for just wanting to know why.
I bet Job trusted Yahweh... before.
You guys don't get it. We do suffer here. If you look around it's mostly all caused by human beings inflicting it on each other. God has done things that made people experience pain, as they were living in this world of suffering. If Job is with God now in eternal bliss, do you think that he cares about how much he suffered during his time on earth? The suffering God inflicted on us he also inflicted on his son. The people he killed were killed quickly, but his son died a slow and agonizing death for us so that we wouldn't have to suffer after our lives here. That's how he showed his love for us. He gave us the choice to be with him or not and, for those who want to be with him he gave a pathway. For those who don't want to be with him, he allows a future without him. He allows us to make our own choices and doesn't force us to follow him. We don't know what hell is except that it is without God's influence and that it's not a great place. The reason that hell is a terrible place is the absence of God. How can you say that God is not loving?
