Each and every day, thousands of people lose their homes, are victims of abuse or die in senseless accidents. Children are diagnosed with cancer, fathers walk out on their families and mothers lose the fight against drugs. There is a lot of evil and misfortune in this world.
So, if you are wondering “Why does God allow suffering,” honestly, I don’t blame you.
Of all of the questions people ask about Christianity, “Why does God allow suffering” is one of the most difficult to answer, but also one of the most important.
Unsure of what to say, many Christians often just try to gloss over the question and give a canned answer. Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t help anyone. A fair response is desperately needed, and today I have three.
So whether you are wondering “Why does God allow suffering” yourself or you’ve been asked this question before and not known how to answer–hopefully this post will answer your questions and help strengthen your beliefs.
Why Does God Allow Suffering? Three Reasons Why.
First of all, it is important to realize: Suffering Was Not a Part of God’s Original Plan
How often do we blame God for all of the bad things that happen in our lives, as though He was the one causing them on purpose? The truth is, God never intended for bad things to happen to us.
The world God made was perfect. God didn’t invent disease, addiction, etc. Instead, Genesis 1:31a says “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” The world God created was perfect and flawless; so is His plan. It wasn’t God who messed things up.
But He does allow it. Here are three reasons why:
1. God Created Us with Free Will; We Have the Ability to Reject God’s Plan
God’s plan was perfect. If Adam and Eve had simply accepted God’s plan and obeyed, their life would have been perfect too. Unfortunately, however, they decided to take matters into their own hands and do things their own way.
How silly to think that they knew more than the God of the entire universe, who created everything! But that’s what they did, and that’s what all of us do every day.
And when we (or those around us) choose to reject God’s perfect plan, it should come as no surprise, then, that things don’t often work out as perfectly as we’d hope.
God could have created us as robots–people who were unable to think and act for themselves–but that’s not what He did. He created human beings with free will, the ability to think, the ability to love–and the ability to hurt others.
If you always followed God’s plans 100%, would your life be perfect? Unfortunately, no. Because others’ actions and mistakes have an effect on your life as well. But if everyone in the entire world always followed God’s plans 100%, would your life be perfect? Yes!
But honestly, that’s never going to happen. That’s just the world we live in. (Not the world God created–the world we made.)
2. God’s Ultimate Goal is Different Than Yours
I am currently half-way through my third pregnancy.
A few weeks ago, immediately after finding out we were having our first girl (yay!), we found out that there might be something wrong with the baby. It was probably nothing, but there were signs on the ultrasound that the baby could have a chromosomal disorder. We had a blood test done, and then waited as patiently as we could until the results came in.
Last week, we got the call. The test results were in; our baby is just fine.
But you know what, even if there had been a problem (which we praise God that there isn’t), that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about us or love us.
I asked my husband “How much did you pray in the last couple of weeks?” and he said something to the effect of “All the time!”
God’s ultimate goal isn’t for us to be comfortable and happy. It isn’t for us to have a nice house, a nice car and a job we love. Not that any of those things are bad or that we can’t have them–they just aren’t the point.
Instead, God’s ultimate goal is to bring us closer to Him and to make us more Christ-like. And if it takes a tragedy for that to happen–well, then, honestly I don’t blame Him. But, personally, I try to live the life He wants for me anyways, so He doesn’t have to use a serious wake-up call to get my attention!
3. God’s Perspective is Far Greater Than Yours
Of course, there are plenty of bad things that happen that aren’t really anybody’s fault at all. For example, both my brother and two close friends of mine died in car crashes in high school. Why would God allow suffering for those who have done nothing to deserve it?
Ultimately, the only answer I can give to this is faith.
You see, my preferences, wants and opinions will always be based on my own very limited view of this world. I know what I want, but I don’t really know or fully understand how the choices I make today will impact the world tomorrow–not really.
We all want things, but we don’t always know what is best. Have you ever had a relationship fall apart and been devastated, only to find the true love of your life later? Have you ever lost a job and wondered what you were going to do, only to realize that if you hadn’t lost that job, you wouldn’t have the wonderful life and new job you have now?
The truth is, we don’t know what big plans God has in store right around the corner for us and for others. Only God does.
So, given the choice between choosing everything myself–based on my very limited understanding of the world–and letting God choose–based on His infinite wisdom, God’s will is always going to be the best choice every. single. time. We just have to trust God even when we don’t understand.
After all, Moses didn’t know what God had up His sleeve when he was called to talk to Pharoah. Abram didn’t know what God had up His sleeve when he was called to sacrifice his son. But God did.
And God knows the plans He has for you too–even if He hasn’t showed you what they are yet.
Just wait–you’ll see.
Do you ever struggle with the question, “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” What answers have you come up with – if any?
Brittany
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I often struggle with this question. Thank you for answering in such an easy to understand manner!
I think a lot of people do! Hopefully this helped at least a little!
Your post is excellent, and I commend you. Religious leaders don’t even know how to answer that!
Your comments are harmonious with what I have learned from deep Bible study.
Well, thanks 🙂
If God is all knowing, why would he create Lucifer … so Lucifer create all these perfection into destruction? Please reply
He created Lucifer as an angel. It was Lucifer’s choice to turn evil. God did not create him to be evil. How he became evil, I don’t know, but it wasn’t God who caused it.
Brittany,
Thank you for your most sensible answers to one of life’s most desperate questions. I applaud your knowledge and wisdom of the scriptures.
We had a son born with a chromosomal disorder: Down Syndrome.
I’m quoting your wisdom here: “You see, my preferences, wants and opinions will always be based on my own very limited view of this world. . . The truth is, we don’t know what big plans God has in store right around the corner for us and for others. Only God does. . . God’s will is always going to be the best choice every. single. time. Even when we don’t understand it.”
Only God knows how much joy our Marvelous Mark brought to our family and to many others for 52 years. Downs people have the ability to love but lack the reasoning to hate. That single truth makes them as close to Jesus’s behavior and His example as I can imagine.
What a relief to know that your little girl is normal. God bless your sweet family.
To other families who are expecting a Downs angel to come into their lives, I want to say that the best is yet to come. Right now, you can’t imagine the wonderful places this little child will take you. Just give God time to prove it to you.
Bless you, Brittany.
Liz
I have heard wonderful things about children with Downs. It’s just so easy to worry about the unknown, isn’t it? Thanks for the encouragement
Amen, that’s all I can say
Oh how I grapple with this one so much… and I absolutely explain these reasons to many who ask, including me! You described the answers beautifully.
I struggle with the children and innocent people over seas… the war torn impoverished areas that wreak of death and despair. I just can’t imagine how much that breaks God’s heart. I can not even imagine the rage that must rock the Heavens…
If I feel so strongly about ti all, I can’t imagine how the almighty loving creator feels… I often want it to be DONE. Come on back Christ! Let’s DO THIS. 🙂
Yeah, damage to children is the worst. But what REALLY changed my perspective on that was a song called “Do Something.” You can read more about it here if you’re interested: https://equippinggodlywomen.com/community/do-something/
I don’t know why bad things happen to us,but I know GOD’S ways are not our ways and HIS thoughts are not our thoughts they are much higher and deeper and wiser. But I have to believe that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. GOD is a loving, merciful GOD and is always in the background changing what satan means for evil into good. It’s all about FAITH!
Amen
Thank you for this post. I have asked that a few times in my life. My dad passed away from cancer when I was 19. It was difficult to get through and understand why God would allow it to happen to a good person, he was also a Pastor. But God doesn’t make mistakes. Ever. He has a plan and it’s bigger than all of us. Thank you for the reminder.
Aww, I can’t even imagine! But fortunately or unfortunately, when faith is all we have, faith is all we need.
I was never much troubled about why God allows suffering, what is He supposed to do for example when someone kills another person? Just freeze the bullet in place or make the gun dissapeare?
What would be the point of free will if God would physicaly prevent us from doing anything but good. It would be like a puppet show.
What troubles me is free will and God’s plan. What does God’s plan really mean?
Because, if I lose my job and despare, but then find a better one I normally wouldn’t and things turn out for the best we can say: hey it was God’s plan!
But if it were His plan, wouldn’t that mean that He was interfering with my future employer’s free will so that he would hire me?
If we have free will, how can anything be His PLAN?
The only explanation that makes logical sense to me is that “God’s plan” means just that if we pray and search for answers in difficult times through prayer He will strengthen us and “inspire” us to do the right thing. But not that it’s literally a plan.
I don’t think His plan means that He has it all scripted out 100% and we don’t have a choice. Just that He has a general best way of doing things and that it is in our best interest to follow. Of course we don’t always, BUT He also knows exactly what we will choose to do, and takes that into account when making His plan in the first place.
That was something comforting to me too. I can’t throw off God’s plan because He already knew I would and He already has a back-up waiting for me. Not to say that we can’t forfeit His best–we can–but we can’t derail Him because He already knows.
Sara, I think that what C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity will help a lot. The whole book is powerfully insightful, but the third section has a chapter or two on prayer that might help illuminate this for you. Blessings to you.
Isaiah 46:8-10; Hebrews 1:2-3; II Peter 3:8-9 + 13
Oops! That was meant for someone else (how did that happen?) It’s a good reaf though, I recommend it for any Christian.
Sara, I think that what C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity will help a lot. The whole book is powerfully insightful, but the third section has a chapter or two on prayer that might help illuminate this for you. Blessings to you.
Isaiah 46:8-10; Hebrews 1:2-3; II Peter 3:8-9 + 13
wow good teachings God bless u
Thanks, Kevin!
During time in my life of suffering (I lost a parent & I was newly diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that put me in so much pain), it was not free will that comforted me. It was God’s absolute sovereignty in every situation that I clung to. He is so good and in control. I grew more in that time than most others in my life knowing that my suffering was from a loving God who was doing his refining work in my life. There is hope in trial! Cling to Jesus!
Exactly–If your suffering ultimately brings you closer to God–it’s not such a bad thing after all. It stinks at the time, but it all works out. Hope everything is well now!
Great post. Sin separates us from God. God loves us. Sin hurts us. But!!! When we turn from our sin and turn back to God, he will heal our land. Love your #2. We are not the point. God is.
Thanks, Starla! And the good news is, we can always turn back.
This is a sinful world filled with darkness. When the sin in the garden took place along came suffering. Thus the poor, suffering and evil came to be. God does not cause suffering.
As women of faith our priotity should be to Go and Tell as we are commanded. To teach our children to keep the home and love and pray for our spouse.
Salvation message is so vital to our role. If we are not telling others only Jesus saves from sin we are failing as a woman if faith.
Often we get distracted with recipes, diy, giveaways and blogging. May we never forget that only what is done for Christ will last.
Evil will always be in the world.
Telling others how to be saved from sin is priority.
Be blessed. JO
“M” Words and the Christian Woman
I agree, sharing the Gospel is the most important thing (hence the reason why I choose to blog about just that!). I don’t think it makes other things completely not important though. Sometimes it takes talking about recipes, diy, etc to create connections and open doors of communication. And that’s a good thing too. 🙂
Hi, what puzzles me is the random arbitrary nature of suffering. Some people we know lost their 5 year old son when a neighbour accidentally ran over the child on their drive way. I know there is evil in the world and the devil is constantly undermining efforts at peace and killing good people like Martin Luther King. But how is it that some people seem to have such horror befall them and others seem to escape it.
Okay, so I JUST listened to an awesome sermon by Francis Chan where he kind of addresses this question. He talks about Job and how, when Job questions, God said “Were you there when I created the world?? Who are you to question me??” Or in other words, He’s God, we’re not, and He knows what He’s doing, even if we can’t understand it right now. It’s not a satisfying answer at all, but I don’t think there really is one! (The roly poly example is fantastic too) Worth a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pn7WYZE6qk
Not a satisfying answer? Perfectly satisfying.
What else is there to expect from such tales and stories. It paints such an arrogant and merciless picture of a “loving god” when his precious son was enduring the intolerable.
Yes, it would be merciless if God sent His son to die for no reason — because He was just mean and wanted to cause him pain, but that’s not what happened. God allowed His son to suffer for our benefit. So that we wouldn’t have to. Because He loves each and every one of us so much.
God is our Heavenly Father, and just like a natural parent, he would never, in any way, do or cause any harm to His children purposely. When man fell in the garden of Eden, sin entered the world. It is the enemy, the devil who comes to kill, steal and destroy. Our Heavenly Father sent His only Son, Jesus to be the living sacrifice that defeated this enemy in EVERY WAY. Because of the work that Jesus did on the cross and in the pit of hell defeating Satan, we can use His Name, Jesus, to defeat the enemy. But we have to be constantly on our toes, daily being in the Word, daily praying, daily confessing the Word over our lives and those of our family, friends and the world.
We as Christians are first called to be His disciples and minister God to the world in our own realm where we live through our words and actions. Some He calls to reach a greater audience, but most of us are called to minister to those around us and those He leads to us. We are to pray for our children, our families, ourselves, our nation, our local community and for those in leadership. We are then to pray for anyone God lays on our heart to pray for.
We as Christians, and children of our Father, should respect and love Him enough that we NEVER allow blame to be put on Him for anything bad in this world. There are things we will not have answers for and maybe will receive the answer in Heaven. In that transforming moment I’m sure most of the questions we wonder about in life will no longer matter. We are called to be good stewards of the things God gives us, our children, their health and well-being should be our first concern. Our belongings should be well kept and maintained. Our jobs should be performed with integrity. These are the kinds of things that keep God’s umbrella of protection over us and keeps the enemy from having a foothold in our life. As far as other people in the case of the woman who ran over the child, I’m positive she did not do that on purpose, but maybe her not being timely, or having her life in order, or any little thing that she was not maintaining good stewardship over, opens the door for the enemy to use that situation to harm someone else. We are very much responsible for our walk with the Lord, and to blame our Heavenly Father because of something we take for granted or just let slack which is a totally human response we are all guilty of unfortunately is not a good enough reason to blame our Father who loves us more than we can even begin to imagine.
Great insights. Thanks 🙂
Sorry, this answer puts everything on earning God’s good grace, which can not be done. God found no fault with Job, but allowed the Devil to heap troubles, pain, and devastation on him to make him renounce God. Job voiced his pain and despair of his situation, and even asked for death, but did not renounce God. Works can make things better on a person to person basis, but does not influence God. The reason that bad things happen is because the Devil roams the world freely until Christ returns; that is the unsatisfying truth of the answer to the question.
When we say that satan roams the earth freely (meaning unbound in terms of revelation – this begins to deal with ammeleniasm, premelenianism, dispensationalism etc) we are saying that satan is free to do as he pleases; to causes diseases, deceiver nations etc?
If so, then that is to say that there is an equal authority to God currently on the earth and that God does not have control over satan now?
To me, that’s undermining the sovereignty of God. I am of the opinion that Satan was bound on the day of the cross and we are busy living in the end times I.e the millennial age.
God sent a mere angel to bound satan. This shows me that and quite obviously there is no equal authority to God. God created Lucipher and Lucipher then was a fallen angel who would the reason that sin enters the world.
This was Gods sovereign plan that we cannot question. Jesus was ALWAYS part of the plan. So therefore, had there been no sin in the world – then Jesus need not have come and died on the cross. Jesus was always plan A. This shows that the reason there is sin in the world is for God to display both His mercy as well as His justice at the same time.
Texts such as Romans 9 talks about God saying that He loved Jacob but He hated Essau.
That’s a rough word to think that God said that about someone who He created. The scary thing was, God said this BEFORE Jacob and Essau were born.
That just shows Gods absolute sovereignty and that He absolutely has a plan and there is NO WAY for us to influence that plan. He, just as indicated in Romans 9, has His plan prepared for us in advance. So thus pain, happiness, disease, good health and everything else is part of His plan.
God has the almighty ability to love and to not “love” at the same time. “I hated Essau”. Why? Because He is God and its displaying of His mercy on His chosen saved people and and its displaying his justice on the unsaved.
(This does not mean Christians and saved people won’t suffer)
I apologize for the lengthy comment. I don’t intend on attacking anyone either, not at all.
These are just the biblical sections I thought of as I read some comments.
Thank you guys for being so active on this blog – it’s refreshing to be reading about God and not all the negativity we currently face in this fallen world.
Bless you all
No, Satan doesn’t have free reign at all. You’re right about that. That’s why, in Job, he has to go to God to ask permission to cause Job harm. He does have some power over us–but it’s only the power we give him.
I wouldn’t say God has so much control that we have NO say though–we still have free will. There’s a difference between knowing in advance and causing. God knows everything that will happen, but that doesn’t mean he causes it all to happen. More like, He allows things to happen.
And thanks, we do have a great comment section here and I’m so proud of everyone for keeping it that way!
Ellen, I think you have misread both the article and the book of Job. The article indicates nothing about earning grace, but rather striving to live a life that produces spiritual growth (implicitly with the Holy Spirit’s power) so that we do not need correction through catastrophe or tragedy.
As for Job, Elihu (whom people tend to forget about, and is also the most likely author of the book) gave his speech for two reasons, one of which was that Job was convinced that God was causing Job to suffer unjustly (Job 31:3, 32:1-2, 34:5-6 & 9-10), practically accusing God of moral error. Elihu is also the only person whom God does not rebuke when He answers Job out of the whirlwind.
It is true that the Enemy seeks to ultimately wreck whatever happiness we have; but we wrecked and continue to damage and decompose God’s perfect creation with our own mistakes and evil desires. Sin is a death sentence on this universe, which is why God will take the redeemed into a new one. [See the book of II Peter, and also Rev. chs. 20-22]
Hello all, things happen to people because that is the path that is chosen from God.
He chose these paths to the ones who suffer , so that they become closer to him.
The more people suffer the more they earn a higher place in heaven.
There are people here to know what God wants us to know,and there are people here for other purposes. I pray for guidence and my prayers lead me to who I am today,
Many people may not yet get what is really going on in the world today, and my heart hurts for all them and the evil that is going on.Lady God can’t come fast enough, because life is precious,but it is really
Sick how people treat each other, and how the devil manipulates.We need to pray to God to invite him and the Holy Spirit into our lives,because we do not want to know what hell really is!!GOD
BLESS YOU All!!!
Hi Marie,
With all due respect to your comment you say that we need to pray that god comes into our lives? Very well.
But the author stated in so many words that god has us suffer to come ‘closer to him’.
Very well. But which one is it?
There’s relatively no confidence and when people are lost, confused, (which so so many of us are..) they need straight answers they can genuinely feel and trust. Not get lost in the clouds.
While I admire the values and the good that’s that Christianity promotes, I can see how more and people are struggling with staying with it.
As another example you say “we don’t want to know what hell really is?”
I could be wrong but my guess that you say that because your assuming that hell is an actual place one goes if a person is not good, etc
The reason why you say that is because the words learned in the Bible have mistaken the context. Words that were written in ancient context. Of course you do not have to take my word for it… just back and read the scripture about all the references about what they meant by “hell” Gehenna, etc. It is an actual place outside of jersulam to keep waste under control. It is not sime horrific place you go after you die.
There’s plenty of hell right here on earth if you ask me.
That may be true, but there is an actual Hell after death as well.
Hi Brittany,
please state what you mean exactly by hell?
I’m assuming this is a personal belief of yours?
I just don’t understand how in America we have so much and third world countries have so little. Does God only love people in developed countries? I really struggle with that.
Ooh, you know what you should read? This post: Do Something. The video in it especially is fantastic.
Thank you! I read that post and listened to the song and it made me cry! This instantly changed my perspective. Thanks again.
Awwwwww. Glad I could help! (That song always makes me want to cry too. And not just because I’m pregnant and EVERYTHING makes me cry either 🙂 )
Well, I am one of those constantly suffering. My brother practices witchcraft, and his life has been so lucky. I would rather be me, though. I read in the Bible that the sufferings of the righteous are many. I know it has brought me closer to God. I am looking forward to eternity. Does anyone know where in the Bible it says that people with great suffering will have a higher place in heaven? I know that those that suffer for Jesus’ sake will be elevated. Just don’t know about the other suffering.
I’m sorry to hear that 🙁 The first verse that comes to mind is James 1:2-4: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” but I think I’ll ask your question on my Facebook page and see if anyone on there knows. (They’re pretty smart 🙂 ) I’ll get back to you!
Okay, I asked on my Facebook page and didn’t get much response, which I am taking to mean that people don’t know of any verses like that. I’m not sure that it’s Biblical… Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/equippinggodlywomen/posts/821539431268872
This article may help as well: http://www.gotquestions.org/heavenly-crowns.html
2 Timothy 3:8-9 + 7; 2 Peter 2:4-9
Debbie, I’m so glad that you have a desire and willingness to serve God. Do a search of the New Testament for ‘crowns’ (most of them are in Revelation); those seem to be rewards for spiritual accomplishments (not all of them are for everyone).
Your brother, if he still has a desire to be a ‘good person’, needs serious prayer from someone experienced in spiritual warfare. Witchcraft is a serious affair to be entangled in, and the Enemy does not let practitioners walk away unopposed. All power comes with a price. 2 Peter 2:15 + 19-21
can you answer why God would allow
A newborn or a toddler to have a fatal
Disease when they never have had a
Chance to live Your answers do not fit
In these cases .
That is such a tough question, and probably the one that bothers me the most too. Honestly, I don’t know the answer, and I don’t know that anyone ever will. I do still feel as though the three answers fit though… 1. God didn’t create disease, Satan did. And even if the baby didn’t do anything wrong personally, mankind as a whole certainly has. 2. God still has a plan–so many people draw closer to God as a result of tragedy. Perhaps His plan wasn’t to give us a baby forever, but only to give us a baby for a while. He’s God; He can do that. and 3. God’s perspective is still greater than ours. I don’t know why this happens. I never will. All I know is I can’t listen to stories like these without bawling my eyeballs out! But I know, someday when we get to Heaven, it will all make sense. God isn’t a horrible mean God who is just messing with us. He has a plan; we just don’t see it yet.
Like when I won’t give my 2 year old chips for breakfast. To him, it really is the end of the world and he might throw a huge fit. But… as his mother, I know what is best. And as our Heavenly Father, God knows what it is best for us too.
I know that probably doesn’t answer your question, but hopefully it helps a little?
I know no one can give an answer to this but the creator but I have seen throughout these commentaries that it’s not God but Satan that is the cause of the evil and/or the man who has the absence of God that is responsible for all the evil in the world. My question is then who created the devil,where does he come from? We are taught is that Lucifer was once a this beautiful angel who was so upset at God for creating us kicked him/her out of heaven for his/her hatred for us. Satan was then allowed to what seem to be able to cut a side deal with God and touture and taunt man as much as he/she likes. My question is why allow the devil who was once on the side of good the opportunity to run a muck in our world and God allows it to happen? God is an all knowing spirit which has the ability to know things before it happens but allowed Satan to do what he/she does on a daily basis. Why not not at the first sight of the fool Satan cause of him/her reeking havoc cancel the devil/Satan out? God knew that his creation this once good angel was going to go rogue so why allow it to go this far as to allow this world to have the duality it now has? It is really inot free will because our lives are already planned out even with the alternate endings. We could blame Adam and Eve for not listening but once again who allowed the devil in the garden in the first place?God knew Satan would be there so perhaps that’s part of God’s design or plan for us;allowing the devil free reign to do as much as he/she can to disrupt human lives? This is the one question I have always wanted to know and perhaps I may never know in this life why God allows this evil spirit to do what it does daily. I truly love God with all my heart and even with all the things that has happened in my life good/bad I wake up and go to sleep praying but this is one question that has plagued and fustrated me for years and maybe I will get the answer in this life maybe not but it would sure be good to know why the devil has ability to run wild in God’s creation.
That is a very good question.
Brittany, Natalie,
I believe I have this answer. 😊
Its a great question. (I asked this as a young child myself as I found a great need to make sense about what I was told and sense of clarity)
Another scenario that didn’t quite vibe with me was hell or Satan as this figure who was in turn created by god (i.e. to torture us, do as he pleases)
the Bible is written in an ancient context. So certain aspects can easily be taken out of context. Especially when it comes to the actual “story” of the devil, hell, what that actually *is* and what that actually *looks like*
So read this below. If the concept of “hell” itself (a supposed place you go to without end when you die) can be so easily mistaken… just Imagine how the story of your particular question your asking can also be mistaken as well.
Here’s what I mean:
Did you know that when Jesus spoke of “hell”, he actually spoke of Gehenna – the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem’s city gates where those with wretched lives seeked out an existence.
Johns illusion to the smoke as “forever and ever”…
Those words (forever and ever) in the old and new testament are used 57 times in reference to something that has ALREADY ENDED. In other words according to the bible forever and ever does not = “without end”
Having initially set out to disprove the concept of annihilationism for myself I began reading the Bible with an eye to the description of Gehenna and, quite surprisingly, ended up with the same verses mentioned in this article completely changing perspective.
Jesus used references to Gehenna as a vivid example of destruction, i.e., a metaphor for perishing. The fire was always burning in Gehenna but items in the fire do not continue to burn forever.
Furthermore, there is not even one verse in the entire Bible that teaches the supposed “immortality of the soul” doctrine so prevalent in most ‘Christian theology’
More examples:
The “lake of fire” …
John described the dramatic events that took place at the close of the millennium. He uses the same words as John and Peter (the earth) and the agent of the punishment (fire)
Hell: “Hell as a place of punishment will be this earth turned into a lake of fire at the day of Judgement”
According to the Bible it states that they will be punished according to their “works” however there is no set ‘quantifiable’ time. Noone can answer this question precisely because it’s not in the bible.
Issah says of that “fire” ” Behold, they shall be stubble, the fire shall burn them, they not shall not be able to deliver themselves from the power of that flame.
But Jeremiah also said: Jerusalem, will burn with a “fire” that would not be “quenched”. However… it indeed burned… and it indeed only went to ashes.
if you read carefully the bible itself uses the word “quench” differently than we use in our modern dictionary. It does not mean that the fire can or does NOT go out.
Did you know that Jesus never said “repent”. He used two words instead: Metanoeo and Metamellamai. These mean respectively – change your way of thinking and change your way of emoting.
Natalie I agree with you 100%.
People always want to see God as a God of love, only. He indeed is a Father who loves more deeply than we will ever know or comprehend. However, He is also a God of wrath.
The same God we have to today, is the same God we had in the Garden of Eden, with Noah and the ark where God killed almost everyone and everything He had ever created.
Our God is not only a God of love but also a God of wrath. And His sovereign plan consists of love and wrath.
The only reason why God allowed satan and ultimately sin to enter the world – was because of Jesus.
If there was no sin in the world, then there would have been no point for Jesus to exist, never mind coming to earth to suffer and be betrayed and die on a cross for the rest of the world.
We must not forget that Jesus is also part of Gods people. And so therefore, Jesus went through absolute pain and suffering under the plan of God. So too, we as people of God will also suffer pain and suffering. How beautiful is it to know that God will put His chosen people to the test so that He may prepare us for eternity with Him.
So the answers that I understand from the Bible, is that sin is in the world, because that’s the whole point of Jesus. To come and die for that sin so we can understand and appreciate Gods mercy on us when sinners like us are allowed in to heaven even though we were once filthy sinners
I’ve asked the very same question Natalie. I know that we don’t see things the way God sees things, but as our creator, wouldn’t it be unloving to keep us in the dark? Anyway, I refuse to believe God is as cryptic and mysterious as many make him out to be. If God had just wiped Satan out the moment he challenged his authority in the Garden of Eden, that would have taken care of Satan specifically but the challenge would have still hung in the air, so to speak, and another one of the myriads of angels would have no doubt taken Satan’s place. God hates the suffering and is hurt by it, but he’s allowing enough time to pass for mankind to prove Satan a liar with respect to God’s right to rule. Think about it, humans have now exhausted literally nearly all conceivable forms of rule or government, continually “dominating man to his injury.” When God finally puts an end to Satan and restores everything to his original purpose, we and the angels will have no doubt that God is the sovereign and has the right to rule. There will be no more need to put up with suffering. We’re so close to that time!
Natalie, I have grappled with this question myself, and have decided that it is one of God’s mysteries. The bible doesn’t teach us everything, only the essentials. Some truth is not vitally important. Other truth is not comprehensible to us as earthly creatures. Still other truth can be harmful and so God conceals it from us. I think this question is all three. I laid it to rest with a couple thoughts from my favourite author:
“There is no reason that a man with perfect balance riding a bicycle on a smooth level plain should fall – but he might.” -Mere Christianity
“Why do you care what sins a star can commit?” -Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis
P.S. If you’ve never read Mere Christianity, it may help with your struggle. Lewis was an intellectual and a powerful defender of the faith.
So, how does this fit in?
Isaiah 45:7 in the King James Version says “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create EVIL: I the LORD do all these thing.”
I have always wondered about this!
That is a fantastic question. I honestly have no idea. Perhaps something is missing in the translation?
Exactly : )
Ellen God dose not allow disease it man’s fault for this we live in a polluted and diseased world God dose not put burden’s on us get your King James Bible and go to Jeremiah 23:35,36, Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered ? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
A-men
Well, God may not cause it, but he DOES allow it. Just look at Job. Satan came to God for His permission to bring harm to Job. God is still in absolute control over everything and could stop anything at any time.
John 9:1-3
Some people suffering is caused by their own sins, some by the sins of others, and some suffering is undeserved (like that of Job) not to punish or correct, but to show others the greatness of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. To me this kind of suffering brings a special blessing on those who go through it with a pure heart.
Just because we see no reason or purpose doesn’t mean God doesn’t have one.
I Chronicles 16;9a; I Samuel 16:7b
my dear Brittany
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, but as the above lady said ” your answer do not fit in some cases) ,sorry to say that.
I myself is a believer, a born again but I haven’t understood yet this part of why does God allow suffering, I can understand why He allowed suffering of adult, who can make choices, but why allow suffering of children, infants, and I am not talking about hunger , mostly is the suffering inflicted by abusive and pedophile care giver, weather they are the real parents or the other partner, I cannot imagine the pain Baby Brianna Lopatz has on the hands of her mom, father and uncle, YES I do know she is in heaven now in much better place being carried in the arms of The Lord, but sure she suffered aloooot while they were pinching, biting, throwing her from wall to wall , to ceiling and let her fall on the floor. They do suffer , believe me emotionally and physically.
I do have a gorgeous boy 2.5 with Down syndrome, it’s not easy to be extremely sleep deprived all the time, and running from one appointment to next, and caring for another boy with 5 years, SO sometimes I am at the end of my robe, and I get disconnected from him, days like that, my son is NOT HAPPY AT ALL, I can see the hurt in his eyes, which wakes me. They get hurt , great deal believe me .
BLESSINGS
I think the distinction is between God causing things and allowing things. God doesn’t cause our hurts, but he does allow them. Why? Because we have free will. God could have created us all to be robots and to always do the right thing, but he didn’t. That wouldn’t be love if we loved Him back because we didn’t have a choice. Instead, he created us as humans who are prone to error (oh, so prone to error at times!). And unfortunately, so often our human tendencies DO cause us to hurt others, or to cause events that cause others to be born with illnesses, sicknesses, conditions, etc. Yes, God could wipe out all suffering, but He would have to wipe out free will as well…
I’m struggling with one of your answers.
“But, personally, I try to live the life He wants for me anyways, so He doesn’t have to use a serious wake-up call to get my attention!
Correct me if I’m wrong but it REALLY sounds like you are saying that a lot of suffering is our indirect fault…because we weren’t living the way God wanted us to live so he had to give us a “wake-up” call, that if we had only been more faithful, more holy, more trusting, better people, that we wouldn’t have had the suffering and the “wake-up” call.
I don’t think that’s right. Lots of people try to live the life God wants them to, and are holy and trusting and still have serious suffering.
Allow me to clarify. I’m not saying that our suffering is always our fault by any means, only that it CAN be our fault. That is one of the options. The same way as how you discipline your kids–sometimes you have to give them undesirable consequences to get their attention and to get them to stop doing a harmful or negative behavior. I believe God does the same with us. Some bad things just happen for reasons we will never know. And Sometimes they are allowed as wake-up calls. Does that make more sense?
None of these make any sense. “And it was good.” His versions of things are different from ours, right? How do you know that God isn’t actually an anarchist and saw how badly humans were going to crap on Earth and thought “Yeah, that’s what I was going for. Now let’s just sit back and watch the show unfold.” I mean, he destroyed everything Jobe had all to win a prideful, pointless bet against Lucifer. I also thought God is omniscient and omnipotent. I thought he has a plan for everyone and he knows our thoughts. If so, he would have known Eve was going to eat the fruit and all that would ensue. Isn’t it kind of messed up to make every single person that came after Adam and Eve suffer for their doing? Which, by the way, was simply him telling them not to eat fruit from a particular tree for no other reason than to display his authority over them, and then throwing a massive tantrum because they didn’t do what he demanded of them. And I find it hard to believe that the ONLY reason we’re alive is to bow down and swear our allegiance to a power hungry dictator who demands us to give him complete control over us, and if we don’t, we get thrown in a concentration camp for eternity.
Are you also really telling me that God’s plan isn’t my own, so I just don’t understand? That’s not an answer to the question of why God allows suffering. That’s a cliche that people go to when they don’t have a real answer… as is “have faith”. How is that a’real answer’ to the question? It’s not.
So basically your first answer is full of holes and the other two are the same answer phrased differently that aren’t really answers at all. Nice try, but I give a D+ for effort.
That’s a very interesting question. I suppose God *could* be an angry, power-hungry dictator in the sky, but when given a choice between believing that and believing He’s actually a loving God who is looking out for us even when we don’t know it, do you have any evidence that the first one is more likely?
Also–God didn’t “tell them not to eat fruit from a particular tree for no other reason than to display his authority over them, and then throw a massive tantrum because they didn’t do what he demanded of them.” Rather, He said “this isn’t good for you; don’t do it” and they chose not to listen. Therefore they chose the consequences.
If God was really mean and spiteful, He could have said “well fine then, you get what you deserve!” But instead, He sent His one and only son to die for them to take their punishment. I don’t know if you have kids or not, but can you even imagine sacrificing one for someone else? Someone who turned their back on you? I sure can’t! I don’t even want to think about anything happening to my kids!
Also, “we get thrown in a concentration camp for eternity” — I don’t think God really damns us to Hell as much as He gives us a choice. We have free will. We can choose to love God, or we can choose to reject God. We don’t have to earn His love or be good enough or do anything at all to merit it; we just have to accept it. That sounds like pretty easy conditions to me! And yet, not everyone is interested. So, to those people who say, “no thanks,” God says “well, that’s your choice.” He isn’t going to force anyone to go to Heaven who doesn’t want to be there.
Hopefully that helps at least a little?
Hi Jessica, do you believe that God created a son whereby a virgin Mary gave birth to Him and named Him Jesus. And then that Son roamed the earth as a human being and then died for our sins on the cross. And then 3 days later rose again?
Do you believe this to be true?
“To see a man do a thing and to make him do it are not the same thing.”
“The gates of hell are locked from the INSIDE.”
Your rant suggests you are not finding holes, but poking them by attributing nefarious motives to God. You may believe whatever you will to believe, but you do not seem to understand and accept the book of the Christian faith – I think if you did you would find most of your comments to be erroneous.
Hi Huntington,
I believe there is a difference between belief
and merely getting common sense facts and understandings ironed out for the sake of clarity.
And personally I believe the Bible was meant to tell stories and to learn valuable lessons from those stories.
But can I say those events actually happened? Of course not.
I wasn’t there for one…
next…
Don’t ya think it’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that all of mankind would then suffer for the mistake of a bitten apple?
And to think the entire world was populated from there by whom? “Adam & Eve?” Really?
But then again.. some would say look around.. everything tells.. what we see is in fact of god 😊
Hi Heather.
I go by Hunting, or Targ (some people call me Hunt); its been my handle on the internet for a couple decades now. I will attribute ‘Huntington’ to a misread.
The viewpoint you describe is, literally, Sadistic. The Marquis de Sade was known for his powerful attraction to the infliction of pain, often in connection with sexual activity. He disavowed the idea of a divine creator, and in his writings summed up his viewpoint this way: “What is, is right.” Basically he means whatever actually happens is commendable simply by having happened. Under that viewpoint not only are compassion and charity and acting for the greater good ‘right’, but so are labor camps, child armies, genocide, slavery, torture…
I think I’ve made my point. Saying ‘look around, what we see is of God’ basically asserts that God is an a-moral agent, with no concern for the experiences or destinies of the creatures in his universe. Although I suspect you understood that.
Adam and Eve. Yes, really. The Judeo-Christian view of the world is that God made it perfect, and by severing their spiritual connection with Him the Father and Mother of the human species unlocked the degenerative principle of Entropy, and so the universe began to (slowly) wind down like a spring-driven clock. According to one theory they were made with perfect, flawless DNA, no mutations or abnormalities, and it took millennia of errors and outside interference to produce the medical problems we know today; birth and developmental defects, cancer, many progressive degeneracy disorders, and the host of pathogens that prey upon other organisms – all explainable through Natural Selection, once you take the hypothetical ‘initial conditions.’
No, it’s not a stretch at all. The God of Judaism and Christianity is a God described, among other things, as being Holy, and Just, and intolerant of evil. If there is such a being, who created the universe according to a design, does he have no right or cause to take issue with anyone who tries to tamper with that design?
The Christians call the teachings about Jesus the Gospel, lit. ‘Good News.’ And it has often been said that the Good News makes no sense without the bad news; that being, specifically, that the entire human race was doomed by the sinful actions of its first two members. We are doomed, not strictly on account of our conduct (which, if we look honestly at ourselves and God’s standards, is not as flawless as we want to think), but doomed because we are -faulty- we all come into the world with a flawed nature. And we can be redeemed, not on our own account, but on Jesus the Messiah’s account. It is literally as simple as it was in a currently popular Disney film: “I … was wrong, I have no excuse. I’m sorry.”
If you simply want to call the Bible stories, on that account you can call all of history ‘stories’, because, “well -I- wasn’t there…” What is called history is based on the strength of evidence, not simply speculation and conjecture. One archaeologist put it this way: “There are ruins that have never been excavated, not because we can’t, or because we don’t want to, but because -=nothing has been written about them.=-” As a race and a species, we only know what we tell ourselves through writing; literature is for the future, artefacts are for the time in which they were made. And if you look at the evidence (and not what people SAY about the evidence), there is more to indicate that the events of the bible, specifically the events of the New Testament, actually happened than for any other place or period of history. Ever.
I’m not telling you what to think. I’m not telling you what to believe. I’m just asking, inviting you to think and believe for yourself, not on someone else’s say-so. It’s a long-term prospect, but I promise you it’s a good investment; the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
Best wishes;
Hunting . Targ
Thank you for this explanation! I’m 14 years old now and I’m abused when I was younger. So even though people thought I was too young to think about these questions, I did. And I still find it hard, but I know God is a good Father. When I was 7 and I was being abused I cried to God for help, I prayed so much. Nothing really happened. I didn’t understood it, why does God doesn’t help me while everyone tells me God loves me and wants to help me? Now the abuse stopped and I got stronger. I still don’t understand why it happened because I was a kid and I really loved God. After it I actually didn’t want to pray or go to church anymore. I learned that God will turn all broken things into something beautiful, that’s what I believe. But there is one thing where I have difficulty with, to be open to God. To show my struggles, pain, my heart to Him. Do you have any tips? (I’m sorry for my English, I’m not born in an English country)
I am so, so sorry to hear that, but it’s absolutely fantastic that you’ve been able to take such a positive approach! I actually have a guest post lined up that will address this exact issue, but it probably won’t publish for a couple more weeks. I will send you the link when it goes live!
love This!! I’m struggling with faith sometimes and this just made everything clear’ thank you!
So glad I could encourage you today, Matilda! And don’t worry, struggling is perfectly okay and normal. We all do it sometimes 🙂
Thank you for such a beautiful post. These are hard questions to answer, when you are sharing your faith, but l believe you have given many readers some wonderful insight, to share.
Thanks, Kim. Definitely one of the hardest questions to answer, in my opinion, but also one of the most important for many people!
This is a question that I’ve both been asked by others and asked myself. You simplified the answer so beautifully! Thank you so much for sharing! Also, I’m sorry about your brother. What a tragic time that must have been for you and your family. It’s so inspiring, however, to see that you look to the brighter side of things rather than dwell on the negatives. Thank you again! I will be praying for you as you continue to share God’s word! God bless you in all that you do!! 😊
I’m glad that you found this post helpful! Ultimately, there’s no one, concrete answer that we can understand on this side of Heaven, but these thoughts do make getting through suffering much, much easier–at least for me.
The answer is in God’s word get your King James Bible and go to 1 Cor 10:11,-13, Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, A-men
Yes, that is one very valid reason, but I don’t think it is the only one. The verse is saying what happened to these particular people–not “this is always the case.”
I was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and I still don’t know why he allowed my mother to drink and smoke during her pregnancy with me, neglected me throughout childhood, abandoned me by the time I was 14, then finally disowned me on Easter 2015 after I defended my dad when she tried to put the blame of her actions on him. I can’t live a normal life because of her and every time I would try to go back to college or get a stable job, I would be faced with discrimination and ableism which forces me to live off SSI and other government handouts. They say that life is a miracle but I don’t think that living with autism is. It’s a burden. A problem. Worst of all… a punishment. I feel like the only reason I was born is to pay for my mother’s mistakes and it sucks knowing that I’ll never have a real purpose or a future…..
I’m so sorry to hear about your circumstances 🙁 Free will is great, but it really is heartbreaking when people use their free will in a way that harms others. Your comment made me think of this post by a fellow blogger. Maybe you would find it encouraging? Let’s Not Cure Autism Now
Lisa, God can bless =anyone= and enable their life to have value, meaning, and purpose. I have a sister-in-law who is emotionally unsettled ( abusive/manipulative father, she can’t hold a job) and is finally going to get treated and on disability. We have tremendously different worldviews, but she has a small cottage business working with miniature dolls, and so far she’s being a constructive influence on our infant son, teaching him letters, numbers, and American Sign Language (he’s not even hearing-impaired). And she’s not even Christian.
Don’t despair. Being impaired and on gov’t. support doesn’t mean you can’t help others or contribute to society.
I couldn’t agree more. Very well said.
Thanks, Vickie 🙂
If we never knew suffering, how would we ever fully understand peace or good? If we never knew evil, how could we whole-heartily choose good or a relationship with Christ?
We don’t understand many things and the, “why’s” of this world, but those few reasons above help us with the free will God has given us, to choose to be with him in a relationship and reasons to do so. And in that relationship, I know God gives us the strength to overcome evil and suffering through His love. That is the hard part, even for me, I have to admit I fall short at, but the opportunity is always there.
Thanks for the article!
Thank goodness we don’t have to go through it alone, right?
So who created all the diseases and cancer. I’m having a hard time understanding that. I understand why it happened but who created it?
That is a great question. My guess is it stems from some sort of mutation or malfunction… I don’t know.
Hi Helen.
There are some valuable insights to those tough questions at the Institue for Creation Research ( http://www.icr.org ). To put it simply, once Adam and Eve were spiritually severed from communion with God and lost direct access to his spiritual power, the universe began to run down like an unmaintained car. Thermodynamics, Natural Selection, selfish impulses and thinking – these all grew like wild plants untended by the divine gardner. Diseases are a natural result of organisms behaving selfishly (rather than sybiotically or homeostatically), and systems like cell reproduction began to malfuction and generate errors without the influence of a perfect spirit to govern them.
You might put it this way: A lot that is wrong with the world is a result of what God doesn’t do, rather than what he does do.
I encourage you to research your own question. Best wishes;
Hunting.Targ
Excellent insight Brittany. Ive never considered some of those answers before. And reading through some of the tuff throwbacks people had to say, you answered very well and yet respectfully despite rudeness from others. Keep up the good work!
A scripture I’ve appreciated in answering why suffering happens sometimes, Ecclesiastes 9:11- which points out that we never know whats gonna happen, where some tragedies befall on everyone, whether godly or ungodly, unforeseen occurrences happen to us all . But the deaths of innocent victims will never escape our Fathers memory where we’ll soon see them again.
In the whole grand scheme of things from our Gods perspective, He had never meant this present system of anarchy, but He also doesn’t want history to repeat itself so that suffering never ends, so to answer the issue once and for all time, these things have to take place unfortunately. But only for a time.I think many can agree Gods way of ruling in the garden of Eden is wayyyy better than Satan’s way of ruling the world right now. Its up to everyone to make the choice now which ruler they choose that’s to decide their future.
Thanks again for your insight!
Yep! We may not be able to fully escape suffering on this side of Heaven, but we can make the most of the life we do have!
Thanks Brittany for your wisdom from the word. Our family has suffered a loss due to cancer. I can now refer them to your posts for comfort and understanding. God’s word is always onetime and shines brighter than any other. Love, Happiness, and Peace to your house. V.
awwww, I’m so sorry for your loss! I hope this post helped.
I would love to say,I love the answers you giving to the questions. Wonderful job. Also something that might be helpful is a book Iread sseveral years ago it’s called…. A purpose driven life…wonderful book.I learned Alot from that book .you see our purpose in life is to do Gods will.seek God in everything
I’ve read that book! It’s been so long now, though, I don’t remember much of what I read!
Your right there are 3 reasons why we suffer, however the Bible answers are very clear and simple. Most religions have taught that GOD is the reason for our suffering so that we can learn something and draw close to Him, in fact that is what Job and his 3 companions came to conclude when Job lost everything. Elihu, a younger man listening to these 4 men, gave a profound statement at Job 34:10-12.
So we never should blame God or connect him to our suffering in any way. James 1:12-15 gives 1 of the reasons that we suffer, and you stated it also, because we ourselves make bad decisions.
The other 2
Well, I disagree that we shouldn’t “connect him to our suffering in any way.” Even if He isn’t purposefully causing it, He still allows it and He’s still involved. (Not saying this as a bad thing. I just mean that nothing happens apart from Him)
Forgive me I was cut off.
The other 2 reasons is found at Ecclesiates 9:11 – time and unexpected events happens all the time, we have no control over them.
The 3rd reason is found at 1 John 5:19 – “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one, satan the devil”.
This is the reason why we need a savior, Jesus Christ, 1 John 3:8 – ” For this purpose the Son of God was made manifest, to break up the works
of the Devil”.
I hope this also helps you to see that
God is loving and HE cares for us, he doesn’t nor has he ever wanted us to suffer. We can draw close to Him if we want to and we can always read our Bible’s because it is like a letter from our Loving Father to help us learn about Him and be guided by Him,
2Timothy 3: 16, 17. I learned so much from studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, they will study with you for FREE in your own home! Your not obligated to do anything or join the either . Go to http://www.jw.org. you can request one there.
Thank you and I wish you well in all your endeavors.
LaTru
Wow, very direct and to the point and exactly what I need to hear-can’t hear it often enough and said so truthfully and plainly. Thank you, God Bless you and your family
Thanks. Hope it helped! 🙂
I appreciate you trying to address a question that has been the main obstacle in my search for God. Unfortunately – the answers,once again, do not address the core contradictions. If you believe God has a plan – then you have to accept the horrors of the world as part of that plan (children living in slavery, sold as sex workers, etc, etc -the list is too long to even go on here). You have to accept that God wants these things to happen. Many of these victims pray constantly for help – only to be ignored.
The alternative (and the answer that has brought me the closest to faith so far) is alluded to in your article – that God gave is free will. And thus the evil in the world is ours – as well as the good. BUT…if that is the case – then it is contradictory to say God has a plan or even to expect prayer to be anything other than inspirational. To think God may answer YOUR prayers while ignoring the prayers of millions of innocent children is beyond reconciling with a fair and just God. He could not play favorites in such a way and still be seen as a fair and loving God. I can embrace the “free will” concept – but I have not found a religious leader yet who was willing to say – that once God gave us free will (the greatest gift to be sure) – that he also bestowed upon us the responsibility. That we cannot expect (or even call upon) Him to act or intervene on our behalf.
Free Will – answers the question about suffering and evil in the world, but forces believers to accept responsibility for change. It also takes away the concept that someone is watching over you and is capable of lending a hand if in need.
Master Plan – Provides comfort in knowing that some things are out of your control and that there is higher spirit to which you can appeal to direct you and act on your behalf (or that of others) if you just follow His teachings and believe.
After 20 years of searching for a way to reconcile the two – I have not found it possible. The search continues.
Actually, I don’t think that just because God has a plan means that He causes bad things to happen. For example, I have a plan for today. It involves trying to potty train my 2yo, clean the house and get some writing done. I know my 2yo is going to have plenty of accidents today. That doesn’t mean I want them to happen or am causing them to happen. I just know about it. And because I know about it, I can plan *around* it, to minimize the damage.
I think it’s the same thing with God. He made a perfect plan. He knew we would mess it up, but He didn’t *cause* us to mess it up. And when we did, he was ready with a back-up plan, so to speak, to make the best of the mess that we’d made.
And I also don’t think God’s plan has to include every tiny miniscule little detail of our lives. Again, He knows about them. But I think of His plan as more of a general, overarching theme that He is working to achieve through everything. And when we mess up, He uses what He has (so to speak) and works our mess into the plan for the eventual good of everyone.
Does that make sense?
Your explaination is almost the same as the Jehovah’s witnesses about why God permits wickedness
Interesting. I’m not super familiar with everything Jehovah’s witnesses believe, but I do know that there are a good number of similarities in some areas (though certainly not all).
Please go to the JW.org website if you want to really get the full picture and complete answer to this question! Great website!
Being a christian I have heard all those answers before. It STILL makes NO SENSE to me whatsoever. I have YET to find PURPOSE for all the suffering in this world. I mean….WHY would ANYONE want to come here and live on this earth to suffer. There is so much more pain and suffering than actual “joy”. I have lost a son to suicide….banned from my his kids…MY grandchildren….Have a life that is turned upside down over it all. My mind is NOT what it was and probably never will be. Focus is GONE, and Anxiety has taken over..and I KNOW I am a pea in a sea of millions of people that suffer MORE than I am now and probaby every will. Does that make me “thankful” to know that? It does not make it easier…instead creates only MORE questions.
I DO count my blessings…the health of my hubby, me and other children I have….HOWEVER, we ALL live with eternal PAIN from the past. I saw a post from a support group I belong to…and his question was “What is HAPPINESS” in one word….?? Good question..I have YET to be able to come up with a 1 word answer.
There will ALWAYS be “someone else” that is suffering more than “you”. Period end. LIFE SUCKS THE VERY “LIFE” out of you.
Am I “believer”. ABSOLUTELY…But man oh man will I look forward to a sit down with our maker when I get there
I am so sorry to hear that you’ve been through so much. I agree, there is no one good answer. If your read the book of Job, after Job asks God
“Why?” God doesn’t give him an answer, He just says “Who are you to question me? Were you around when I made the world?” Not really a good answer, but basically, we just have to trust for now.
I actually have a few other posts that might be more helpful for you:
How to Respond When God Allows Trauma
When God Says Wait
And a “PS” to my previous post. “IF” God wanted to stop all the pain and suffering HE CERTAINLY COULD.
Because the question is important:
Hypothetical: “IF a Navy SEAL wanted to stop a police officer from shooting at someone, he certainly could.”
Hardly debatable. Superior ability, superior conditioning.
But that would hardly be consistent with the kind of person a Navy SEAL or other spec-ops operative is.
My argument is that God intervening in the affairs of his creation is not, as it is easy to believe, a matter of mere power. It is a matter of character. We need look no further than the sufferings of Christ himself to grasp this. Luke 22:42. God didn’t simply -allow- Jesus to suffer; he -=WILLED=- it. I don’t think anyone can quite grapple with that. Here is a moment where God’s attributes; his Holiness, Mercy, Compassion, Love, Justice, Righteousness, Tenderness – flow in ways we cannot fully understand. If it affected Jesus so intensely in his humanity (v. 44), we can only guess how it affected the Father in his divinity.
Your anger and anguish are understandable and natural, and in my opinion not at all wrong. To be angry at God is hardly new to him. There is no emotion we experience that is foreign to him, because as believers he knows all we have ever known or will know. He experiences our future before we do, for he is already there. He is with us in everything – whether we feel or remember him or not. To tell God He does not meet our standards means nothing to him. To tell Him He does not meet his own standard is everything – it is exactly what he called out Job for doing.
Suffering is not simply about ‘more’ or ‘less’ – each of us suffers differently, uniquely, and God is with us in all of it.
“Christ died, not that men might not suffer, but that our sufferings might be like his.”
In the tenderest Grace;
H.T.
hey, this is all well and good, but how about the FREE WILL of the victims? would they choose to die or suffer as a result of the free will of others? is it all more ‘entertaining’ to heaven , that we are not robots without free will…all the drama must make for sizzling viewing?
Well, they have the free will to decide how they will respond to the situation–to grow bitter because of it or to thrive and grow stronger because of it. So that’s something.
“The last freedom of man is his ability to choose his own attitude amidst his cirvcmstances.” Viktor Frankl
THAT is a man who knew suffering. And went on to study it.
I have definitely struggled with all of these questions, and it has challenged my faith, made me angry at God at times, even made me struggle to believe at all. It has been helpful to read through these conversations to help me move forward, out of the mire of my own thoughts. I think the biggest things that I have taken from these conversations are: 1. We may not be able to come up with an acceptable answer to why innocent people suffer and are not rescued when they pray to God for help. The three explanations Brittney provided are helpful and can explain our suffering in certain situations, but not in every one. 2. Our outrage at these injustices in the world should motivate us to action. We must be the answer to people’s prayers. God has given the world us; we are here to help make things right to the extent of our abilities. In doing so, we find God’s purpose for our lives – His overarching plan for justice and mercy will be accomplished ultimately in the end because of his power and love (He will make all things right in the end), but until the end of the world He calls us to participate accomplish His purposes in the world. Why does He do this? To transform lives – we become more Christlike as we reach out to help others at the same time those whom we help will have better lives as a result of our choice to follow God’s desire for us to help them. I believe Satan uses our anger over the suffering of the world to stifle our actions; we become so stuck in our thoughts – our outrage over how God can let these things happen to us and to others – that we become angry with God and choose not to do anything about it. We can let ourselves fall out of love with God over this issue and stop going to church, start hating people instead of loving everyone. (We must choose to hate their sin, not them as people.) God has given us gifts – our brains, our resources, our talents, etc. and we must allow our response to the suffering of the world to be running toward those who are suffering and using our gifts to help them. Like Brittney said in one of her responses: “We may not be able to fully escape suffering on this side of Heaven, but we can make the most of the life we do have!” I say, “Amen” to that, and simultaneously utter a prayer for forgiveness for my past failures in being a part of God’s plan here on earth – choosing to pout in the corner, believing that God is not just and life is not fair. I know that when I choose to help those in need, I will find God there. (Our ultimate salvation does not come from this – for we can never do enough works to earn our salvation – but through good works, we become more Christ-like.) We begin to see others lives transformed and our lives become transformed as well. Relational Agape love both in relationship to God and with each other is why we were created. Let us all be inspired toward making the world a better place – one life at a time – in response to our outrage over suffering in the world, and in response to our knowledge of God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness and love, demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ.
Yes!! Love that perspective!! And on a related note, you might like this post of mine: Do Something.
Happy holidays! I think this is a very well written piece. I read several points that I haven’t thought about or discovered.
I would just like to add a scripture that I believe is another reason why we are allowed to suffer.
“For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory we must also share his suffering” – Romans 8:16 & 17
So, we suffer because Christ suffered. We are His heirs right down to being made in His image. And we are supposed to joy while in the midst of tribulation because He is closest to us in those times.
Furthermore, God’s Power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor. 12:10)
Thanks for all the info.
Well, that’s not a very happy reason! But it is one I didn’t think of before… thanks for sharing!
“For His spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are His children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share in His glory we must also share his suffering” – Romans 8:16 & 17.
Very well written piece. Just thought I’d share that scripture. We are heirs right down to being in His image.
Furthermore, we are to rejoice in tribulations for they bring us closer to God…..His Power and Grace are made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9 &10)
Thank you and Merry CHRISTmas!!
This article caught my eye….I work for an atheist boss, in fact I sit right next to him daily and he has often asked this question. He makes a lot of comments such as “it’s all a fairy tale like superman and santa clause”
I’ve told him many times that God has given us free will and that He is loving and does not punish as he reasons. When something bad happens, he’ll say that it’s “my god having a go at him”. No matter what you say, some people will only believe what they want to. I have just come to the realisation that all I can do is pray for him extra hard and much more than I did before.
I suppose you just have to decide if you want to get into a discussion or not. If you think he’s completely closed to the idea, I’d just ignore him. If you think he might listen, I’d arm myself with as much information as possible! My “Christianity: Fact or Fiction” series might be a good place to start.
I should say that I think your approach is excellent, Renita. Be an excellent employee and pray hard. Some people are so cynical and jaded that they need something to ‘wake up’ their heart to be open to real answers. God knows just where, when, and how to provide that something.
Thank you so much for sharing this post. May God bless you and your family.
You’re so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you for this!! I think this topic can (obviously) be a very hard one to answer, and even though I still struggle with it at times, I believe that it ultimately comes down to my own choice to “walk in faith” and believe that God is always there, in all we do, in all that happens in life…good and bad. It’s my choice to believe that my life is part of a bigger plan, my life is just a “piece to the puzzle,” if you will. Everything that happened in the bible happened over time, each “event” for a greater purpose, His purpose. It didnt make sense until Gods plan prevailed.
Ultimately, your Christian faith, or for some, lack of is your choice. You can question every detail in the bible, you can ask yourself how or why, but I know Gods greatness is far beyond our full understanding. I mean, how can we possibly understand a God…and His plans… who created everything with such magnificent detail? We can’t always understand ourselves, our lives, how can we fully understand His greatness.
One last thought… we are here for some GREAT reason, everything may not be GREAT now, or maybe not even in this life, but if you truely believe in God and His plan, then you sure can look forward to a GREAT eternal life with God.
*faith*hope*love*
Yes, I think understanding that we are just one small part of the picture makes trusting that much easier. Yes, it stinks when we struggle, but it isn’t all about us!
Hi, is God really to blame for all us suffering?
The first book of the Bible tells of an opposer of God who showed up in the garden of Eden. . He is described as “the serpent, ” but he was not a mere animal. The last book of the Bible identifies him as “the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth. “He is also called “the original serpent. “(Gen 3:1;Rev12:9)
By using lies and trickery, Satan the Devil caused Adam and Eve to disobey God. (Gen2:17; 3:6) As a result, they eventually died, as God had said they would if they disobeyed(Gen 3:17-19)
When Satan led Adam and Eve into sinning against God, he was really leading a rebellion. He was challenging God’s way of ruling. In effect, Satan was saying :”God is a bad ruler. He tells lies and holds back good things from his subjects. Humans do not need to have God ruling over them. They can decide for themselves what is good and what is bad. . And they will be better off under my rulership.”
Now were Adam and Eve right to believe Satan, who had never done anything good for them? Was it right for them to believe that God, who had given them everything they had, is a cruel liar? What would you have done?
It is good to think about these questions because each of us faces similar issues today. Yes, you have the opportunity to support God’s side in answer to in answer to Satan’s challenge. You can accept God as your Ruler and help to show that Satan is a liar. (Ps73:28; Prov27:11)Sadly, only a few among the billions of people in this world make such a choice. This raises an important question, Does the Bible really teach that Satan rules this world?
Jesus never doubted that Satan is the ruler of this world. In some miraculous way, Satan once showed once showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “Satan then promised Jesus : “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me. “(Matt4:8,9; Luke 4:5,6) Would that offer have been a temptation to Jesus if Satan was not the ruler of these kingdoms? Jesus did not deny that all these wordly governments were Satan’s.
Yet, nowhere does the Bible say that either God or Jesus is ruler of this world. In fact, Jesus specifically referred to Satan as “the ruler of this world. “(John 12:31;14:30;16:11) The Bible even refers to Satan as “the god of this system of things. “(2Corinthians 4:3,4; 1 John 5:19)
Well, even if Satan is the current ruler, it is only because God allows it. God could do anything He wants, including getting did of Satan, but He doesn’t
How many people, how many, many years have people prayed for peace, for healing, for an end to hate, greed, and inhumanity to end and God has not ended all the suffering of SO many. I know God has all the reasons for everything that happens, but I still struggle with all the suffering of innocent lives for reasons I can not understand. Why some suffer immeasurably and others who don’t even believe escape such horrid trials. I know we cannot lean to our own understanding but must trust God in ALL ways but it is so hard to see all the suffering in the world when so many have prayed so long. I know I CANNOT understand GODS ways with my very limited knowledge/intelligence. And I have a great distance to travel in my walk and need much forgiveness, I pray He will help us through this all until the perfect end to the sins of this world.
Hi all ,
I strongly recommend to read the conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch ( there is three books ) and you can find there answers on all your questions and on this question as well.
The answer on questions like this are available to our mind only if we have fully understanding of life on the Earth , our purpose and so on.
No need to understand everything ( as we cannot of course ) but some basic explanations are necessary ..
Life is not fair it is lawful . Once you realise this , you will find out that so many things depends from us not from Him.
We should be aware that we are human beings made from three parts : mind , soul and spirit . Our energy is so strong that can attract everything ( good and bad things ) .. think about that .
I just wanted to leave here comment about the book ( books in fact 🙂 )
It will be wonderful if conversations from the book is spread out …all that we want is world as better place , right ?
Kind regards and warm hugs for all of you
Thanks for the recommendation!
Ecclesiastes 9:11
From the same book: Eccl. 10:8-10
God is a god of law, not chance or luck. What appears to be random to us only appears so because we do not understand the principles at work or have all the information needed.
Hi, I’m not Christian, but I read into a lot of different religions in a comparative and metaphorical way. Your explanations are spot on!
Thanks 🙂
I love this article. I have long pondered this question because of all the suffering I have endured. And this is what I have learnt:
God doesn’t allow suffering. We do, and that’s my evidence of free will. Whatever situation you find yourself in, you have a CHOICE on how you will view it and experience it. Whatever your choice, there are lessons to be learned. I don’t believe God allows suffering because when we hurt, He hurts too, as the Good Book says.
Well He does *allow* it. He definitely has the power to stop it if He wanted to. He doesn’t always *cause* it though–those are two completely different things altogether. But yes, definitely comes with having free will. The choices we make aren’t always the best ones, and we all suffer the consequences, even God.
m and to make us more Christ-like. And if it takes a tragedy for that to happen–well, then, honestly I don’t blame Him! But, personally, I try to live the life He wants for me anyways, so He doesn’t have to use a serious wake-up call to get my attention! Forgive me for not getting it!! If God caused tragedy to happen to us how can we call upon him and trust his help when we are taught that he wants it to teach us a lesson and draw us closer and make us more like Him. It just doesn’t compute for me.. He loves us even gave his only son to die on the cross shed his blood for my forgiveness. Wake up call Christ died so you don’t have to worry when life on earth happens.
What a lot of people forget too is that Satan is a very powerful adversary of God, and he causes all of these bad things to happen in this world. And he loves it when people blame God for something he caused. Yes, God could stop these things, but as you pointed out, God gave people freedom of will and so with the choices they make, make it so much easier for Satan to put his hands on them.
My daughter was in a motorcycle accident almost 13 years ago and she had a lot of brain damage, was in a vegetative state, etc. But honestly I never ever blamed God. And you know, 9 months after the accident, and after the doctors said she would never ever EVER come out of the vegetative state, the nursing home she was in called me and told me she had written her name. So I went to see her, and she HAD come out of that vegetative state, she knew who she was, who we were, etc. But because of the brain damage she sustained, she cannot speak, and because she broke her back in several places she cannot walk or move her right arm at all. And while she isn’t where we would like her to be, God still brought her back to us and it has taught us a lot.
Anyway, I am a great believer in God and always will be, through the good and bad.
Wow, what a story! That must have been tough to go through, even still. Thank goodness God works all things out–even when we don’t know what the plan is at the time!
You often here why God? Even from non Christian that “don’t believe” when something bad happens…. Go figure 🙊
Well said AMEN
I’m amazed by the kind of responses posted here. I do believe that people in pain get comfort when they pray to god, hoping that he would listen to the prayers and so on. The same rule applies in all religions.
The irony of the matter is that – Jeremiah 29:11 was exclusively for Isralites. Where God tells them i have a plan for you. Plans to prosper not to harm you. End of the day, our Lord Jesus himself claimed that he the god of Israel and did not have plans to amass the world which Paul did through missionary work. Anyways, thats old story.
Can someone answer – There are thousands of children getting abused, raped in this world every day. How would a child in that situation choose a path to save himself or herself? You would Satan is playing the trick. Ok, but who is there to protect the child in that situation. If the wrong doer is the son of Satan, obviously the child/victim is the son/daughter of god. Who should win here? If god has a plan, why wouldn’t god help the child in this situation? Children do not even know what the culprit is going to do with them and cries out loud, seeking someone’s help.
Thousands of children die everyday in this world out of starvation and bad nutrition. Ideally we should thanking our parents for feeding us atleast twice a day. I do not believe god has anything do with it.
Today, a young girl was brutally raped and murdered. He was not only murdered but 30 injuries, pierced her chest with a knife, struck hard with an iron rod at her genital and big blow on her head. eventually she died. The girl could not escape. So was this also a plan for this young girl. She did not choose to die like that!!!
Im a catholic and i do take my wife and children to church every sunday. But these questions are really causing hinderence in my mind…
Can someone respond and enlighten me?
I know–it’s absolutely heartbreaking. I have a different article that may help with this particular question. You can find it here: Do Something
I think God knew before the creation of the world that man would fall, and so He planned Redemption right from the beginning. God is the Alpha and the Omega, right? We can’t think the way He does. Our minds are limited, but God is omniscient. He must have had it all planned out from the start. I have a lot of faith and I believe that He will help each of us to better understand his ways if we place our trust in Him and let our faith grow. I think it will be so cool when we get to find out the answers to all of our questions, but that will be at the end of our lives here on earth. In the meantime, we must have faith like the faith of a child.
Yes! I really hope we do get to find out all of the details someday. Wouldn’t that be awesome to go “Oh! So THAT’S why that happened! It all makes sense now!”
Loved your response. I guess I pretty much feel the same as you about pain and suffering. Sometimes our choices bring on life changing consequences. Sometimes I think tragedy happens so others who may not know our loving Savior can learn more. About Him by how we handle difficulties in our life.
They do! And we will never fully know the reasons and outcomes of everything on this side of Heaven. So for now, we just have to trust.
Why does G-d allow suffering?
Please consider Luke 13.
1) First it is the occult – …told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices – they were murdered and had their blood used in an occult ceremony, but Jesus cautions us, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
2) Chaos in the world, unleashed as you said, from the start all was well but after ‘the fall’ chaos came into our world. – verse 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them (building collapse) —do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
3) Men not doing good work – the car crash from brakes not repaired well – plane crash because of faulty work… verse 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” So we are to get right and do good quality work.
FINALLY 4) the ‘enemy’… verse 10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. (as soon as Jesus sees her He moves to heal her) 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
BONUS – bad church leadership… 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (She was a woman in Church and leadership did not help her and were consumed with their rules and Jesus healed her).
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Yep – all very valid reasons! There really isn’t one simple answer, unfortunately.
Brittiny,
I find your answer to that age old question about why God lets bad things happen to be a basis of reality. After all who is the potter versus the clay. You are so right about drawing closer to God when things get challenging in our lives as this is life. Like you
I do not believe God causes bad in our lives rather is there when this happens so why reject His comfort, wisdom and guidance. Conversely it is the opposite of God who would offer up/ influence us towards discouragement, emotional Reactivity, and an ineffective response to difficulty and pain as it happens.
Nancy
Faith Communiry Nurse
Thanks, Nancy!
Brittany, I just came across your article. I read it closely and below are my thoughts on it.
After that, I offer my answer to the “suffering” question.
Jim Grant
————————————–
Your Reason Given #1 – God Created Us with Free Will; We Have the Ability to Reject God’s Plan
My Rebuttal – It seems that your explanation of the reason nets out to this. “God gave man free will. Therefore, some people harm other people. Therefore, people suffer. – – – Maybe, but that doesn’t explain “why” God set it up this way and “why” he allows the suffering. – – – Your explanation doesn’t seem to answer the question. It only describes a “consequence” of God giving man free will, not “why”.
Reason Given #2 – God’s Ultimate Goal is Different Than Ours
My Rebuttal – It seems that your explanation nets out to this: “God’s goal is to get us to come closer to him. If we have to suffer for that to happen, God is OK with that.” – – – That doesn’t sound like a loving God. He sounds very egotistical. It’s all about him. It isn’t too far from human tyrants who want their subject to obey them so much that they will torture them to get the obedience. – – – The explanation also implies that God is not all-powerful, if the only way he could achieve his goal was to put people in a position in which they would suffer.
Reason Given #3 – God’s Perspective is Far Greater Than Ours
My Rebuttal – It seems that your explanation nets out to this: “If something tragic happens to you, keep the faith. We do not know what is best.” Why keep the faith? Faith in what? A God who will not protect us? – – – If my suffering is “for the best”, who am I sacrificing my well-being for? Who is more important then me?” – – – Again, the explanation also implies that God is not all-powerful, if the only way he could achieve what is “best” was to put people in a position in which they would suffer.
Allow me to offer my answer to the question, “Why Does God Allow Suffering?”
It starts with the belief that God is all-powerful, loving, and rational (amongst other characteristics).
Then comes another question, “If God can take us to Heaven after we die, why didn’t he just start us out in Heaven and leave us there, rather than put us into this world where most (all?) of us will suffer at one time or another?”
That is an extremely important question. I believe that until a person has a good answer for that question, his answer to the “suffering” question is at least inadequate, if not outright wrong.
Some people reading this will say, “It is not for us to know what is God’s plan?” Well, Brittany said, “God’s ultimate goal is to bring us closer to Him.” So, it seems she believes she knows what is God’s plan and I suspect others reading this do, too. (We might all be wrong, but many of us think we have a pretty good idea what his plan is.)
Here is my answer as to what is God’s plan.
Accepting that God is all-powerful and loving, he would want to do anything for us / give us anything on our behalf. He could have started us out in Heaven and left us there and that would have been perfect for us – – – as least from our perspective. However, as God is also rational, he realized that, if he did that, something would be missing – – – and what would have been missing was an opportunity for us to become God-like. (Brittany said that part of God’s ultimate goal was to “make us more Christ-like”. I’m saying God has given us the opportunity to become Christ-like or God-like. He’s not trying to make us God-like.). – – – If God makes us God-like, it is not as valuable as if we make ourselves God-like. – – – A thing has much more value if we earn it, rather than having it given to us. An “earned” value raises us to a higher level than a “given” value. (A rationale human parent is the same way as God. While a parent wants to give his child everything, he recognizes that there are some to many things that the child will not value, unless he earns it himself.)
What are some of the ways we become Christ-like? We should:
* Create and nurture.
* Express love and compassion.
* Serve other people.
* Live in a state of gratitude and forgiveness.
* Move to a state of mercy and grace.
and, make suffering go away (or at least reduce it).
So, my answer to the “suffering” question is that God allows it, so that we can make it go away and, by dong so, become more God-like.
I hope some readers find these ideas to be helpful and embrace them.
Thanks Brittany & Jim for sharing your viewpoints.
Jim, your viewpoint is aligning (in my opinion) more with the spirituality teachings.
I love the spirituality teachings because it is always saying:
– We are created with the ability to grow & develop and become God-like
– God (Universe) loves us tremendously – there are no tests of obedience, no tests of tolerance, nothing like that — simply no intention for suffering, and certainly not making suffering available as a gate to development & growth
– Pain and suffering will occur, and if we are rise above it then we can develop to become more God-like — an expression of unconditional love and compassion
I totally agree with Brittany that we are by-design created as free-will beings, and that is what allows us to create (become God-like) beautiful and powerful things — like the music, the art, the airplanes, the skyscrapers, the medicine surgical techniques, … only to name a few. This free-will because of its nature to create, it can create beauty and it can equally create harm — like nuclear bombs, chemical weapons, … to name a few.
So here is where I personally struggle — the “All Powerful” God…
God, I totally understand the “Free-will” and I appreciate and respect that. I find myself humbled in honor to have been created with the ability to create. So appreciative beyond words.
But I also find myself agonizing over the kids that get abused, tortured, raped and killed. What free-will can help them when they are so young and helpless?
I find myself aching with sorrow over all the acts of inhumanity around the world, whether it is behind prison-bars (justified by law), or in areas of war & conflict, or in poor areas where crime & savageness & ‘Eat or Be Eaten’ is the language, or in areas of genocides and methodical killings.
I can’t help but look at the sky and ask “Why?”
“Why God? Why do you allow it? Why?
Do you allow it so that dozens of years down the road, we will look at history and feel ashamed and correct what led to such awful things? What about those who paid the price?
Why do you allow it?
How can I trust that ‘WITH GOD, ALL IS WELL’?
How can I trust that ‘I MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH, BUT I KNOW IT IS FOR MY OWN BEST AND YOUR PLAN FOR ME IS FAR GREATER THAN MY SWEETEST DREAMS’?
How can I trust that I won’t be one of the people who are meant to pay the price, so that younger generations in the future can learn from my journey?
And if I am meant to pay the price and I don’t know it, then how is this FREE-WILL?
I want to feel God’s LOVE.
I want to feel safe in God’s plan.
I want to trust that ‘ALL WILL TURN OUT WELL’
How?
I think it’s important to understand — God grieves over these same things too. And He did do something to help — He created us with the ability to help. So if we want to ask God “Why??” — He could ask us the exact same question.
We too have the ability to help. Are we? If not, where is our time and money going instead?
Jim, Moly, well said.
Ah, god-like. Interesting.
I once knew a man like this.
He grew up with nothing, abused, abondanded, watched his family and mother absorb similar punishment. He had little guidance or direction. Practically every reason to be infuriated, and bitter.
But yet he was one of the most compassionate and bright spirted men you could ever want to meet in this life. His presence was warm, heartfelt, and genuine. He was smart and insightful. He left his self very vulnerable. He loved to inspire people. He loves his children. He adored his wife of over 20 years. He wanted to break the shackles of a long history of sexual and physical abuse in his family. He once gave an old lady he barely knew a large sum of money because she was heating her house with an oven. He loved to make people laugh… so hard gripping thier ribs.
He truly went out of his way for people.
Even those he hardly knew.
Practically out of nowhere… bizarre events surrounded him. One after another. I won’t explain as it’s too much – but what this man went through was simply uncalled for and it left him wounded and broken. It was the last thing he needed or deserved. He’s not even the same person and when I see him I see some of the saddest eyes. He’s bewildered but tries to hide it.
It’s gut wrenching because inside I know he must feel like he was ran over as if his life, sacrifice, hopes, dreams, blood sweat and tears mean little to nothing. If anyone deserved to be showered with blessings it should have been him – but yet instead was railroaded.
If this man isn’t god-like I don’t know WHAT IS. In my view, he more than *earned* his way.
My heart aches for him. It is ABSURD situations like this, that make me seriously wonder not just WHY, but WHAT is the point… and make death appear very comforting.
Hi Jim.
I do appreciate your critique; it is more honest and sharp than most things I read on these subjects.
I will take your conclusion as far as ‘God-like’ means what Christians mean when they say ‘Christ-like’; that is, like God in character attributes, not in ability. For if an eternal, sovereign (i.e. causally unrestrained) being created all other beings, how could he possibly -=create=- another being identical to himself? It is self-contradictory.
As for your rebuttals:
#3 makes sense. God does not always shelter and protect us from everything. If one thing is clear from the Judeo-Christian writings, it is that God is not an insurance agent (not in the material or experiential sense, anyway).
#2 – If you understand the history of the Jewish nation, esp. the period of the Kings, you must understand that God doesn’t have an ego in the human sense, or there likely wouldn’t be any Jews today. And now I must jump to
#1 because the answer intertwines with #2. What God’s purpose in creating at all was, if He is indeed sovereign and wholly complete in Himself, is not something we are likely to grasp in this universe. But if we human beings really do have the high, lofty destiny that you indicate, then the consequences of our actions have a (I am using a mathematically rigorous term here) Chaotic impact on that destiny. That is, in my view, the real reason that God is so adamant about obedience; not because it serves His (hypothetical) self-interest, but because it serves OUR interests (and, indirectly, His interest in us). An omnipotent, all-wise creator, who sees “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:9-10) would be, without qualifier, justified in shaping our lives in a way that draws us, ultimately, toward the high goal of being “made in his image” rather than robotically rigorous outcomes.
And if we are to be ‘like god’, isn’t an infinitesimal portion of that ‘unconditioned freedom’ part of the package?
In Grace and Truth;
H.T.
I agree. Spread the word of warning about going ahead of God, please. It’s in an ebook for students called ‘What If I Go?’ and raises awareness of grooming.It is fiction based upon truth.
The aim is to empower girls and disrupt the perpetrator’s activity. Thanks for your help.
And what about God punishing us very good innocent people and never punishes the very bad people?
The problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes that God only punishes good people and that He never punishes bad people, and that simply isn’t true. It also assumes that we all deserve nothing less than “happily ever after.”
But the truth is – this human world IS fallen. We are all GOING to have hardships at some point or another. The fact that God has spared SO many of us (good and bad people alike) is the real miracle and the real question. Why spare us at all? Why give us SO many good things when He didn’t have to? Because He loves us.
Pardon me: I’m a late-middle-aged male. My direct answer to this question, “Why does God allow suffering?”, is not that we are not informed [and we are not owed His answers–ever]… we cannot know; we cannot comprehend.. the purpose(s) of God.
I struggled with this for most of my sixty-something years. The biggest struggle was, “Why did God let my first three children die?” After the last three and college-at-night, I entered a period of period of ruminating and contemplating about it: largely, subconsciously. I was shocked to discover an UNexpected divine gift to me, after eleven years, that God gave me the confidence and conviction that, in my words, “There is no malevolence within the Almighty.”
This is not to say that I would not have preferred otherwise. Indeed, much of my life was like that, though the early deaths of the first three… shook me as none other. My mother did not love me, I doubted that my father did. One sibling of the four did love me unconditionally. Yet, from this and other misfortunes / struggles, I had to wonder.. whether God didn’t love me, either.
And, yet, even having written this, I know that others have suffered more than I. For me, it was more of a case of a fairly-long list of ‘reversals’. We, as humans, want to be the change agents for ourselves—we do not want ‘outside things’ to change us. But what we want, what we prefer.. is simply not possible to be even the general case. On top of this, we notice other Christians that do not suffer. It seems rational for us to believe that God “should” distribute good and bad things for people.. more or less ‘evenly’. I remember feeling a sense of injustice.. that God would deprive me of intrinsically-innocent things… all the while noticing that others did receive them. Some even seemed to never have any ‘losses’. This, however, is an attitude that, while encouraged by the American ideal of ‘fairness’, it’s actually an attitude that holds forth the idea that God exists to serve us. No; it’s precisely the other way around. It’s not easy: that I can guarantee all doubters.
Will I ever know God’s reasons? I don’t think so. He might…. but by the time He might, it likely won’t matter then. Soli Deo Gloria.
Aww I’m so sorry for your loss 🙁 I love how you said though: “This, however, is an attitude that, while encouraged by the American ideal of ‘fairness’, it’s actually an attitude that holds forth the idea that God exists to serve us. No; it’s precisely the other way around.” — That’s such a great point!
Believe me sweetheart I’d love to believe all this. I don’t blame ‘god’ either.
But here’s the dilemma:
We are people with indescribable feelings such as love and compassion.
We are not machines.
The reality we know and live in NOW is practically asking the vast majority of us to live like machines that we are not built like.
To turn off the very nature of ourselves our innocence just to survive and get by.
To say that the ‘type’ of tragedies your speaking of may happen for the sake of ‘wake up calls’ or to bring us closer to “god” just doesn’t gel with me for too many reasons to mention here.
When I see the innocent observants get ran over as if they, their lives, their blood sweat and tears mean nothing… that crosses a serious line with me.
Most of all…
It’s what it does to your overall perspective. A deflated perspective that you must carry with you and your days.
When I see or read of certain situations I start to get the sense of a devaluement of human life.
When I see life that is supposedly “precious” suddenly flicked like a toothpick, or when people die in degrading senseless ways… I just don’t know what to make of that going forward. Not only is it hard to watch, but I ask was that truly necessary?
There’s some things you can not dismiss as “it’s not for us to know or understand but yet later we might” etc etc.
Not exactly inspiring.
How can I tell my own children with supreme confidence they are ‘special’ ? To keep their innocence? what’s right from wrong? That their life has significant meaning? How can you feel happy having a healthy sense of entitlement when others are being torn to pieces? I don’t want my children to live like machines.
I missing something here?
I think it all comes down to your perspective though. Because you can watch the news or read the newspaper and hear all kinds of stories, but two people reading the same thing will have two very different responses. And we all have a choice in how we will respond. Yes, it could turn you into a machine, but it certainly doesn’t have to. You still have the choice to trust God or not — even when you don’t understand. That’s your choice to make.
Yeah unfornunality my perspective changed when I seen obscene things happen to truly worthy people. Seeing the helplessness and despair in their eyes.
After awhile I lost my ability to see reason and a sense of purpose. Made me feel like nothing really matters or why I am fighting.
I can’t see people getting kicked especially when they are already down. The sort of thing you couldn’t help even if you wanted too.
Heather, I hardly ever bring this up, because most people react rather than try to understand it, but since he is named in Hebrews 11, go and read the story of Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7). A story of bad things happening to a good person if ever there was one. And yet he is named by the author of Hebrews as one of those who lived by faith. How could the life of such a man be ‘made right’? – Unless there is indeed a day of reckoning, where God in Justice sets right every wrong and untangles every tragedy? Jephthah’s story, from my point of view, doesn’t end at 12:7; it ends when he meets the God to whom he was unwaveringly faithful – and is reunited with his daughter. Oftentimes our pain does not allow us to see beyond the present tragedy and injustice. God doesn’t not have a good ending just because we can’t turn or change the pages of the storybook.
The enemy is not outcomes – God handles outcomes. The enemy is apathy and despair.
“If you lose everything
you can begin again
but what can replace
your will to win?”
To All – Thanks so much for sharing your beliefs, insights, and heart-felt stories.
I just went back and read all the posts by everyone. There were many great comments and thoughts. However, there were as many questions posed as there were answers. Also, it strikes me that, as is typical with such conversations, there were a lot of comments that got off-track. The fundamental question, “Why does God allow suffering?” is still hanging out there.
Unlike some people, I believe God’s answer is understandable to us mere humans (God is rational). I believe God’s answer to any one of the questions that people raised does not contradict or refute the answer to any other question. In short, we can understand God’s plan (if he were to explain it so us), it is a rational, and God is benevolent.
So, I challenge all readers and posters of this blog article to state their answer to the fundamental question. (To say, “we can’t know for sure” or “it is not for us to know” or some variation thereof is not necessary or helpful.)
I stated my answer in my post of November 16, 2016 in the paragraph starting with “Accepting that God is”. It goes like this.
* If God can take us to Heaven after we die, he could have started us out in Heaven and left us there. (You believe that God is all-powerful. right?)
* In that case we never would have suffered. (You believe that God is benevolent and Heaven is a great place, right?)
* Instead, he decided to put us here in the world where many innocent and good people will suffer. Why would that be good for us? (It seems like God needed a really good and benevolent answer for that question.)
* Well, apparently God concluded that there was something we couldn’t get unless he put us in this world. (Again, God is benevolent.) What could that be?
* I suggest the answer is the opportunity for us to become God-like by our own volition and it is for us to make the suffering go away.
Finally, I would also appreciate some response to my answer above. I can’t claim nor prove that it is the right answer. I also recognize that you may not believe it, but can you refute it? By “refute”, I mean (1) cite some hard evidence or reliable facts that are known and believed to be true by the vast majority of people that contradicts my answer or (2) Do you see a logical inconsistency in my answer? or (3) There is some question that people have raised in prior posts that my answer to the fundamental questions doesn’t answer. – – – In other words, “the” answer (whatever it actually is) must answer all related questions.
If you can’t, refute it, why don’t you adopt it?