Christians and Muslims, why is this such an unhappy, unfair and cruel world?

Question

Think of innocent babies dying of cancer,malaria etc. Thousands of daily accidents to children, indiscriminate destrucion and death from volcanos, tsunamis etc.

The Christians will probably say it is God punishng us for our original sin! What? Punishing us for 180,000 years...? What kind of monster are you describing? And was not Christ supposed to have paid with his life for that? Nailed alive on a cross. What an incredibly cruel way to treat one's son!

I do not know the Muslim explanation and I would like to have their views Also those of other religions. They cannot be as illogical as the Christian ones, but one never knows.

Answer 1

i do respect ur feelings. but ALLAH is not unjust, and he dont punish the innocent human beings,though it appears to us quite brutal.
a small kid dying due to any reason is innocent and pure of sins and ALLAH will give them a place in HEAVEN.

Answer 2

Dear Sister,
For every death you mention, there are a billion more lives. True everyone must die, but if you look and compare the small moment of death and compare it to the many years of living, how can you not see that there is more life and less death.

True there are Tsunamies, catastrophes and deaths. But most who die are older than a few seconds, many are old people, some of them are indeed very old, who perhaps enjoyed a good life on this Earth.

Life and death is a part of the cycle. If we should not die, we will be so worn out and miserable. Death in a way is a relief. True if you see the death of a child or a baby, it does pain us. BUT, most babies do not die off. If they did, we would not have a human race.

OUR WORLD has been given problems so that we can overcome. If we did not have disease, much herbal knowledge of medicines would have remained hidden. Catastrophes make people explore and not be lazy. Every seeming evil also has a positive side to it. Even Volcanos cause new life to rise. Even the animals that kill the grazers, cause improvement in the quailty of those who survive.

Look at the deeper meaning of life, and you will find it wonderful. Do not look only at the negative. Look at the positive in everything, even in tragedies there are positive dimensions. One has to discover them.

We all live and take from this Earth. If we lived for ever, we will eat up all good things and leave refuse all over. The Good Lord has made us so that we take for a while, but even in death, we give food to the worms in the earth. New plants take nutrition from our bodies and rise again. The cycle of life is ever emerging in new ways. We have to look!!

We are all alive while we live, and become the resource for other chains of life when we die. RISE above and see the whole system at work. Everyone is taking and giving. There is balance!! Praise be to the ALmighty Allah.

If the air would arise a hundred feet, we would all be dead in less than half an hour. It has never happened. It could, but does not. the Mercy of the ALMIGHTY is all prevailing.

Let us not focus on the occasional volcano, tsunami or earthquake or hurricane. Look at so many living vibrant lives inspite of the occasional catastrophe, which is really an opportunity for the good to help the needy, and mankind to be bound closer and tighter in knowing that we all have common perils. See, every negative has a positive and vice versa.

YOU just have to discover and enjoy it. May we live in peace and may we have the spirit to help the needy, Ameen.

Answer 3

This is such an unhappy and cruel world because Satin makes it that way. God is by no means a monster. Original sin is what allowed satin to get to the human race, and yes, we have had to deal with it since. Happy note!!! Jesus did die to take the sins of the world, but if you don't know him and follow him, you don't get to share in that happiness. Some things happen as lessons, and warnings, other things happen due to the evil in the world that the human race keeps doing. Once again, God can take a bad thing and turn it around for the good, again you must be a follower of Christ to even understand this concept. I think Muslim faith would have similar explanation, as will most FAITHS/Religions. If you are Atheist, this all means nothing to you, and that is truly sad.

Answer 4

There is a mystical view of life, taught by some saints and sages through the centuries, that suggests the purpose of life is ultimately to realize that the only true reality is the eternal reality, transcendent of matter and time. So, all experience in this world is designed to raise the individual soul's consciousness, learning love and compassion under the harshest of circumstances. They say the world was designed to be a place of conflict, that even though everything seems out of control, the Soul is never really separated from God.

By extension: Don't worry about the other guy-- that's out of your control. Get yourself straight, find your own peace. Help where you can, through encouragement, instruction, or by being an example. When your personal world is in order, it spreads out a little around you. That is an exalted form of service.

Answer 5

I know its hard to take, and its hard to explain. God is not punishing us, and the world is not 180,000 years or more old. Its about 5,000 years old. The Bible says that God created a perfect environment, ie, no sickness, no pain, no disease, no hatred, no war. It was man that messed everything up by rebelling against God. You see, God did create us with the ability to decide whether to obey and love him or not, but man(Adam) chose to disobey. That act alone is what sent the world spiraling into this mess. You should be mad at Satan, not God, for it is ultimately his wickedness that caused man to sin. yet Satan loves the fact that you are blaming God because he HATES God with every fiber of his being. How do we reconcile this? Be reconciled to God. Yes, I agree crucifying your own Son is cruel. But you see, if God chose not to sacrifice His Son, then you would be required to pay for all the sins you have committed. So in a sense, for that moment in time, God chose to love mankind at the expense of his own Son.

How do you become reconciled to God?

1. Realize you are a sinner Romans 3:10

2. Know there is a price to pay for your sin Romans 6:23

3. Ask Jesus to have mercy on you and save you from the sin debt that you owe Romans 5:8; 10:9,10,13
4. Accept His gift of eternal life and rejoice that some day you will live in that world that God promises to anyone that will come to Him where there is no disease, no death, no sorrow, no war, etc...

Trust God's Word. Read it. Pray. Go to a Bible believing Church.

Answer 6

Seems to me one think that is certain (according to Buddha) life is a struggle, and death is inevitable. In the mean time you make the best of it you can.

Religion (different from spirituality) has been a problem in my book for quite a while. I am a spiritual, believe in a higher being, and also believe religions of the world have been ways for people to control and manipulate other for monetary or political gains.

There are "C"hristians on the right that tell you if you don't believe in Jesus you'll go to hell, there are christians on the left that don't have a clue.

The muslim "faith" is not a faith at all but an ideology based on three treatise of their system is convert, enslave or kill. I cotton to any particular religion.

Jesus's death on the cross was supposed to be fullfillment of prophecy in the book of Isaiah. Some left leaning religious scholars speculate he specifically did thing to fullfill these prophesy and set his own fate.

You truly ought to read a book Called "When bad things happen to good people" by Harold Kushner, your question seems more like a request for bigger answers then you can probably get from Yahoo postings.

We all struggle with who we are and how we fit.

I will give you a bit of advise.. from an old poem from a Lutheran theologican in the 1920s in germany..

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Answer 7

(Disclaimer: This question is not addressed to me -- I am an atheist.)

To answer the question -- there is no god. That kind of explains everything fairly easily. However, it's important to look on the bright side of life as well. Living in a 1st-world country today is incredibly, incredibly comfortable and easy as compared to life in tribes. Diseases like Polio have been completed erradicated, and many millions of people get relief from suffering through medication and medical marvels like fake limbs. Welfare, social security, and retirement funds are all things in place so that the weak and elderly are able to survive. Mankind has built itself an empire to live in, and although not always perfect (we seem to love to kill each other trying to prove which imaginery friend in the sky is more powerful), we have come a LONG way from the ancient times of no plumbing or medicine. There is no god, but that doesn't mean there's no meaning or happiness in life.

Answer 8

I'm a muslim, but i'm talking on behalf of christians too.

I dont know much, but this is what i heard

The world is not our eternal home. Life is a test for us, so it takes tolerance, faith, and worship. We have to think about the afterlife, know that this is just a test and if we pass this test we will be rewarded with paradise, and ..yunno vice versa...

The other thing, i think is, its probably a punishment or sign because the earth has become a very horrible place and we need to work together, and live peacefully regardless of our differences.

wars, killing, moral evil etc

using the earths natural resources in a wrong or uncontrolled way.

I wouldnt really go for my second thought, but the first one about life being a test, yeah thats it.

Answer 9

Violence created the world if you believe in the big bang theory ,the world is a violent place ie volcanoes mud slides floods etc. the world exists is polar opposites ,without violence there would be no peace. The pain and suffering that happens to children ,innocents in this world should proof to us all how much we need to do to and make it urgent . Has man created all of the things that happens to children ? Through environment nurture and community or lack there of, i wouldn't like to put a percentage on it but it seems to me if we were all thinking normally we would help those that need help regardless of race creed gender religion or social status but we are all so concerned with ourselves and material gain or greed or lust we are failing to see whats right in front of us that we could help with. we would then become part of the solution not part of the problem.

Answer 10

But, then again, wouldn't you be inclined to agree with me when I say that most of the things mentioned above could simply be the result of HUMAN ignorance and stupidity and laziness. We have a cure for malaria, and we have treatments for cancer, and we grow plenty of food, and we have lots of money and clothing and blankets and what-not. But what, then, is the real problem? We're too greedy and self-righteous to solve the problems. We eat most of the food produced worldwide in America, and we are incredibly wasteful. We like having hundreds of pairs of shoes, and lavish clothes, and all of the comfort we can handle. And we are far too lazy and ignorant to get out there and help those poor people! We need to be our brothers' keepers.

And natural disasters are also tied in to human suffering. God gave us logical minds to use, and we know where storms and hurricanes and earthquakes occur. But we still build our homes there! I'm not blaming the people who live there, but I just want to know why we feel the urge to leave a safe place like Wyoming almost empty, but we pack hundreds of millions of people onto Japan, a tiny chain of islands highly-prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, and other disasters.

Answer 11

A spiritual crisis is never easy...

I do not consider myself a Christian, Muslim, or any other religion. I do believe in a higher power, however, and these are my thoughts:

This is a frequently asked philosophical question: why is there suffering in the world? It's always worse when babies and children suffer, and harder to accept, but I believe that no matter who is doing the suffering, there are two main reasons for it.

This world survives on balance and in order for good to exist, unfortunately, so must evil. I believe that we are here on earth as a test of character. When someone else is suffering, I believe it is because human beings need an opportunity to show our love, generosity and compassion. When we, ourselves, are suffering, it is a test to see how strong we can become and whether or not we can overcome our problems.

Either way, we have a responsibility to ourselves and to our "fellow man" to not overburden others with our problems (a choice, obviously not so open to children and babies) and to use our gifts and resources to reach out and help others in need.

As for Christ dying on the cross, I am 33 years old and I have only recently begun to understood what that means. Jesus, according to my understanding, did this willingly in order to help the people understand what God had been trying to tell them for thousands of years.

There is a story that I heard many years ago around Christmastime about a man who did not understand the life of Jesus. His family had gone to Christmas Eve mass and he stayed home alone when it began to snow. In the midst of this huge snowstorm, he heard a soft thumping against the side of the house. When he went outside, he saw several birds trying to fly in the snowstorm, but falling and hitting the house. He tried everything he could to get the birds to follow him to the shelter of his barn, but the birds didn't understand. He thought "If I could only become one of them. Then I could make them understand." and then he finally understood what the message of Jesus was.

Jesus dying on the cross was a symbol of God's promise that everyone, not just the Jews, but everyone who chose to follow God's teachings could go to heaven.

When you think about it, Jesus had to have had some pretty incredible faith that everything was going to happen the way it was supposed to.

Anyway, these are simply my thoughts on the subject, borne out of many years of study and experience. I hope it helps.

Best of everything to you!