Is there really a God?

Question

If God is supposed to be EVERYTHING... all seeing, hearing, knowing, merciful, just plain everything... then why is there suffering, poverty, destruction, war, disease, famine, rape, murder, etc? Huh? Why is God so reveared as being a savior and reveared for being so good to man, that He created in his own image, and reveared for putting us here, and reveared for supposed "miracles???" Why do people worship someone that is only WRITTEN to have exsisted??? Why is God thought of as a "God?" Why would God create something that would be meant as a way to kill other of God's creations? Why wouldn't God make the world a happy, peaceful place... instead of the one we have now? Why do other religons have different "Gods" that say different things from any other God? Why does one "God" tell someone to crash a plane into a building that holds a ton of people killing those said people? Why are we the way we are?

I want hard facts... not just opinions. I already have opinions.

Answer 1

So you want facts. Well you got a lot of opinions, some facts, and some misguided information. So let's tackle this one at a time - You asked a lot of questions, and I'll really try to answer them.

Question 1 - There is pain and suffering in the world because man made a choice - a really bad choice - but a choice just the same. God said (I'm paraphrasing here) "Don't eat that stuff, it's mine. If you eat it you're going to die". So why did God give Adam and Eve choice? Because love can't be forced. God wants you to return his love, but He's not going to force you to love Him - that would be really unfair to you. I noticed that you seem to be angry about what you perceive to be a number of injustices in the world. Take note of some of the positive things that God put in the world that are listed in some of the other answers. Yes there is evil, but that evil comes from wanting to live our lives in a way that God says is destructive. I'm kind of curious, but have you read the Bible - not glanced through it, but really read it? God's love and goodness are revealed in so many places, that it's really hard NOT to be convinced that He loves us - which brings us to question 2

Question 2 - God is revered as a savior because that's exactly what He is. Fact number one - Jesus is an historical figure. To deny the historical existence of Jesus is to deny the accuracy of the historical record. If you deny the historical record then your questions are meaningless rambling, and you should quit reading this answer now. Now that we've established that argument let's look at fact 2. Jesus claimed to be God. I AM was the name given to Moses before he returned to Egypt. Jesus said I AM the Truth. I AM the Way. I AM the Bread of Life. When the Sanhedrin asked Jesus point blank his response was "I AM" This is why the Chief priest tore his robe and this is why Jesus was crucified. He claimed to be God, and that's blasphemy...unless of course Jesus WAS God, in which case He was telling the truth. (Just an aside - if Jesus was lying, then He was the most evil man on the planet, because His teachings would have prevented countless people from going to Heaven. It also would have contradicted everything that Jesus taught. Frankly the argument that Jesus lied makes no sense to me at all). Fact 3 - the lives of the disciples were radically changed after Jesus crucifiction and resurrection. All of them began to boldly preach the gospel after they had seen the risen Christ. All of them died for their beliefs, and no one recanted their testimony. It seems to me that if Jesus was less than Divine, all of these early Church martyrs would be crazy as well. How many people do you know who are willing to die for a lie? Fact 4 - the resurrection happened, and Jesus appeared to over 500 people before pentecost. (Please see the arguments above about the historical record if you're having problems with this statement). Fact 5 the gospels and Paul's letters were written relatively soon after resurrection. If there were disputes about the facts presented in those texts there were plenty of people alive who could have disputed them, and put an end to the Jewish heresy known as Christianity.

Question 3 - Yes, God is written about, but evidence of his existence is overwhelming just in that text. Fact 1 - the Bible (Old and New Testament) has over forty different authors who wrote over two thousand year period, yet there are no contradictions in the message or the theology. How did that happen, unless the scripture was divinely inspired? Fact 2 - The Bible is the only holy text in the world that makes predictions (and has them fulfilled outside the time period of the author who made them). Fact 3 - the events in the Bible have been corroborated by numerous historical resources outside of the Bible (the existence of the Hittite civilization comes to mind here).

Combine these facts with the facts listed above about the historical record and even YOU have to admit that God exists.

Question 4 - God is God because of what He's done. Fact 1 - God spoke and the universe leapt into existence. OK, here we begin to tread on questions of faith. Do you trust science, which posits that the Big Bang lead to the creation of the universe? Has science ever contradicted itself? Has science ever been wrong? OR do you trust the account presented in Genesis? Has the Bible ever contradicted itself (see above)? Has the Bible ever been wrong? Science has accomplished incredible things, but there isn't a scientist alive who will claim that humans are even CLOSE to understanding the universe. Therefore I choose to come down on the side of the Genesis account. If we take this as fact, then who are you NOT to worship the creator of the universe.

Question 5 - God didn't create man to kill other men or other creatures. I could reiterate what Beckie said, but her answer is very thorough so read it (sorry, I'm trying to save you time and server space).

Question 6 - here again see Patronne06' answer, as it pretty much says what I would have.

Question 7 - Religions around the world are created by people. In fact, all of the worlds' religions have some common themes that appear in their theology - Be kind to one another, help one another, lead a good and moral life. But here is a short breakdown of global theology from a Christian perspective. Allah is NOT the Christian God. Christians believe in the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The Jews also believe in this same God, but the big difference between Jews and Christians is that the Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, while Christians recognize Him as Jesus. Muslims recognize that Allah is God - and that translates essentially to God the Father (the God of Abraham). Only Christians recognize Jesus the Messiah and savior of mankind. To say that all three religions worship the same God would be incorrect, because neither Muslims or Jews recognize the divinity of Christ (once again see above).

Question 8 - God didn't tell anyone to fly a jumbo jet into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Rather Evil and sinful people used the Lord as an excuse to carry out their cowardly designs.

Question 9 - We are the way we are because we have chosen to live in rebellion to a loving, but Holy and Just God. People have chosen a sinful path away from God, and He just wants us to come back to Him. One last fact - All of the world's religions except Christianity say that you have to lead a good life to get into Heaven. Only Christians believe that there is nothing you can do that will impress the same God who created not only the universe, but also you. Christians believe that if you want to go to Heaven, all you have to do is ask, and do the following:

Agree with God that you are sinful (you are - non one's perfect). Accept that Jesus is who He says He is - The Son of God - and that his death and resurrection paid the price for your sin.

If you've read this far, I've also included a couple of useful websites.

Answer 2

There is a God!
You want facts. The fact is you'll never get the right answers if you keep asking the all the wrong questions.
No one can prove to you that God exist unless you choose to believe. God has given man free will. He doesn't make anyone do anything. If he did, yes the world would be perfect and you would not have the luxury of asking all these questions.
The fact is in spite of everything bad going on in the world. We're still here doing what we do. Your living and breathing on his mercy. Your Blessed and you don't even acknowledge him. Think of the possibilities if you did. There's is hope and happiness and peace if we chose to invite all those good things into our lives through Christ Jesus. Your questions reveal a desperate search for the truth. But will you accept that truth. That God just is. Look at it this way .
Try Him, if he doesn't exist you've lost nothing
But If he does exist you've gained everything.

Answer 3

There are no hard facts to prove that God. God is outside the realm of science, just like love is. But there are plenty of facts that indicate there is something out there that we simply can't comprehend.

“With the discovery of radioactivity in 1896, geologists quickly began to ‘date’ the earth. Radioactivity was indicating that the earth was billions of years old. Well, if the earth was that old, then so must be the sun. That presented scientists with a problem: They needed some type of energy source which would allow the sun to shine constantly for around 4.5 billion years. They proposed that hydrogen fusion was responsible for the sun’s energy. When two hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium, a little subatomic particle called a nutrino is given off. The number of nutrinos detected is only about 4 per month or about 1/10 of the number expected if, in the solar interior, hydrogen fusion were occurring. What this means is that the energy of the sun is not coming from nuclear fusion. What then is it coming from?” (Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity, Josh McDowell)

“’But to say there’s no possibility that a loving God ... could possibly tolerate such evil ... that strikes me as intellectually arrogant.... How can a mere finite human be sure that infinite wisdom would not tolerate certain short-range evils in order for more long-range goods that we couldn’t foresee?” Imagine a bear in a trap and a hunter who wants to liberate him. He tries to win the bear’s confidence, but he can’t do it, so he shoots the bear full of drugs. The bear, however, thinks this is an attack. He doesn’t realize this is being done out of compassion. The hunter has to push him further into the trap to release the tension on the spring. If the bear were semiconscious at that point, he would be even more convinced that the hunter was his enemy who was out to cause him suffering and pain. But the bear would be wrong. There’s a cartoon of two turtles. One says ‘Sometimes I’d like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when he could do something about it.’ The other turtle says ‘I’m afraid God might ask me the same question.’ (Dr. Peter Kreeft, in The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel)

Even if there were facts, some lawyer would probably come along and dispute them anyway. You can't prove God any more than you can disprove him. But the great thing is, it's totally your choice to believe or not. I have answers for your questions, but it would take waaaaaay too much space here. Email me if you really are interested and I'll do my best.

Answer 4

t is also the fact that the element of good is more in the creation than the element of evil. We all see that there are more people who are healthy than those who are sick. There are more that eat well then those who starve. There are more that live decent life then those who commit crimes. Goodness is the rule and evil is the exception. Virtue is the norm and sin is the aberration. Generally trees bear fruits, the flowers bloom, the winds move smoothly. .

This is a temporary world and every thing here has a time limit. When its times comes it will die, come to an end and finish. Neither the good things of this world are forever, nor the bad things eternal. We are here for a short time and we are being tested. Those who will pass this test they will find an eternal world that is perfect and permanent. Those who will fail this test they shall see the evil consequences of their sins and corruption.



How many times it happens that we are not careful and still we reach safely to our destinations. The way people drive in some cities, it is a miracle that more accidents do not happen and more people do not suffer. Allah says: (Allah) Most Gracious! 2- It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. 3- He has created man: 4- He has taught him speech (and Intelligence). 5- The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed; 6- And the herbs and the trees both (alike) bow in adoration. 7- And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), 8- In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. 9- So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance. 10- It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures. (al-Rahman 55:1-10)

Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him".

[Muslim].

Answer 5

The hard facts are that that is a very deep and complicated question but there is an answer. You would need to understand other things before you can understand the answers to those deep questions. There is a book called "What Does the Bible Really Teach" published by Jehovah's Witnesses, that can explain why we are suffering here, along with many other questions like is this what God purposed? What is the truth about God, and so on. The truth is that God does not cause all this suffering and he did not create this world to be the way it is now, and soon it won't be this way. Don' be close minded because you are unsure who JW's are or you don't know what they believe. Search for the answers and look for bible based truth and you will see things clearly.

Answer 6

explain how two cells get together---sperm and ovum and create he person you see in the mirror. Explain how the world became---it was not a big bang. Explain free will to believe and not to believe and where either takes the person. What other God tells people that He gave His only Son so that whom so ever believes in Him will have everlasting life because He loves them. Explain the wind--you do not see it but you feel it as it blows like a breeze and at times can destroy. Most of the questions are not about blaming God for the situation we encounter but should be focused on what men has done to arrive at this situation. This is free will to believe (in Faith) and not to believe. It is up to the individual to interpret their idea of what their god is---my God does not tell people to crash a plane into a building that holds a ton of people killing those said people; my God tells me to love others. I think you are confused by what you have seen on TV.
How do you know that your computer delivers the message, you do not, you just know that the message Will go through same thing with my God, believe.

Answer 7

God does not interfere with man's free will. All of the suffering in the world is brought on by mankind, not God.. God gives man a choice, to follow the path to God and heaven or follow the path to hell and Satan. Where there is corruption and sin and suffering is because man has not put his trust in God and is not doing God's will but doing their own will. The world was a happy place free from sin and death, until Adam and Eve believed the lies of Satan and went against the will of God, and followed their own will.And when they (A&E) did that then sin had entered the world along with death and sickness, and hate and everything else

Answer 8

God IS everything. However, even though we were created in His image, we were also given free will. No one is born with the knowlege of how to hate. That is learned from our own interaction with people. We are all born innocent. How we are raised determines how we treat each other. Those that follow the hate-mongers are people who can't think for themselves and believe everything they are told.

Just because you can't see Him doesn't mean He doesn't exist.

As for other religions having other Gods....I don't believe it's a different God, I believe each religion calls Him by a different name.

God didn't tell anyone to crash a plane into a building and kill all those people. That was orchestrated by a sick man who loves to spread hatred but doesn't believe in it enough to put himself on the frontlines. It was planned by a coward who remains hidden to this day because he doesn't want to face justice for his actions.

Answer 9

Well I know there is a God and the suffering and everything else you just described is all from the sin in the world!! It's hard to tell someone that God does exist, when they say they don't believe. It's something you know without asking?? All we can do is pray and ask him to give us a better understanding of his word, b/c there is still a lot I don't know!!
Be Blessed!!

Answer 10

GOD did make the world a happy and peaceful place..take a look at Genesis 1 God created man and everything under the sea and on land and gave man dominion over them. In Genesis 1:29 God gives man every seed bearing plan on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it to be used for food. To all the beasts of the earth God gives green plant for food, and it was so.

But man falls so earth fall and all of creation falls with it. With that everything upon the earth is subjected to sin and because of sin, women will have childbearing pains and man must toil the earth and it won't always produce good fruit for food.

Romans 8 tells us that even creation cannot wait to be redeemed for it was subjected against its will as it (creation) did not choose to fall but fell with man when he fell. Now the animals eat one another and will even attack man; whereas before they lived in peaceful harmony and ate fruits and vegetables along with man.

That is just part of your answer as there is not enough room to answer every question you posed in this forum.

Please be blessed

Answer 11

THE HARD FACT IS YOU DO NOT HAVE A CLUE. how can create a man with free choice and the tell him what to do? why do people hear voices in their heads do they always blame it on God? and why do people ask questions they do not really want answers to? why have you made so many wrong assumptions? Why should I try to prove anything to you?