Do you think cancer is a "gift from god" or is it just unintelligent design?

Question

And "Genius Mom" - you are lucky. What about the mothers that weren't so lucky? If you believe in god, what part of "He created everything" don't you understand? If you ever figure out "why", I'd sure like to know what that is, unless it's some proffered "bona fide" evidence like "Luke 4:7."

Miss Jones: Ergo, He screwed up.

For all those that think this is an annoying or insensitive question, rest assured I know that cancer is just a disease, not some gift. The point is, why? Why pain? Isn't free will enough? Forget Pascal's wager, I'll take Occam's Razor any day.

Genius(es) Mom (again) - you could have stopped with your first paragraph.

"So that the works of god might be dislplayed?" He's blind, he can't even see the works - you accept this twisted logic? The the "spit in the mud" thing - that is so circus big top carney - and so he heals one guy. Big deal. Why not heal them all? I don't even know why I'm arguing this thing, it's ridiculous on its face.

Answer 1

LOL! Great question... I've asked this often about things that happen that obviously aren't either a gift from god or a fault of another person who is making a bad choice (i.e., not what god has planned for them... i.e., free will). Tsunamis, for example. Or cancer.

I guess from the two choices you've given, I gotta go with unintelligent design.

I also cannot believe the ignorance of some people on here... that cancer is brought on by the devil or sin or because "Adam opened up a relationship with the devil" or whatever it was. Geez louise, people. Where on earth do you GET this stuff? Oh wait... the bible. Gotcha.

What kind of loving god (parent) would put forth this type of "test" (illness) for his children to suffer just to learn a lesson? That is not a god I want to worship, that's for darned sure. He's a malevolent being who loves playing with his little creations and making them suffer whenever he feels like it. Is that how you Christians treat your OWN children? Then why do you worship a "father" who treats YOU like that??

Answer 2

It comes from sin and the curse.

What you see is not as real as God. What you see should prove to you there is a God. If you try and tell me we just became without a creator then you need to go rethink some things. Ask any athiest how the whole universe came about to exist and I mean every galaxy, planet and star, also the ones still being created. Ask how the earth has one set speed it is to turn and one set speed to rotate around the sun. Also the sun is just at the right distance for life to be sustained here on earth which includes billions of diverse lifeforms (That according to athiests just popped out of nowhere or crawled out of the Ocean). Is it all just coincedence? Also ask them to get an empty mason jar and set it in their house and go back to the jar 20 or 30 years later or more if needed and see whats in it..........you know what would be in it? Still nothing. You have to have a Creator and it scares athiests.
Also for the big bang theory supporters........where did the material that went bang come from and the energy to make it go BANG? I'll tell you, God created it and he may have made a "BIG BANG" out of it to put it where he wanted it I won't dispute that because the Universe is still expanding. All in all the athiests have too many questians to answer themselves that the Bible already explains. I'd rather believe there is a God and die and if there isn't I will then lose nothing but if there is a God and Creator and I've argued to people he isn't then I lose alot. Think it over friend. Are you really sure about denying God? The evidence is against you. The Bible, the only Holy written word of God explains all things past, present and future. There is no excuse for not having the knowledge, it's there.

Answer 3

Cancer is a distortion of our body's cells caused by either an outside source such as pollution or radiation, or by an internal source such as stress or addictive behavior. Sometimes cancer is caused by genetic tendencies passed down generation after generation and sometimes it pops up independently due to an aberration in the cells or a virus that is contracted.

There is NO relation to God's will or FATE in this; it is simply one of the many facets of nature. To think that someone has been punished by God with a disease is a sick and superstitious assumption that should be left in the Dark Ages where it belongs. Do you really think a divine force, completely beyond our comprehension, would be so petty as to give one cancer as a "gift?"

You want to know what is a gift? Our consciousness and our ability to enjoy and wonder at the beauty that surrounds us. A gift is our ability to laugh and to make another's life better without regard to what it costs us. A gift is how our mind and our positive belief in wonder, joy, and laughter have been PROVEN to combat the most horrendous damage to the body and overcome it.

You want to find God and the gifts that are yours? Look within and you will find the divine looking back at you. Take joy in each and every moment and you will find the divine sharing that joy. Be mindful of the suffering of others and spend each moment striving to lessen the suffering of others and you will find the divine within you.

Illness is not a 'gift' nor a 'punishment' by the divine.

Answer 4

No it is not a gift from God, I think cancer is caused by many things, one could be smoking, the other could be from all of the preservatives and chemicals that they put in our foods today. We live in a fast paced fast food world, they inject farm animals so they will mature faster, and God knows what all they do to canned, frozen, and all other store bought foods.....it would probably scare us to death if we knew. Plus people tend to be lazier today and don't get the hard physical labor like they did years ago. So it is neither a gift from God or unintelligent design.

Answer 5

There seems to be some misunderstanding among some of the respondents regarding cancer and its relation to sin. We don't get cancer as a form of punishment for the sins that we have committed. We get cancer because we live in a fallen, imperfect world. But the good news is that in the new world there will be no more cancer or any other disease. I hope to see all of you there.

Answer 6

I asked this question of my sister who is a Christian this weekend. I am not a Christian but I do read and study the bible. I was told that things like cancer is more like a test. It may be a test for the person that gets the cancer or it may be a test for a friend or family member of the one that has cancer. Like if a baby gets cancer it more than likely isn't a test for the baby but for the parents or siblings or other relatives of the baby.

Answer 7

I don't know how much research you have done on cancer, but everybody has cancer cells in their bodies at one time or another. As humans we were created to have a relationship with our creator. Some would liken that to being perfect in a "spiritual" sense. Some would say our bodies evolved with an immune system to fight off diseases like cancer. When your immune system is working perfectly some would liken that to being perfect in a physical sense. Ask yourself this question: If we were created perfect, why do we get diseases and die? Here is one way to look at it. If we were perfect, then we would have that relationship with God and our physical bodies would be able to fight off all threats. This is the point that most people never consider. Physical perfection and spiritual perfection are not different or opposing ideas. It is not possible to have one without the other. God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and bad that they would die. They died not because the tree was poisonous and not because God abandoned them, but because they chose to live a life without that "relationship" with God. They turned their backs on Him. When they did that they became imperfect both spiritually and physically because they are one in the same. Perfection is being in an approved state from God's viewpoint. If you follow His direction, you will have the opportunity to know what that means. He told Adam and Eve what was best for them. It was their choice to not listen to him. We have inherited that imperfection. That is why our bodies can't fight off things like cancer. Our forefathers can't pass on to us what they don't have. Some of us have the ability to do that and others of us don't. Our bodies eventually succumb to the attacks, break down and die. Is cancer a gift from God? No. Is it unintelligent design? No. Cancer happens because our foreparents chose to divert from God. He created a system in us to keep cancer from ever becoming a killer. Someday everyone on Earth will be able to enjoy a life free of pain and disease. (Rev 21:3-4) And, those that chose to ingore God's warnings will simply not exist. They will have sacrificed that opportunity just like Adam and Eve did.

Answer 8

A doctor told me one time that cancer is in every one and that it takes something to trigger it to destroy the body. Some people get triggered and some don't. It plays no favorites. I know people who never smoked in their life and still got cancer. So smoking is not the only trigger. My grandmother died of cancer and she lived a fairly healthy life.
I doubt that it is a "gift" of god.

Answer 9

I think cancer, like all other forms of human suffering, are part of humanity. We are not God, not perfect, not immortal. Eventually, we all will succumb to some form of disease, injury, or old age. We are not intended to live forever on Earth. Nothing here is.

Answer 10

Excellent question! I look forward to the answers you get to this - can't believe the bilge that's been spouted so far!

I think you may have come up with a stumper!



Additional details - What's with all the comments relating to "sin". What about a new born baby or young child that is born with or develops cancer. You lot are ******* unbelievable!