I watched the PBS Frontline special last night on 9/11. It was kind of a show about the World Trade center attack and how certain religious leaders or even regular folks thought about it. A priest commented that it made folks think more deeply about the afterlife. Made them less materialistic. Anyways, at the end of the show there were images of the people that were jumping to their death and holding hands and crying as they fell. One person commented that as he flew over in a helicopter and saw this he felt that God is a very indifferent God. He will not intervene in the events/ affairs of his creation. kind of like acknowledging that God exists but keeps a permanent distance. What do you think?
2006-09-12 13:28:36 · 20 answers · asked by cannonball 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Another person commented that for all of the evil that went into the planning, it was outweighed by the unplanned acts of extreme kindness that people showed right after the event. I believe this person was a Buddhist. Not sure.
2006-09-12 13:30:36 · update #1
As far as I can tell, a benevolent all-knowing god as described by the major world religions would never have allowed the 9/11 attacks, genocide, or child abuse. The only conclusion I can draw is that if there is a god, it is non-interventionist.
2006-09-12 13:32:19 · answer #1 · answered by Dan 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I do believe there have been many cases of divine intervention throughout history. To focus on the 9/11 attacks though, I'd say to some extent there was some. I personally know a girl who, the night before, fell and broke her ankle. She would have boarded one of those planes if the accident hadn't occurred. Dumb luck or intervention? Think about the people who worked in the towers that called in sick that day and how thankful they are for that. For weird reasons people are suddenly led away from disasters every day. Why do some people survive and others don't when clearly everyone should have died? I certainly can't answer why some are chosen to live while others die, but I can't think of any other explanation other than Divine intervention for those who do live. They say he has a plan for all of us. perhaps those who are taken are being sent on to something bigger and better while those who survive still have work to do here. These are questions that will only be answered when we leave the shells we were loaned to move on to bigger and better...or maybe we just die.
2006-09-12 20:46:19 · answer #2 · answered by paesano2578 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is not at all indifferent! He has intervened many times in the affairs of men. Thier called miracals! The greatest intervention of all was when God himself became a man, lived a sinless, perfect life, and died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He then rose from the tomb, to make a way for all who believe to be with Him for ever! He very much cares for and loves you!
2006-09-12 20:56:17 · answer #3 · answered by edward_lmb 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God does intervene in the acts of men. This is what the Bible is all about. God's greatest intervention on mans behalf was sending a saviour, Jesus Christ.
God is seperate from his creation and the evil that men do. He also gave men freewill but our freewill does not interfear with his sovernty. Men can choose to do evil but that does not mean that God will not use their free choise to bring about his will. That does not mean that God is using evil to bring about good, it simply means he will use a mans acts (whether evil or good) to bring about his will.
God intervenes but he will not destroy evil because by destroying evil he would destroy humanity because of our sinfulness. Instead he is choosing to use mans evil to make people to examine their lives and what they need to change about themselves to be closer to him.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 3 Grief is better than laughter: for sadness can improve a person. 4 The thoughts of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the thoughts of fools is in the house of pleasure.
In other words a tragedy can make us inspect our lives and make us better and wiser by exposing our own iniquities and bringing us closer to our fellow man and God.
2006-09-12 21:04:58 · answer #4 · answered by nubins 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If we try to keep God out of our lives, as, sadly, so many now are doing, He is an obliging God and will step out of the way. Unfortunatly, those people who say such things are normally not believers, or they have been tempted far too much and have turned to the Devi for answers. "The path to evil is large and easy to see, so many walk down it, never stopping to see the small and hard to notice path that leads to Heaven." This is a quote from a very famous scholar. And personally, I agree with him. This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.
2006-09-12 20:34:02 · answer #5 · answered by Lynn A 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The existent/indifferent God theology is known as Deism. It was very prevalent during the early days of our country. I believe Ben Franklin was such. It is also known as the Clockmaker God - winds it/creation up and take a long lunch hour.
That is not the God I know. In the Bible there is a God who is constantly trying to let people do their own thing and agonizing over their pain when they fall. God wrings the sacred "hands" so to speak as the poor choices of free will take their toll.
And, God intervenes when the pain is going to be too great. He chooses to override logic, science, emotion, and even reality to bring/lead us onward. His miracles are so many and his voice is so gently persistent, I know God intervenes.
2006-09-12 20:37:55 · answer #6 · answered by Joe Cool 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
There was a man on the 80th floor of the world trade center on 9/11!
He is alive today, Just lucky you guess?
2006-09-12 21:30:25 · answer #7 · answered by Grandreal 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Man caused those horrible deeds on 9/11 and 7/11, not God. Today, mankind rules the world and these are the consequences. Things will only be perfect when Christ returns to rule the earth. Then, mankind will truly live in peace and safety for 1,000 years.
2006-09-12 20:34:04 · answer #8 · answered by TubeDude 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
If there is a God, that's exactly what he does. There are no signs or help from him in the world. I don't understand what good praying would do.
If everyone has free will, what good would that be if he constantly fixed everything for everyone all the time? It would pretty much defeat the purpose of choice and living all together.
2006-09-12 20:32:17 · answer #9 · answered by meKrystle 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Everything we need to know from God is found in his Bible, so he no longer needs to be involved in the everyday life of man. He hasn't been since the death of the last living apostle. Now he is just waiting for man to realize that he cannot rule himself. The bad things that happen is because man has to rule themselves, set all his own rules, instead of living under just one set of rules.
2006-09-12 20:35:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋