If God loves us, then why do terrible things happen to good people?

Question

I am a Christian, but someone asked me this question... and I do not know how to respond. They also asked: "What about people who don't have a CHANCE to hear about God? Did God just put them here to die and go to hell?" Please help, because I myself would also like to know the answer.

Answer 1

People of various religions have gone to their religious leaders and teachers to ask why there is so much suffering. Often, the response is that suffering is God's will and that he long ago determined everything that would ever happen, including tragic events. Many are told that God's ways are mysterious or that he brings death upon people-even children-so that he can have them in heaven with him. As you have learned, though, God never causes what is bad. The Bible says: "Far be it from the true God to act wickedly, and the Almighty to act unjustly!"-Job 34:10.

Do you know why people make the mistake of blaming God for all the suffering in the world? In many cases, they blame Almighty God because they think that he is the real ruler of this world. They do not know a simple but important truth that the Bible teaches. The real ruler of this world is Satan the Devil.

The Bible clearly states: "The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." (1 John 5:19) When you think about it, does that not make sense? This world reflects the personality of the invisible spirit creature who is "misleading the entire inhabited earth." (Revelation 12:9) Satan is hateful, deceptive, and cruel. So the world, under his influence, is full of hatred, deceit, and cruelty. That is one reason why there is so much suffering.

A second reason why there is so much suffering is that, mankind has been imperfect and sinful ever since the rebellion in the garden of Eden. Sinful humans tend to struggle for dominance, and this results in wars, oppression, and suffering. (Ecclesiastes 4:1; 8:9) A third reason for suffering is "time and unforeseen occurrence." (Ecclesiastes 9:11) In a world without God as a protective Ruler, people may suffer because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It is comforting for us to know that God does not cause suffering. He is not responsible for the wars, the crimes, the oppression, or even the natural disasters that cause people to suffer. Still, we need to know, Why does God allow all this suffering? If he is the Almighty, he has the power to stop it. Why, then, does he hold back? The loving God that we have come to know must have a good reason.-1 John 4:8.

John 17:3 "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. Rev 21:3,4 "And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away." If we learn and study the Bible to take in this knowledge we can life in that earthly paradise that God promises to all his faithful followers

Answer 2

Because no one is good. Each and everyone of us deserves death and hell. A better question would be, why do good things happen to bad people. God IS God, and He can do whatever He wants. If He wants someone to hear the gospel of Jesus, He will send someone there or bring that person so that they can hear it. I personally believe that God will judge them according to their own deeds. But I NEVER suggest that anyone rely on their deeds because if they reject the gospel, they will be judged more harshly.

Answer 3

I was once approached by a woman whose 15 year old daughter just died after she went to her first ever party, and a dreadful accident happened. The daughter left home full of life, bubbly and happy, and the mother collected her dead later that night. She was a Christian, totally destroyed, and in her own words, left without an answer by her priest.

She started studying rational spirituality with me. Two weeks ago she told me that she realizes that life goes on, and that her daughter's death was not in vane. "Rational Spirituality" on the Dhaxem website is Christianity stripped back to the genuine teachings of Christ. When the Christian religion was established in 325, AD i.e. centuries after the life of Christ, his teachings were edited in such a way that the followers depend on authority, feel small and inadequate. This was done in order to manipulate the masses. The truth is, for example, that Jesus had only one commandment, much more powerful than the ten commandments put together. It was: "Treat your fellow human being the way you would want to be treated in their place". Think about it. This commandment would not have allowed slavery, exploitation, crusades, and the inquisition, all of which were the work of the church, greedy for power, and greedy for money.

At the base of Christ's genuine teachings also was the understanding that we get in life exactly what we deserve, and that life is just a testing ground for the Soul to learn its values, and to grow. More advanced Souls set themselves harder lessons to learn and that entails more pain in their lives. An example of such a life was that of Christ, himself. Because pain is often accompanying growth, suffering need not come just to the worst of the Souls, it often comes to the best ones, seemingly in the same way. We would need to understand the Divine plan behind everyone's life to be able to conclude the exact reasons for every person's suffering. With the work that I do with people, I teach them bit by bit to understand their own Soul, their own plan, and through their hearts to connect with, and eventually understand, God. The woman who lost her daughter did that and she now found contentment and peace. Every sincerere and honest person can find God within their own heart, with a little guidance to start with, perhaps.

I hope that the above is of some assistance in relation to your questions. You may read the whole concept of "Rational Spirituality" on the Dhaxem website.

Answer 4

The One True God wants to prove their real goodness, especially when they accepted all those terrible things with acquiescent thankfulness to Him. And we cannot conceive the greatest reward of eternal life which He has promised for these great souls.
Innocent babies also have pure souls like these obedient adults and they deserve no smaller rewards.
Those who have not heard about God, are not responsible for their choice; but it is really hard to imagine about such cases, because God raises His call again and again throughout history.
Of course, how can the just God deal unjustly with any souls?

Answer 5

Megan,
You write, "if God loves us" Come on, how can you call yourself a Christian and say that?
You have know idea just how much God loves you and me and everyone whom He has created.
Think about this for a moment.
God so loved the World (Age) that He gave His only Begotten Son (this means of Himself) that he/her whomsoever believeth in Him would have eternal life.
Is not this beautiful?
Megan, God knows just what each of us needs to make it to Heaven and back in His Arms. Sometimes difficult occurances happen and in them we gain strenght.
God told me the day I put my mother in the ground to look for the good in all that seems bad. At that time I was not able to comphrend what this meant but I soon saw and gained comfort by it.
A blacksmith take a piece of red hot iron out of the flames and places it on his anvil. He begins to hammer it repeatly beating it into shape. Then he brings it back to the flames and reheats it only to do it again and again till he has fashioned this pice of raw iron into what he has in mind for it. Do you understand? Thats what God has to do with us sometimes. Its not bad or terrible its God's way of refining us into that perfect person He has in mind.
People who have never heard of God before, or the Saviour Jesus Christ will not be judged to hell. If you never knew that stealing was against the law, you would not think that you were doing anything wrong. God has plans for them don't you worry.
There are many people who call themselves Christians that fall into this catogory.
Please spend time each day in the Word of God. Daily reading of the Bible gives you faith. And tha's how faith grows.
Megan, time is about up for us here in this age. We all know that it will end someday, but never give it much thought. That's what the devil wants us to do. If you read with understanding you will gain the wisdom others do not have and questions like the one you wrote will not be necessary.
Please excuse the misspellings as the spell checker fail because of the lenght of the responce.
In God's service.><>

Answer 6

1st question:
Man has free choice on earth and Satan is the prince of lies by which human beings are provoked to evil. God is neither the instrument of chaos or evil. God did not create evil. Satan did. It is not enough to be "good" people. We must be saved by Christ, the sacrifice for sin, sanctified by the Blood of the Lamb, obedient to the will of God. Only then are we redeemed to the Grace and Mercy of God. He then hears our prayers and never fails to answer them.

2nd question:
All people will hear the Good News before Christ returns. There will be none who have not heard and been given the opportunity to choose. God says who are we to say His ways are not equal. His ways are equal. His ways are righteous. Those who die without knowledge of Christ are as the children, their ignorance covered by the Blood.

Answer 7

I would respond that: Terrible things happen to everybody. It shouldn't be looked at as some sort of punishment, but as a learning tool, a faith tester, a way of appreciating the good things or small things. A way of making us stronger mentally and emotionally.
About people who haven't had a chance to hear- I'm guessing you mean babies? Babies and children automatically go to heaven.

Answer 8

If God stopped all bad things from happening, we would never have reason to expand our knowledge.
Look at all the medical knowledge we have accumulated out of necessity to deal with disease and sickness, lengthening the average human lifespan in the process.
Hardship leads to invention. We learn how to do new things.
Sadly, we never seem to learn how to stop hurting each other, but that is because we refuse to follow to Word of God

Answer 9

Tell your friend that God is not uncaring. He loves us. The world as it is right now is a fallen world. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the earth was cursed. They were driven out of the garden and became susceptible to disease, aging, and millenia after millenia, sin, like a snowball, picked up speed. That's why there is death, disease and suffering. But Jesus one day will redeem the earth, he will "buy it back" in essence, and the earth will be restored to its pre-fall, perfect condition. Also, those who have faith in Jesus, even though they might suffer on this earth, will have eternity with God with a body that will be incorruptible.

With regard to people not hearing of God, the bible has this verse "all of creation speaks of the existence of God, that no man has excuse". God will hold each person responsible for what they know. And, according to His word, no one will be able to say they didn't "know about God".

Answer 10

If God id indeed infinite and eternal, then how could He possibly care what religion somebody believed in or belonged to? How could God NOT be EVERYTHING and therefore how could anyone or anything NOT be part of God. So to divide people into "God-connected" and "not-God-connected" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever; in fact, it is an insult to the EVERYTHINGNESS of God! Anyone who dares to claim that he or she has a specific connection to God as a result of this or that religion that someone else does not have is in fact denying the INFINITE ALL-ENCOMPASSING NATURE OF GOD!
As to WHY anything happens to anybody, who knows?