Perfect imperfection. Is that why bad things happen?

Question

Why do you feel bad things happen in this world? Most people point to them and say that is evidence God does not exist, because if he did he would be a superhero/groundskeeper always keeping us from harm. Let's get some serious contemplation in here and come up with some reasons why God is wise enough not to act in such a way.

Besides, if everything was rosey then there wouldn't be any princesses that needed to be saved from dragons.

Answer 1

It is like a parent always bailing their child out of trouble....at some point they have to learn to handle themselves in all their endeavours and request help when needed. As we do when we pray to God to help us or make decisions, give us guidance etc.
Just like the Footprints poem:
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.


Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.


When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.


He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.


He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.


This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:


"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:


"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

Why do bad things happen....so we can learn how to make things right and make them good. Whether it be a natural disaster, marriage trouble, family whatever....we learn how to make things better and become better people in most cases.

Answer 2

This is a part of a chapter from the book "WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH" you can ask any JW for one when they come to your door:
5 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, Jehovah 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.

6 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. You learned that truth in Chapter 3 of this book. The real ruler of this world is Satan the Devil.

7 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.

8 A second reason why there is so much suffering is that, as discussed in Chapter 3, 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 Jehovah as a protective Ruler, people may suffer because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

9 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 Jehovah 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.

A VITAL ISSUE IS RAISED

10 To find out why God allows suffering, we need to think back to the time when suffering began. When Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying Jehovah, an important question was raised. Satan did not call into question Jehovah’s power. Even Satan knows that there is no limit to Jehovah’s power. Rather, Satan questioned Jehovah’s right to rule. By calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects, Satan charged that Jehovah is a bad ruler. (Genesis 3:2-5) Satan implied that mankind would be better off without God’s rulership. This was an attack on Jehovah’s sovereignty, his right to rule.

11 Adam and Eve rebelled against Jehovah. In effect, they said: “We do not need Jehovah as our Ruler. We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.” How could Jehovah settle that issue? How could he teach all intelligent creatures that the rebels were wrong and that his way truly is best? Someone might say that God should simply have destroyed the rebels and made a fresh start. But Jehovah had stated his purpose to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam and Eve, and he wanted them to live in an earthly paradise. (Genesis 1:28) Jehovah always fulfills his purposes. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) Besides that, getting rid of the rebels in Eden would not have answered the question that had been raised regarding Jehovah’s right to rule.

12 Let us consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.

13 Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How Jehovah handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has Jehovah done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.

14 The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23.

Answer 3

You've got part of what I believe is the answer.
I believe that the One helps us get here to manifest works of art that are our lives, but none of us have chosen to leave potential tragedy off of our palettes,, because we all want to have contrast and struggle as part of our art.

I'm quite sure that there are worlds of existence where there are no dark colors, no forcefulness of any kind, no difficulties, no challenges, no pain, no sorrow, no anger, no temptations, no need for any strength, no need for any faith, no need for any reliability, et cetera....sounds massively boring to me.....
And beyond not being entertaining at all, I don't see how anything could be learned or taught in such a place, so there would, for me, be no purpose to life.

Bad things happen because someone wasn't loved, or to inspire us to keep them from happening again, for us to struggle against and reveal our inner character. Should everyone be loved unilaterally? Should we just let bad things happen all the time? Maybe we should never struggle against bad things.....

On the other hand, some people require there to be a greater entity who is a source of all thought, all structure, all form, all energy, all life, all freedom, all understanding, all mystery, and all allowingness, to whom, when they are taken beyond all of their resources and abilities, they can call and receive reassurance.

Others don't believe that they can be taken that far in life, or if they are that they cannot be reassured, but in either case they need to stand alone in the creation of their art, of their lives.

Both positions (belief-sets) are allowed, and all the gradations between them.

Answer 4

Perfection and imperfection are both absolutes.
There is no such thing as Perfect imperfection.
If you were perfect, you'd have no imperfections at all, and if you were completely imperfect, you'd ONLY be imperfect. period.

Bad things are not evidence that god does not exist, just reason to question whether or not god does exist. There's no evidence that god does exist, so it's not like they're completely wrong, either.

Answer 5

Perfect imperfection; how did come up with this question? Jehovah God does exist. He is allowing bad things to happen until it is his purpose to make this imperfect world a perfect paradise. Read your Bible and discover for yourself all the many wonderful blessings in store for mankind in the near future. Jehovah God loves us all & desires us all to repentance. Remember too that all the bad things that we may suffer now, perhaps death can be undone by the Almighty power of Jehovah God. Worship Jehovah God for the hope of perfect eternal life on a paradise earth. It will happen!

Answer 6

I'm so sick of people saying that bad things happen because God doesn't care, doesn't exist. Oh please, get over it! We were created with free will. We make chooses and decisions that sometimes result in bad occurance. Also, the Bible says that unforseen occurances befall us all. No, God doesn't always shield us from these things...maybe sickness or whatever, but He certainly gives the strength and courage to cope with matters. We learn lots from going through and coming out of tragedies also. We can have empathy to help others who go through the same thing. Also, we see God's power, and more importantly His GRACE.

Look, Satan is the ruler of this world and has all kinds of bad things going on to try to destroy us, but before long Jesus will return and rid Satan and his hordes, clean up the earth, and we will have peace.

Rev: 21 - And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

In the meantime, develop a relationship with Jesus and learn to rely on Him.

Answer 7

He never aswered Job as to "why". He never ansered Paul as to "why".

But He does promise: 1) He works all things for good. 2) He'll never leave you through it. 3) He disciplines those he loves. 4) Trials test your faith and lead to perserverance, character and hope...resulting in a harvest of righteousness.

If you were standing at the foot of the cross and knew that Jesus was God in the flesh, you would have thought that was the worst moment in history. God comes to earth and man kills God!

But God used the cross to pay for the sins of the world. Now, in hindsight, it is the best moment in history!! Are you sure you know what "bad things" are??

Answer 8

I agree with the 1st poster.

I have thought about the issue a lot and can't think of a reason why an omnibenevolent being would allow the earth to be this way.

Think about it this way. What if every human on earth had the compassion of Gandhi? They would all still have free will and could decide to worship or not as they chose. However there would be no rapes, murders, abuse, incest, etc... Would that really be so horrible? Would it negate god's little experiment?

Answer 9

Yes, God has a plan for us as individuals and for the world as He tells us in the Bible. Bad things are a result of Sin that entered the perfect world. God's plan was for man to live and enjoy fellowship with Him. Man's sin destroyed this fellowship, but God thru His loving Mercy made a way for us to have this lost fellowship with Him restored! You can accept His Truth or reject it, it's a free choice we have and will be judged accordingly. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen for reasons that surpass human understanding, but a promise is given to believers in Romans 8:28. "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". The greatest parenting comes from Our Father in Heaven who uses what we may call bad things to make us stronger in the spirit. The Lord is with us thru our trials and promised never to leave or forsake us.

Answer 10

He didn't make us to be robots he gave us freewill and when you do that you take the chance that they will chose the wrong way.
That is what happened with Satan, he wanted to be worshiped.
He chose to do what he did. Then he corrupted the whole human race. Birds don't think ,"gee it is getting cold guess we better fly south." Or some people won't get there dog fixed thinking they will miss motherhood. They don't think that way.
They don't say, I will have children and raise them.
But we were made in God's image in that we are thinking reasoning people. We can choose to serve God or not.