If you had no prior concept of a loving God, would these events lead you to the conclusion that He exists?

Question

If you had no prior conception of a loving God, which of the following events would lead you to the conclusion that such a loving God exists?

+The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, that left more than 230,000 people dead or missing and destroyed countless villages and towns.

+The 2005 Pakistani earthquake that killed more than 75,000 people and destroyed countless villages and towns.

+The 2005 US Hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) that together killed 1842 people and did almost $100 Billion dollars' damage.

Does this question make it more understandable why atheists do not believe in God?

NOFREEDOMNR&S:
I think you've mistaken human beings efforts for God's efforts. I don't think you can take thousands of hours of human endeavor and suddenly cheapen it by saying it was God's doing. If God wanted to make medical advances, available to human beings, he could have done so back when the average life span was 28 years. Humans, using the scientific method, have discovered ways to keep our puny bodies around a little longer. No God had the slightest to do with it.
.

Lao Pu:
Exactly. Things that are helpful to humans happen, and things that are harmful to humans happen. Sometimes we're lucky, and sometimes we're not. Many things we can improve on, and many things evade our improvement (or worsen when we try). That's why it makes no sense to ascribe a deity that supposedly loves us and intervenes in the natural laws to display his love. I'm not ignoring the things that are helpful. I'm also refusing to ignore the enormous tragedies of that have hit the human family.

PLEASE NOTE:

I am not trying to "disprove God." The beginning premise is that you have no prior concept of a loving God. When you see these events, would you naturally leap to the conclusion that a loving God must exist?

(When I look at the human response to the tragedies, there are mixed results. Pakistan got woefully underfunded aid. Lousiana, Mississippi and Texas are still trying to clean up from the hurricanes. The tsunami relief was the best funded. These are human endeavors. If people did it to gain favor with God, then they're buying their way into heaven. The atheists who gave money and aid without any hope of seeing any reward seem more heroic.)

.

Answer 1

If I had no prior concept of a loving God, no events would lead me to conclude he exists. Duh.

Answer 2

Nope.

It does show that atheists are using faulty logic (If that is their evidence) in determining if there is such a thing as a God.

It shows that atheists are looking to natural disasters and concluding that because nature functions as it does, that this is positive proof of the absence of supernatural entities.

That, to me, seems somewhat faulty logic. It's like saying that since we have crime, there mustn't be police or a judicial system.

People choose to live where they do. The reaon 1842 people died with Katrina and Rita, and other storms in that area is because people are living in a place where storms will flood thier homes. God doesn't make people live there.

Anyway, I'm not a Christian, but I'm simply pointing out that you can't use the fact that bad things happen to demonstrate that there isn't a God. The Bible doesn't state that God is omnibenevolent, or that he will always keep everyone from harm.

Answer 3

Are these things also classed by Insurers as "Acts of God"? One poster commented that "creation" would lead her to believe their is a Loving God...yet, these events have had catastrophic effects on hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. How can a God that is credited for creation turn around and strike down His own "children" many of whom were already struggling with poverty? Should God not have stood in the way of these events and protected some of the most vulnerable rather than allowing utter devastation to destroy what little many of them had or to destroy the things they had worked countless hours to build up?

Well put...excellent point, thank you!

Answer 4

The question is disingenuous because it ignores any events which are good. Yes, terrible things happen, but they do not happen in a vaccuum. The world is ours to make of it what we will. I don't think saving people from natural disasters is part of the deal. It interfears with free will. From God's point of view, I do not think that letting people die could be construed as unloving, since everyone will inevitably die anyway. Being safe and happy all the time and never dying is what Heaven is supposed to be.

Answer 5

Well when you put it like that it one could only draw one conclusion; you would think some "diety" for lack of a better word is very angry at us and is not everloving; but being the skeptic that I am; then I could turn it around and list lots of good events and dates and there fore the conclusion would be that there must be a good and everloving "diety" too. Thus confirming good vs evil; the old argument God VS Devil argument still exists and then it disproves atheism even more......thats why I prefer the agnostic approach; cause maybe just maybe we are all wrong.

Answer 6

In that scenario - the opposite often happens. People look for something to hold on to when there existence appears shaky. Even 911 is a classic example of the churches being packed the following week.

Answer 7

No, why do you choose to look at the negative aspects of all of these events. Did you not see the out pour of the many brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus that helped return those who were still there to a sense of a normal life. This is the point that all who beleive will see, that God was in the midst of all of this, positively, not in the negative.

Answer 8

The amazing medical advances that His creation has been able to make through the Knowledge and skills He has given them, which SAVED countless millions of lives; the technological advancements also, just in the last century ALONE; where knowledge is multiplied 100fold every few years, just to name a couple off the top of my head.....

EDIT:
It just depends on your perspective, N H
I believe GOD gives man the ability, intelligence, and the DESIRES to explore their limits and test their environments in new and exciting ways and that He blesses hard work and diligence when it's for a worthy cause that will benefit all of humanity. If you can BLAME God for the bad, Please don't DEPRIVE me of PRAISING Him for inspiring the GOOD in mankind! Fair is fair!

Answer 9

These events had nothing to do with God and no, I can't understand why atheist do not believe in God.

Answer 10

It does - but it doesn't preclude the belief in a "Wrathfull God".

People seem to be able to make infinite excuses for "God" -- no doubt your question will illicit some of them!

Answer 11

first off my friend

tsunamisi if you research their causes they are due to global warming from ice caps in the arctic we have a means of stopping this from happening if you believe in all the global warming situation. we also have the technology in preventing these things from happening such as designing oceanic barriers to protect our coasts but if we dont bother to do anything about it its our fault such as katrina. The mayor decided to squander the government monies to build casinos instead of updating the levies which put louisianna in jeopardy now the earthquake mind you i cant vouch for that but in the bible..... and if you read it you will see that the Lord had long before informed us of our futures in all situations to be ready, noahs ark that you may have heard about, he sent noah to tell everyone that the flood was coming, people decided that they were unconcerned with what he was telling them and thought he was a nut look what happened it was all due to the sins of the world we will suffer for what we do. to answer your question further of the loving God part. those who truly worship God he prepared them in everyone of thoe situations all the way down to 911 where some said that they somehow was late for work were not killed because God put obstacles in their way you have no idea what underhanded evil things were going on in the twins. look how every child from the day care center got out unscaved God from the beginning has told his people who did not sway from loving Him to hating Him from direting their paths to go here and to go there out of harms way. if you take the time to read the word of God, the King James version and not these off the wall man interperated versions you will see how God works and His ways are perfect on a last note it is well known that louisiana was a haven for witchcraft where his word clearly tells us and warned us thousands of years ago "I will not suffer a witch to live" You really need to read the word of God before making such claims that he is not a loving God. Next you'll be questioning why do people spank their children or put them on punishment if we did not love our children knowing from afar off where thier lives are headed we would let them do what they wanted and have them end up in jail or dead or what ever but because we love them we chastise them accordingly to raise them up to keep them from doing wrong mind you the deaths of so many people occured for one reason or the other, you can best believe either the people themselves or those in their blood line that refused God were warned long ago before these situations happened it was up to them to make the decision to do what the Lord told them to do I believe and know that the Lord would have told many of them to leave there jobs in the twins to another job but they seeked greed or what ever purpose it was, because of the greed of the mayor that the levies were not built properly to use the funds for sinful gambling casinos and so forth, and last most atheists have had to know God before denouncing Him you cant turn your back on something you dont or never knew anything about some have this thing because their loved ones past away God was to blame for it and they turned thier back on Him but its only because of thier stiff necks and their hardened hearts that they refused to understand the perfect will of God. They have no idea what was to take place with them If God saw fit to take them home it's God business not ours. Read the word of God and get true knowledge before condenming his perfect will.