Why do tragic events (natural disasters/murder/etc) occur in the world?

Question

I am giving a talk on this question. Answers with both a religious and non-religious slant are welcome.

If you believe in God, why does God allow such things to occur?

Answer 1

Logically speaking, there are only three options:

- the Divine WANTS these kinds of horrible things to happen
- the Divine doesn't care if they happen or not
- the Divine is powerless to stop them

You will find, as you read the various responses, that they all fall into one of these three categories.

Calling bad things good things in disguise or suggesting that free will requires volcanoes is voting for category 1. I think that's going to be the most popular. Few people like to think of their gods having limits or being indifferent... except perhaps those who don't favour gods at all, who will soundly vote for 3.

Personally, I only have one god who could possibly interfere with all those things you mention, and I am informed that it simply doesn't care. I have another who tries to make sure they don't happen around me. The rest of my gods couldn't affect such things if they wanted to, though one of them DOES like that kind of chaos. So I guess it would be fair to say that I'm all over the map on this one.

Answer 2

I do not think that God allows all these things to happen! I believe we cause some of these things our selves.
For instance I see you put murder in your question. Do you really think that God would create someone to intentionally kill someone else? Of course He wouldn't. It is the day and age that we live in. And no I am not blaming it all on society. However I do believe that it plays a role in it. We have to realize that we do not live in a perfect world with perfect people. I believe that if God had His way there would not be any of these things! But for some reason we think we know better and so we take things into our own hands! And that is when disaster strikes!
I think that I need to be clear and say that I do not think that all people are evil and that they intentionally do things that cause such disaster, in fact I think most people are just doing the best with the tool of life they have.


I also believe that some things God does allow. I think it is Gods way of communicating with us. Letting us know that He is not happy with the way the world is going! In the Old Testament God flooded the whole world. It was to get people attention, sadly Noah and his family were the only ones who listened. I think that when things happen like this God is just trying to say "wake up and listen".
Do you remember when 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Tsunami happened. All you heard was God help us, and pray, pray, pray! I think that it very sad that it took such terrible things for people to call on His name and pray. Personnally I wish that none of these things had happen. I am not one of these Christians who think that people are just getting what they deserve. Infact I am the opposite, however I understand that none of these things are in my controll! And all I can do is try and be a better person in everything that I do.

Hope this answer made some sense and hopefully it will help your talk.

Answer 3

Does Almighty God Judge Communities Today?

That God has done so in the past cannot be denied. The examples recorded in the Scriptures of the Flood of Noah’s day, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on two occasions the razing of Jerusalem, the city associated with his great name, show that Almighty God can bring deliberate judgment on those who repeatedly fail to uphold his standards.—Genesis 7:11, 17-24; 19:24, 25; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Matthew 24:1, 2.

But what about today? That there would be a time of worldwide calamity was foretold by Christ Jesus in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chapter 21. In these chapters, he gave prophetic warning of events and conditions that would be associated with the conclusion of this system of things so that reasoning persons could realize that he was invisibly ruling from heaven. These prophecies are being fulfilled today. It should be noted, though, that with each of the above-mentioned judgments, Jehovah God gave clear, repeated warnings before destruction came. (Amos 3:7) However, in the case of natural disasters occurring in our time, warnings usually come from secular authorities, based on scientific observations.

Answer 4

I believe in God.
But let us be careful to believe in the God that IS, not some other fiction that we would like to have instead.
God is love. That much we know. We all know, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
However, one of the first 3rd person descriptions of God was from Abraham: "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)
So we see that God is also our judge. He alone decides who is guilty and who is not, who is punished and who is not. God uses MANY methods to implement His justice. My favorite is the jet plane goes down and one or two survive. The rest were judged, but those few, not yet. Thus, God doesn't "allow" these "disasters" to occur. He gives us what we asked for: death. God causes all kinds of things to happen, from being distracted enough to step in front of a bus to a flood on a whole village to volcanoes. Since, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), all will be judged.
Your choice, then, is whether that judgment falls on you or on Jesus Christ. Make your choice, take your consequences.

Answer 5

God created the earth and blessed it with life and set it all into motion. You could almost call it something like a grand experiment. He lets the weather, society, etc. take it's natural course. He gave us a free will and he saw what we did with it. He sent Jesus to lead us by example, and is watching what we do with it. He does not kill people. Good things happen and bad things happen. He gave us a free will. Some people decide to be evil, some loving. I believe that he answers prayers and intervenes, but mostly on personal levels. He sees each of us as equally and genuinely important. And he helps those who helps themselves. Even the worst disasters in this life are like a stubbed toe compared to the glories that await all people in heaven.

Answer 6

Good question, and with and/or without any religious involvement, my answer is: Simply because they are subject to the natural laws.

If you believe in God, then you should believe that god has also created the natural laws. Consequently, disasters obey nothing but the will of God.

If you do not believe in God, then you know the answer already... being subject to the natural laws.

Answer 7

Consider this illustration....A family man who has a number of children is suddenly accused of being a very bad father. A neighbor perhaps has accused him publicly of lying to his children. Starving them. Mistreating them in many ways. Enslaving them, and abusing them.

How would the father prove that he was not a bad parent at all? Would he shoot the neighbor who has accused him? No....that would not prove his point. Instead the good father would allow time to pass so the children themselves could prove his point for him....so they could speak up in testimony for him The accuser would be given the opportunity to prove him a bad father as well.

In a simalar way the creator was accused of being a bad provider, a bad parent if you will.....he has lovingly stood by for a relatively short time while humanity experiences what it is like to not have his direct involvement in the natural forces and man-made governments which have proven to be feeble attempts at managing the world. By now he has proven his rightful claim to the soveriegnty of not just the world but the entire universe! All this time there have been his own "children" who are all too happy to accept him as their father. Soon they will be rewarded for their loyalty. All that you see as wrong with the world will be reversed, and even the dead will be raised back to life for an opportunity to live under his rule.

Answer 8

I'm a Christian and believe that God "allows" certain things to happen as learning tools for us; to help us develop strength, compassion, tolerance and forgiveness. Many times survivors of a tragedy gain a greater appreciation of life, and/or possessions and the relevance of each. Just like the potter fires the clay and makes a beautiful thing.

Answer 9

Buddhist reply: We all have the collective karma to be born in a location, world, etc. where we experience such things. Due to something/s we've done in a past life we share the collective karma in experiencing natural disasters, terrorist activities, bad politics, bad environment, etc. PERSONAL bad karma coming to fruition is usually what covers personal tragedies, cruel classmates, abusive parents, etc.

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Answer 10

In regards to natural disasters; I think God allows them to happen. They tend to humble us. He wants us to be humble and meek. People tend to get too caught up with the question, "Why does God allow so many to die?". To us it often seems cruel, because we don't see the bigger picture. To God it may just be a means to bring his children back into his presence.

As for man-caused disasters (murders, 9/11, rape, etc); God has given us all free agency. We can chose our own path. He will not take away our free agency, therefore some will use that agency to make bad decisions, and they will be held accountable for their decisions.