Why is it that god is nature when it comes to the splendor and intricacy of things like DNA, galaxies and the human brain, but he's NOT nature when it comes to natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis?
Why is it that when innocent children die of horrible diseases, it's god's way of teaching the families lessons about overcoming obstacles, but when humans cure a disease with a vaccine, it's just human ingenuity combating the process of nature?
Why did god create intelligent human beings that can understand cause & effect, but then make all interactions with him totally random (ex. some prayers are answered, some are not, some devoutly religious people "experience" god, others do not.)
Why does god allow hundreds of thousands of people to be innocently misled their entire lives by charlatans who dispense a warped or false version of his message?
Why does god allow new souls to be conceived in places that can never receive his message (ex. Amazon jungle, Tibet?)
2007-02-19 10:14:59 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
For the record, my examples are all taken from opposing claims made by Christians in other questions on Yahoo Answers.
2007-02-19 10:16:33 · update #1
Great questions and I hope you are seriously asking them and not looking to make a fool of those 'poor, deluded' Christians.
First off, I think Job would be an excellent book of the Bible for you to read. Having said that, you need to know that I believe the entire Bible to be God inspired, God led and God written using people as his agents. The entire book of Job chronicles the conversation between Job and three of his friends and then tells of the conversation between God and Job.
To say God is in the great stuff like DNA, galaxies and the human brain and not in the natural disasters is too simple of a view to take. We are told in Romans, I believe, that all of creation is groaning under the burden of sin. When sin entered the world it corrupted every perfect thing that God had created. It became warped, twisted and skewed. Death entered the world and things were no longer perfect. It sounds like you are assuming God has started this whole process and has now stepped back and letting 'nature' take its course, that He's no longer involved. And that's just not so, either. He is very much involved, very much aware of everything that happens on this little mud ball we call earth. Everything that happens is part of God's plan, whether we like it or not and whether or not we agree with it.
I'm going to try and be as brief and as succinct as possible because on the first question alone I've written a book. Sorry about that.
You mentioned innocent children dying of terrible disease and it is horrible. But again, it goes back to sin. I don't believe it is God teaching families lessons about overcoming all the time, but yes some of the time it is. God 'allows' bad things to happen to us to get our attention. This might sound really dumb, but pain is actually a good thing in its own way. Think about it. There are people out there born incapable of feeling pain. They don't know when they've been burnt or cut themselves or broken a bone. As young children they have to be watched constantly because the physical pain is not there to teach them not to touch a hot stove or play with broken glass. I know families who do say as a result of trusting God through the bad things their faith has actually gotten stronger. I don't think that's delusional, I think it's a very real statement of faith. Think about working hard for something: you've worked hard, put in hours of overtime or sweated and groaned over something. Finally, you've achieved that 'something' and man, do you ever appreciate it!!!!!! It's wonderful. Now think about something someone's just given you, you like it, you admire it, but you don't cherish it as much as something you've sweated bullets to get. True?
As far as human ingenuity, I believe we all receive special gifts or talents from God, but we determine how we use them.
I believe all prayers are answered. We just don't like the answers sometimes or the timetable in which we are given them. When we want something, we want it NOW! Instant gratification is the thing nowadays. And having to trust God, He knows better than we know ourselves whether or not something we've prayed about or for is actually the best thing for us. He operates outside time, we're constricted to time as we know it.
Innocent people being misled by charlatans can be directly related to sin, too. Basically, what happened in the garden of Eden we (humanity) told God to take a hike, we didn't need Him or His guidance. And that's what happens there, it's free will. God doesn't want or demand robots. We have a choice. We are also warned in the end times there will be false prophets, false teachers, charlatans. It's not gonna get any better.
Have you ever heard of natural revelation? While the specific phrase refers to God using things in nature to reveal Himself, I feel it can also be used to explain how God is recognized and revered by those who haven't been visited by missionairies or what have you. We worship a just God, One who can look upon the heart and not just the appearance. I'm sorry, I'm not saying this as well as I'd like. If a person, say a very remote Tibetan has looked up at the sky and realized within himself that Someone larger than him has set the stars in place and then chooses to honor and revere that Someone, while striving to live a worthwhile life given praise to that Someone God will recognize that and, likewise, honor it. In other words, the 'sinner's prayer' would not have to be repeated verbatim in order to be accepted by God as one of His own. To go back to the beginning of my own dialogue, Job was not considered a part of the Hebrew nation, at leasst not an active Israelite if I'm reading my commentary correctly. He was a desert prince, so I guess you could say he had never been visited by itinerant preachers at that time. But he recognized in nature there was Someone in control greater than him and he feared and respected God.
That's not to say I agree with the idea that God is Allah, Mohammed or Buddha or whomever. He isn't. If He was, given the different tenets of each listed, that would make God schizophrenic. He's not.
I do believe there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ, His Son. I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by Me. And a lot of people get offended when you tell them that because everyone thinks their way is the right way. Read the Bible, all of it, pray about it, all of it, ask for some discerning person to help you with the parts you don't understand and, hopefully, you will come to understand why I believe as I do.
I know that there are some who will feel these are very simplistic answers and I would agree with that. But I feel God doesn't want to make it difficult for us to accept and understand. We're supposed to have the faith of children. And compared to God, we're all children.
God bless and great questions!!!!!! Again, I apologize for the length. I do tend to get on a soapbox, sometimes. LOL!
Have a great day!!!!
2007-02-19 11:51:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My Opinion -
Why is it that god is nature when it comes to the splendor and intricacy of things like DNA, galaxies and the human brain, but he's NOT nature when it comes to natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis?
What we call natural disasters, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes are necessary to the maintenance of the planet. Volcanoes and floods deposit necessary nutrients. Hurricanes bring fresh water to areas that would be desert without the monsoon season. Natural disasters are disasters to us because we unwisely build where they will occur, farm on flood plains, cause mud slides by cutting down forests on hillsides and so forth.
Why is it that when innocent children die of horrible diseases, it's god's way of teaching the families lessons about overcoming obstacles, but when humans cure a disease with a vaccine, it's just human ingenuity combating the process of nature?
God does not cause people to suffer to teach lessons. God is good and only capable of good. However, when we do suffer we have a choice in how we respond. We can learn and grow or we can wallow in self pity.
Why did god create intelligent human beings that can understand cause & effect, but then make all interactions with him totally random (ex. some prayers are answered, some are not, some devoutly religious people "experience" god, others do not.)
Answered prayers are not random. God looks at the big picture. We only see our own small part. It’s as if God is looking at a road map of the whole universe and all we can see is the tiny part of it on our own street.
Why does god allow hundreds of thousands of people to be innocently misled their entire lives by charlatans who dispense a warped or false version of his message?
He doesn’t but many people are content to believe one person/preacher/priest/doctrine instead of studying and praying for wisdom. Seek and ye shall find. Many do not seek, they accept whatever they are told.
Why does god allow new souls to be conceived in places that can never receive his message (ex. Amazon jungle, Tibet?)
God is in the Amazon and Tibet. They will know him if they choose according to their level of understanding and desire to seek.
2007-02-19 10:36:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some of your questions are quite complex but I will do my best to be brief so that I can address everything. I'm not sure if these are genuine questions or if you're just trying to make Christians look bad. I'll assume you genuinely want to know if there are answers...
God is not nature. Period. He is the Creator of nature.
Nobody knows God's reasoning or timing behind people's deaths but Him. Both are true - There is usually good that can come from negative things. God gave man intelligence. It's up to man how he uses that intelligence - to cure or destroy, etc.
It's people's own perspectives that are random - not God. All prayers are answered - just sometimes the answer is "no" or "not yet". God has promised in the Bible that he will answer all prayers. People describe their own experiences and idea of their relationship with God differently. It's a reflection on their own interpretation - not on how God actually is.
God has given "free will" to humans. Why would he want to make a bunch of robots that just automatically believe in him and have no minds of their own? Why would that be special? This is the reason Christians get so involved in wanting to spread their beliefs! We feel others are innocently being misled and we want to try to reach them.
Christians have gone all over the world to spread the message.
I think when people answer questions on Yahoo they are just answering about one specific category. They usually try to be brief and may not realize that someone could take their answer and twist it around or show how it would not apply to another topic.
2007-02-19 10:32:18 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. God is not nature. He created nature. That is confusing the creation with the Creator.
2. nowhere, absolutely nowhere in The Bible does is say God kills innocent children with horrible disease to teach their parents a lesson.
3. God's interaction with His children is never random. He answers all prayers. May not be the way the "asker" wants, but it is still answered. Top three answers? Yes, No, and Not yet.
4. That, like the other answerer said, is more the effect of sin on a fallen world. And even though many many are deceived, (North Korea comes to mind) so many many more hear the Good News. Even in the darkest corners of the earth.
5. There is no place, absolutely no place on this earth that is beyond the reach of the Gospel.
2007-02-19 10:28:53 · answer #4 · answered by Terri 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I really believe that you should seperate out these questions, there are so many and they seem dissimilar. Here are some simplistic answers (being made simplistic so they will fit).
I could answer the question about God being nature, but the fact is, God is not nature. God created a natural process which was "trained wrecked" by rebellion (both Satan's rebellion, and our rebellion). He uses nature to show us life's lessons and to sustain, improve, correct, or even discipline us.
When children die of horrible diseases, it could be God's way of teaching lessons, or overcoming obstacles, or it could be something else entirely. When a human cures a disease, it could be due to all kinds of things, and it could have a lot to do with God or very little depending on their heart and especially on the circumstance.
Concerning our intelligence, cause and effect and the like: we are free to chose God or "not God" but we are not completely free to do what we please. God gave everyone a Way to eternal life, love, joy, happiness, and liberty and He has the ultimate goal of seeing that everyone knows this so that they can accept it. Whether or not they accept it, that is up to them. I believe that we all can do as we please until we get in the way of someone else not being able to see this choice (in other words, I think that this is where God draws the line).
Why does God allow deceivers? God says that it is because of two reasons. One is so that the truth might be known and two is because those who do not want the truth will be given what they want, in this case "not truth" so that they might get their proper reward. Do not worry, no one is going to go to hell because of a deceiver, they will only be judged because they knowingly rejected the truth.
Why does God allow people to be conceived in places where they cannot know Him? They may not know about Jesus, or about the good news of the Gospel of God's Christ, that is why Christians are to bring it to those people, but they will know about God. God promises that He Himself will reveal to everyone who and what He is so that they will not have any excuses on the Day of Judgment. How God does this may or may not be known to us, but He does it. God reveals all they need to know in order to make their decision.
2007-02-19 10:44:20 · answer #5 · answered by Shawn D 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For your first question: God is in everything, even natural disasters. He created the world, and allowed it to run as it would. He didn't say "I think an earthquake today would be good", He just lets the earth do what it needs to do to run the way it should and the way it was made.
I don't think when anyone dies of a disease that it's a lesson. It is the natural process and no one dies before their time. They are called home when they have done what they need to do in life. I lost a child in 2000, and for a while it was hard for me not to blame God for his death. It took a lot of time and more heartache then I ever thought I could feel to realize that there was a reason for him to be in my life, and for him to be taken away. He had done what he was supposed to do in this life. As far as people not acknowledging God when something good happens, we all think that what we have done is all us. It's easier to blame God for something then saying thankyou for things that have gone right. But He is the one who facilitates the knowledge that is invovled in all scientific discoveries.
We are all able to recieve inspiration, or communicate with God. some of us don't understand the feelings behind this though. As far as prayers being answered, God will answer all prayers in His own way and time. Just because we want something, doesn't mean it's right for us, or that it's the right time in life for that prayer to be answered. Sometimes it takes us learning and growing more to understand the answer, sometimes the answer is no and we don't want to except that. Anyone can experience God, as you say. Just some of us experience it differently then others.
Because we all have free will, we have to opportunity to believe what we will. Some people may believe things that aren't true just because they fell it's right for them. They use their minds to make the desicions and don't think to ask God what he would want us to know.
To me, it doesn't matter what you believe, or what religion you are. Whatever you believe, as long as you live your religion is what you will be judged by. It doesn't matter where you grew up, or what you believe. I always ask the people who asks those kind of questions what happened to the people who lived BEFORE Christ. Most didn't even know that there would be a Christ, let alone know who He would be. I don't think all those people are going to hell just because they didn't get the option of believing in Christ. It's all based on your belief and the way you live your life.
2007-02-19 10:47:25 · answer #6 · answered by odd duck 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'll address a couple of these.
One, God is not nature. He created nature but He is separate and apart from His creation.
Two, God does not cause children to die to teach parents to overcome obstacles. God comforts grieving parents.
Three, people allow themselves to be deceived. God said to love Him with MIND, Soul, and Spirit.
Souls that never receive His message will go to heaven if they live according to His Will. His Will is written on every heart and people chose whether to follow or not.
You seem to be bitter towards God and I understand your questions. But I think you have misconceived ideas about God that is causing you to blame all the world's problems on Him.
Added: God does not answer prayers randomly. There is cause and effect in answered prayers. Studying the Bible will give more insight into that than I can.
2007-02-19 10:26:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is in every part of nature from DNA to earthquakes, I never denied that. God's ways are not ours and His thoughts are not like ours, so I am not able to answer some of these questions. A child dying is not his way of teaching the family a lesson- God will see them through this tragedy yes, but we cannot blame God for illness, or sin, we sinned and that brought illness into this world. Prayer does not always work things our according to our plan, but God does answer prayer, either yes, no or wait. what is your version of His message?
2007-02-19 11:24:04 · answer #8 · answered by AdoreHim 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is in nature... from DNA to earthquakes
God gave humans wonderful knowledge to make vaccines, fix things that are wrong in the human body...
God has always made interactions random... 'devoutly religious' is a relative term... who judges as devout? some people live on faith knowing that some day they will see God... and do not 'need' to hear from Him in the same way others do
why are people allowed to be misled? it is called Free Will... we can choose to seek the truth thru His Word... or we can believe what a single person says or decides something means.
The great commission is that we are to spread the Gospel to all nations... and once all nations are reached for God, then the return of Jesus is near.
We cannot assume to know 'why' God does or does not do things.... but we can trust that He knows and cares for each person the same... that none shall perish...
2007-02-19 10:24:09 · answer #9 · answered by livinintheword † 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
1. Truth about reality is knowledgeable Ok. 2. The opposite of true is false Yep. 3. It is true that the theistic God exists. This is by evidenced by: a- Beginning of the universe Nope. b- Design of the universe Nope. c- Design of life Nope. d- Moral law Nope. 4. If God exists, then miracles are possible Okay. 5. Miracles can be used to confirm a message from God i.e. as an act of God to confirm a word from God Possibly. 6. The New Testament is historically reliable. This is evidenced by: a- Early testimony Nope. b- Eyewitness testimony Nope. c- Un-invented authentic testimony Nope. d- Eyewitnesses who are not deceived How would you know? 7. The New Testament says Jesus claimed to be God. Okay. 8- Jesus’ claim to be God was miraculously confirmed by: a- His prophecy fulfillment Was it? b- His sinless life and miraculous deeds Really? c- His prediction and accomplishment of his resurrection Really? 9. Therefore, Jesus is God Um... 10. Whatever Jesus teach is true Nope. 11. Jesus taught that the bible is the word of God Nope. 12. The Bible is the word of God, and anything opposed to it is false. Nope. 1 and 2 is just duh. 3 isn't supported by anything. abcd aren't factual. 4 and 5 is duh, but they're hypothetical. 6 like 3. 7 is duh. But it's still just a book. 8 is like 6 and 3. 9 is based on 8. 10 is just tossed in without any support. 11 and 12 are based on 10. This whole thing needs work.
2016-05-24 17:47:21 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First you have to get rid of the carnal attitude.
No one has perished yet, not even Satan.
Souls are not conceived, God created them a long time ago.
Every soul must pass through this flesh life born innocent of Satan's rebellion. It's God's plan of Salvation for whomsoever.
Otherwise they would be guilty as Satan is. Satan the only entity by name sentenced to perish.
2007-02-19 10:31:16 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋