Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Question

This is a good question and the typical answer does not address the question. The question is about God and what we usually hear is an answer about humans: people have free will and God does not interfere with it. No matter how true this is, it shifts the emphasis of the question and avoids dealing with the felt divorce between our conceptions of God and our life experience.
The question must be analyzed before it can be answered. Who, or what, is God? If one conceives of God as a being whose nature is to intervene in the affairs of humans, stemming from a literal interpretation of Christian Myth, then we must wrestle with these questions when reality challenges our theories. However, to shift the question’s focus from God to humans is dishonest and weak. Rather than say God intervenes, when God obviously doesn’t, or saying there is no God, why can’t we simply avoid the extremes and admit that our ideas about God’s nature are incorrect?

PEOPLE! READ THIS CLOSELY: The question is not "why do bad things happen?" The question is "Why does God allow them to happen" PLEASE STOP AVOIDING THE QUESTION just because you don't have an answer. Just be honestand admit that you don't have one. Anyway, the real question posed to you is the second one.

Some of you seen to be saying that a sick man killing 33 people at Virginia Tech or the Holocaust is only a bad thing in my mind. That's ridiculous on your part.

Answer 1

One of the reasons I'm no longer Christian is that I've never been satisfied by the Christian answers to this question. I've come to decide that it isn't that good and bad things happen: it's that things happen, and we label them as one or the other. It's our concept of God and life in general that's flawed.

It's a good question, and not likely to be answered to satisfaction on YA.

Answer 2

It is impossible for us to fully understand the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Only God truly knows how that two work together. Scripture is clear that God knows the future (Matthew 6:8; Psalm 139:1-4) and is sovereignly in control of all things (Colossians 1:16-17; Daniel 4:35). The Bible also says that we have a free will. God does not force us or cause us to do anything (James 1:13-14). We are completely responsible for our own actions (Romans 3:19; 6:23; 9:19-21). How these facts work together is impossible for a finite mind to comprehend (Romans 11:33-36)..

Answer 3

I am a Christian but I have to agree that Rabid Scientist has an excellent point.
When Good things happen...christians say "praise God, and God is so good!"
when bad things happen,,they say "god is right there suffering with you" or "it isnt god's will"
Let me give you a perfect example of this..
my friend had moved to a new city and found an apartment that was perfect for her...cheap, close location to work, and she loved it. She was always saying how God had provided for her. well, six months after moving to the new city her job was downside and she could no longer afford the "god given" apartment. She had to move out and into a DIVE with a friend.
She dont say Shiit about God now! Where was god providing when her job was downsized?

The FACT is..God is in control of everything. Yes, we have free will, but if God truly wanted to intervene and help the situation (as in the virginia tech tragedy) He has the Omni Power to do so. So why doesnt he?

Answer 4

First off, this question IS a good question but also one t hat depends on one's classification of God. Did God just create the world and step away to let it fall into place? Does God play underprotective parent and step in only when things are needed? What?

From my personal view, especailly reading Job, bad things happen with God by our side. It's not to test our faith but more along the lines of Him saying to us "I believe you can make it through you. You are stronger than you think."

Not quite a lesson, but just enough to bring you into the reality of the situation. Yes, you lost your 2 month old to SIDS. It's a terrible thing and I can't believe God would do that. In the same breath, I believe that God is with the child.

It's human nature to want to put a reason to bad things. Why did someone die? Why did our home foreclose? Why did.... We want to say, "Oh! This is because I have sinned!" or "God doesn't love me anymore."

But as humans, we are special. Bad things happened to Christ, and bad things can happen to us. Regardless of why, God is watching and with us the entire way. We don't know what will happen tomorrow, but we DO know that God will be with us.

Answer 5

God is good all the time,

God cannot be tempted to do wrong, and everything you see is a direct consequence of man's disobedience to God from the garden of Eden onwards. It follows the principle you reap what you sow.

You tie your question into questioning the existance of God but I ask you do you believe in a moral law? Do you believe in a moral right and a moral wrong?

One philosopher was asked the same question, "How do you distinguise between morally right and morally wrong? To which the philosopher responded the same way I distinguish between blue and green.
How then do you distinguish between blue and green? The philosopher responds by feelings what else?

To which we can add

In some cultures they love their neighbor, some cultures they eat them, do you have a particular preference?

So as you can see feelings are not a good measure to define what is right and what is wrong.

Then by what do you define moral law? Because ultimately your question deals with a philosophical dilema. If there is no God there is no moral law because there is no one to enforce it, if there is no moral law then it's all relative to what you want to believe, what might be right to me might be wrong to you and vice versa. As someone on another question said child prostitution is up for debate, he obviously doesn't believe in moral right and wrong.

If you conclude there is no God then your question in and of itself is hopeless because what is the purpose to anything if it is all chance? If there is nothing after you die who cares?

The fact of the matter is that God does exist and you need His help because He is the author of your life He must therefore know what is the best path for you to follow, which is His will for your life. It would be wisest to seek His counsel as He has the answer to suffering and bad things as you put it

Here is an illustration:
A man resting near a well saw a man come to the well to drink water. He drops a bag of gold coins and walks away

Another man comes to the well to drink water, seeing the bag of gold coins he forgets about drinking the water and heads off home

In the mean time another man comes to the well to drink and the first man returns. Seeing the man at the well he approaches and kills him.

The stranger overlooking the whole ordeal asks God how can he make sense of all this because there was no justice. The man loses his bag of gold, another man gains it another man is killed innocently

God responds that things aren't the way things seem. The first man stole the bag of gold, the second man owned the bag and regained it's possession, the third man killed the first mans brother and now the first man was avenging his brother's death.

Just because you can't see what God can see doesn't mean God isn't just to allow evil and suffering into this world. I'm sure you would be curious to know what God must see then...

What's it going to cost you to speak into the air and ask God if you are there please give me an answer to this question? If God doesn't exist it will cost you at most 30 seconds which is more than it cost you to read this post. If God does exist and He does it will cost you your thinking for His....

I must add Jesus Christ is the ONLY way Jesus Christ is God

Answer 6

I honestly do not believe that God interferes. I believe that God experiences life through us, and allows us to find our own way. Through good and bad, joy and sorrow, he/she comes to know the human experience ...

Another way of looking at this is whenever something "bad" happens, what is the lesson?

And lastly, the concept of good/bad is relative. It is all a matter of perspective. Just look at our politics nowadays ... depending on which side you are on, it can be good or bad, right? :-) That is ALL human interpretation.

Answer 7

Simple answer is just what you have said: Free will. If God controlled things, then human beings would be not much more than "flowers". He allows total free will because it allows for free choice. Where would you have God draw the line? Va. Tech? A car accident where nobody is hurt?

Answer 8

In a sense God facilitates this stuff, even if it truly is devil who's causing this stuff to ensue. God has given devil loose reign over the earth, meaning he would not intrude mutually with his moves. God does no longer carry out miracles, if he did, sturdy issues ought to ensue to his followers each and each of the time. as a matter of actuality Satans entire argument replaced into that folk were in straightforward words unswerving to God because he gave us each thing. The bible says if we trust we will be persecuted via the non-believers. So i do not realize why human beings nonetheless have this concept that if something sturdy or undesirable takes position that's the paintings of God. God has given devil one hundred% administration over each act in this earth, which potential each thing that takes position is Satans paintings. we are in straightforward words the following to choose Satans way or Gods way. it truly is that straightforward. ;-)

Answer 9

the bible addresses this question when someone asks why God allows some to be born with diseases, physical deformities etc., one man answers that these people are born this way as punishment for their fathers sin, Jesus tells them this is not true, but rather, that they are born this way so that the people might see Gods good works and healings

Answer 10

We know that things happen because of original sin. We know that God intervenes. Why God does not intervene we do not know. He has a plan for each of us and to allow pain and suffering is part of His plan. We just have to accept that. One day for sure, we will know His thoughts.