CHRISTIANS -- -- If something happens that God didn't want to happen, what stopped him from intervening?

Question

And also, when God DOES intervene, what do you suppose the qualifying criteria is that must be met in order to warrant divine intervention?

Or... does God never desire to intervene, which would therefore indicate that everything that has ever happened and will happen is approved by God?

Or... does God not care, and whatever happens happens?

And no, for the record, I'm NOT talking about one human being terrible to another human or to humanity in general since, apparently, we already know that God doesn't think it's justified to nip at our free will once in a while in order to prevent tremendous human-caused atrocities. I'm talking about things happening that aren't caused by direct human action.

I guess what I'm asking is...... well...... what I've asked. So answer, please.

And no, "God's motives are a mystery" is not an acceptable answer. If you're not willing to actually answer the question without defaulting to "mystery" then DON'T BOTHER ANSWERING.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Please refrain from posting unreadably long strands of copy/paste scripture.

Esther, I'm asking YOU. I should've also mentioned that simply referring me to the Bible won't cut it either.

I'm asking for actual answers, and "it's a mystery" is a cop-out. I want something solid, not something wishy-washy.

Answer 1

ever have an ant farm? what do you do when the queen chooses to live somewhere other than where you wanted her to? nothing, you just watch and see what happens

Answer 2

I'm not a Christian, I am a pagan but let me presume to answer if I may.

Easy. A "God" out there doesn't exist. All bad things that happen on Earth happen because things happen, good and bad, and it isn't under the control of someone "up there" pulling strings. WE ARE THE ONES WHO DO THINGS. And lots of bad things happen, either done by people or done by nature, although I hesitate to use the term bad. Things happen that kill many innocents in nature, and tha is the way things go on our planet. Asking why doesn't God intervene is a question that assumes there is a God up there. There isn't. The Gods and Goddesses are our own selves and the earth and are immanent.

A lot of the bad stuff is our responsibility. A lot is the product of natural forces that have no concept of good or bad, they simply are.

Bright Blessings!

Lady Morgana)0(

Answer 3

When Jesus died on the cross the last thing he said was..."It is finished" There is nothing more that he has to do. Even though events will happen he does not have to intervene. He did intervene in the case of Saul who was leading the effort to persecute the early church. A light shown down from heaven blinding Saul (who later became Apostal Paul). The Lord spoke to Saul saying Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me which this intervention resulted in Saul's conversion

There is no way to tell how God has intervened in other events but he did warn us that these things will happen. He promised his followers that in the end time these events will occur often and he promised to shorten these days for the elect's sake. If these events are caused by man, they have to happen so that judgement can be brought upon those that caused them.

Answer 4

uh-oh this is a touchy subject. I was raised as a christian but realized as I got older that the bible did not make sense. Nor did I understand why there were people on TV (PTL Club) who wore $1000 suits and $10,000 pieces of jewelry telling me to send them money so they can pray for me....... ??WTF??? pray for ME? isn't that special... Does Jesus accept MasterCard or VISA? or should I pray that he does?? Being an Atheist, until I can see solid evidence that the bible/god thing is more that just a good story, I do not see any point in praying. But since it does not hurt anyone and seems to actually make some communities stay together then I am not against praying. As for the things that happen without intervention from "God" and "Freewill" ...... **** happens. I will stop here, and just step away from the computer,

Answer 5

The answer you’re looking for is an extremely complex one, but I will try my best.

First of all, there are no definite criteria for when God does or does not intervene.

There are countless verses in the Bible in which God declares that trials and hard times are sometimes tests to strengthen and try us; so when bad things happen and God does not intervene, it is possible that they are tests.
It is also possible that it was a necessary part of life. For instance, we would like if no one we loved ever died; but it’s a fact that this life leads to death, and so everyone dies (although Jesus’ sacrifice provides for our resurrection). Again, there are countless examples of this in Scripture. Look at the story of David and Jonathon; Jonathon was a wonderful friend to David, and I’m sure David was horribly grieved at his death. Yet, sad as it was, Saul’s actions had made Jonathon’s death inevitable; and so he was killed.

If you are looking for a foolproof formula, the answer is quite simply that there is none; God intervenes when He wills it.

Answer 6

God always cares deeply and often intervenes on behalf of believers. The most powerful and effective means of receiving God's intervention in a situation is prayer; by an individual themselves, or by the intercessory prayer of others. Prayer invites God's help, blessings, etc. in a person's life. Often, the lack of prayer is the reason for God's lack of intervention. Reasons for "unanswered" prayer is often due to unforgiveness or sin in a person's life, but is also sometimes just a "no" or a "wait" answer from God.

Answer 7

1. To answer your main question, there are a few facts.
a: God hates sin
b: God made man sin free, with the purpose of worshiping Him.
c: In order to have real worship God gave men free will.
d: man sinned, and with the fall of man, came the fall of the world.

2. You are absolutely correct when you speak about free will. The reason is that God created men to worship Him. TRUE worship cannot be forced, and since we were created to Glorify Him. We must be given the choice. Even if that means we can sin.

Answer 8

First of all, everything is under God's control. He gave the world over to Satan when Eve took a bite of the apple but God still has power over Satan. We know this because Satan had to go to God to get permission before causing such havoc in Job's life. Anyway, the bad things that happen in this world are because Satan is ruler over this world until Jesus returns, BUT if you are a child of God you have power over Satan. Not to say that nothing will ever go wrong in your life because it will. Simply because Children of God still sin and are carnal. God never said life would be easy, either. He just tells us to trust in him and everything will work out to the glory of God. You may not believe all of this-but what do you have to lose?

Answer 9

My best answer: God is God and I am not. Who am I to try and figure out why He does what He does. He's God. He built the universe so He must be smarter than I am.
God does not respect pride, so lay your questions aside. He does not respect your intellectualism. He only respects faith. The bible says God cannot be pleased without faith. And you my friend are taking the wrong path.

Answer 10

~~~ I agree with what the green bird said about it being Gods' plan,although,sometimes I think He changed His mind about some terrible thing that He had planned (such as an awful hurricane like Katrina) and was actually going to stop it from happening,but was just too busy or forgot. you know,that's where the saying **** happens comes from.Well, that's my opinion on this subject. Good question though.~~~

Answer 11

If you behaved towards your children like God is said to behave towards his, you would have been called a criminal and put in jail long ago.

It is incredible what terrible qualities religious people ascribe to God.

God is the the name for all the the laws of nature.