Bear with me here.
If:
1) God is the heavenly "father" of every person on earth, and
2) God loves all his children, and
3) Most human parents would heal their child of agonizing pain if they had the power to do so (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070528083442AA53oT8&pa=FYd1D2bwHTHwLLplEuw_SQlQDC0sMbrTpJA_RDsIZIzmXv.iTe_mFn2bpvkV6cHy.z4jnS0W8v0U5A--&paid=asked&msgr_status= ) and,
4) God has the power to do anything he wants, including healing people,
Doesn't it logically follow that,
5) as a loving "parent" capable of healing his children, the fact that God does not heal many babies born with crippling defects shows that either (a) he does not exist or (b) on of the above premises (1-4) must be false.
In other words, either God does not exist, or he is not our father, or he is not loving, or he is not capable of healing children. Or, of course, all those parents who said they would heal their children given the chance were lying.
I'm confused.
2007-05-28 04:51:48 · 25 answers · asked by Aeryn Whitley 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yeah, Christianity, or all of the Abrahamic religions for that matter, are confusing like that.
Your name is very pretty.
2007-05-28 04:58:25 · answer #1 · answered by Caity S 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It can be confusing to be faced with stunning irrationality in others.
Your logic is not precise though. Just because most human parents would heal their children, it does not necessarily follow that a god would behave the same way. You kind of covered that by mentioning that god may not be loving. But it's easier to just eliminate premise 3) and still logically conclude 5). And your last sentence "parents who said they would heal... were lying" is not necessarily true.
There are some other possibilities to also consider:
Greater purpose behind the illness.
This argument fails because it would admit that god cannot prevent one thing in order to attain another; i.e. god is forced to put us through misery so that some other end can be achieved. God does not have the power to do otherwise. So if this is true, then god is not very god-like.
Healing in heaven.
This argument fails because it simply ignores the unnecessary misery on earth that is the main point of the argument.
2007-05-28 05:20:48 · answer #2 · answered by HarryTikos 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Why does the answer have to be God doesn't exist or the 4 premises must be false? Just because there is not healing when one asks does not prove anything...God's existence or not. It's like saying because I can't measure love scientifically, it does not exist. Love is a feeling and so can't be measured....I think it's that way with the spiritual as well. It's a plane of existence that can not be measured and is not limited by our physical laws or understanding. Your questions are valid...not blaming you for that. And, actually, your line of questioning only makes me believe even stronger there is reason in life....a reasoning that we can not and probably will not understand until our time comes. Peace to you.
Peace, Love, and Blessings
Greenwood
2007-05-28 05:02:35 · answer #3 · answered by Greenwood 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Whoa friend, Just back up a moment here...
God did not cause that child to have birth defects. Take a good look at what those parents of that child may have done waaaaay back in their past or even closer to their present. Did they abuse prescription drugs, did they drink, smoke, have out of marriage sex, etc.
God did not cause those children to have those health issues. Man and their sinful lifestyles did. God will allow things to move forward so people can see with their own eyes what will happen when you fill your bodies with garbage. If the baby or child should die before they reached the age of accountability, and this means before the child knew what a sin was, they automatically go to heaven straight into the arms of God.
We are all here on earth for a short while. Eighty years or so to live is not a long time here on earth. God clearly tells us what to eat and what not to eat and why in the Bible. But too many people brush that off as "that was back then" Not true. What was law then is God's law today. Over time, man has made personal adjustments to God's word to make it better suit their lifestyle, but as soon as a child is born with a handicap, it's automatically God's fault. Bull! You can't ask God to adjust His rules around your sinful lifestyle. We are to adjust our life according to what God expects from us.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
People need to take responsiblilty for what they do in life, and stop placing blame on God, of whom they make it a habit to only call upon His name when they get in over their heads from them not obeying Him to begin with. That's pathetic!
If they followed what God tells us to begin with, at least tired, and tell satan to get lost and get behind them, those bad things most likely would not take place, or would be fixed sooner. It's all about how much faith you have in God and do you place Him first in your life always, the way God expects us to. The blessings we get from doing this is unmeasurable!
2007-05-28 05:07:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I understanding your confusion. All mankind, after the fall, are under God's wrath and curse (Mt 25:41), in this life and that which is to come. They are not the children of God, they are the "children of wrath" (Eph 2:3). God hates the workers of iniquity, quote:
Psalm 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
The idea that He owes us healing, is backwards. By right God has the right to through us all in hell, for our rebellion, and sin. What you have been hearing from people is 'feel good' theology, but not the theology which flows from scripture.
The good news is that Jesus came to earth for a greater reason then temporal healing. He came to provide a way of hope, a way to escape God's wrath and curse due to us for sin.
You may have read the story of a man which was a poor beggar, which eat crumbs, and had dogs lick his wounds, in Luke 16:20 which had nothing in this life, but he went to heaven. That is the real prize, that is the real treasure which blows away any comparison with physical healing.
2007-05-28 05:00:03 · answer #5 · answered by Brian 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You ARE confused. First, only some people are children of God. Others have chosen to be children of wrath. God may love them, but He won't force them to love Him. Second, God is Spirit, and cares about spiritual matters more than physical. So if a little pain now causes His children to be better later, God will allow it so they, or people associated with them, or both, can grow.
2007-05-28 05:00:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No.
Your whole logic and the end result about God is false. You haven't even included some options such as.
Greater Purpose behind the illness. Healing in heaven and things like that. You have stuck with the things that you want and are trying to use things that you know to disprove God when in reality the options that you gave as a solution aren't the only ones...
its like 2+2=
a. 5
b. 6
c. 7
You won't find the answer based on the answers that u have given.
2007-05-28 04:57:59 · answer #7 · answered by ? 1 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Have just looked over your earlier question....sorry, I share a comp with other members of family and until I can get some line to connect my own comp ( a gift from a wonderful daughter and her hubby) I often miss questions. :)
So, shall answer here since both are about same subject.
The first 4 statements are correctly written as Truth....as for the latter:
To begin with, God Himself does not look at a child and see the handicap the way humans do....God looks inside, rather than the cover, first. He also knows why the child is handicapped as he/she is....many times, it is through something that "man" has done which has caused the handicap.
Hold on! Wait and listen on, please....
Within the Christian Faith, we believe that each affliction has a "name"....and the name belongs to an evil entity that is out to destroy mankind in any way it can....and is ruled over by satan...
Now then, satan/Lucifer, was once the most Beloved and BEAUTIFUL Angel there was.....but once he was tossed out of heaven, he lost all that he once prized, and is now "ugly" because of his many transgressions against God.
Because God now holds "man" in a much higher regard than satan, satan sends his legion out to "destroy" man and God in whatever means possible.
....and children, whom God holds a great love for, are a favored means in which satan uses to hurt man and God in one blow.
It infuriates satan that God uses satan's "tools" of dysfunction against him and not only loves that child even MORE because they had innocently been victims of satan, but USES the beloved child against satan by showing that these children are "blessed" and can bless the lives of those around them, and, through that blessing, can "heal" all the things within man that had CAUSED these handicaps, or, cause man to change some of their ways within their world so more children are not hurt in such a way again (radiation, poisions within the soil, poisions within the waters, etc.,.)
God could "heal" within a milisecond of our time, but, wants healings to be FOREVER, NOT, just for the moment.
He also uses healings to draw as many to Him as possible, and wants man to not take healings for granted and go on as usual.
So, there are a lot of facets to God's actions and words that man needs to see and learn by....and, unfortunately, it is often through a little child that God can work His great comfort to all.
....and it is often through a little child that satan can do the same.
We must turn to God with all our heart, confessing our sins and giving them up to God, then, have faith and trust that God will DO.
If God were to "heal" a child without any effort on our part for it to be done, no lessons learned, no strength or compassion learned, etc., then what good is it to place a perfect apple within a bowl of rotting, worm infested apples? Will not the one good apple become spoiled after a time?
So....The rest of the bowl of "apples" must be healed so that this does not happen and waste what God had done.
Hope this has helped you to understand :)
2007-05-28 05:52:37 · answer #8 · answered by ForeverSet 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Bible says that we take on the sins from 4 generations back. So children are not Innocent of sin in Gods eyes. You show that you have little faith so prayer will not be very effective for you
2007-05-28 04:57:53 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Weeell, I'm entirely in sympathy with the thrust of your question, but I suppose a Christian could argue that this is God 'moving in mysterious ways' again - i.e. he may have some kind of reason for this weird behaviour.
For me, the important point is that if this deity can routinely inflict this kind of needless agony on innocent people, is he the sort of thing one should worship rather than despise?
On the evidence - either he ain't there (the sensible explanation by Occam), or he's a dangerous, sadistic egomaniac.
CD
2007-05-28 05:00:03 · answer #10 · answered by Super Atheist 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
The problem here lies in the assertion of omni-benevolence, the belief that God must be all good IN THE HUMAN SENSE. The universe is built on the principle of balance and, as horrible as it sounds, because we are incapable of grasping even the concept of infinity, we cannot see the reasons behind all things that happen. All I can say is keep searching for truth and you'll find it as you're meant to.
2007-05-28 04:59:45 · answer #11 · answered by bardryn 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋