Why does personal tragedy test ones faith.?

Question

I've just heard the parents of the famous lost child, Madeleine, say that their faith will be tested if it turns out that she is dead.
I can understand unbearable grief, but I've heard of many cases of people losing faith because of personal tragedy. Had not these people recognised that tragedies befall devout, sincere, practising Christians, just as everyone else.
Why do they especially question God when it happens to them?
I expect it happens the other way round too, personal tragedy leading to a faith in God.
PS. This is not a criticism, just an observation.

Lots of thoughtful personal answers, which are interesting to me, thank you, I'm sorry but I haven't read, properly, long bits derived directly from the bible and Bhagavad Gita yet, I was interested in how people felt for themselves, whether or not informed by established texts.

I can't choose a best answer, quite a few well put opinions, thanks for all your thoughts.

Answer 1

people who find faith in God when tragedy strikes usually find a crutch or go on to build on that faith.it all depends where you build your house,on rock or sand.when the storms of life rage around you the one who builds his faith on rock prevails and the other guy gets washed away because his faith was never established in a way that he becomes unshakable.

Answer 2

I guess it does. Dr s say I may die, and I believe God will heal me.
However it would sure test my faith if He doesn't keep His word and I end up Paelized neck down laying in hospital on some breathing machine.
I already know even if I am not healed I will serve Him anyway, he healed my heart 9 years ago.
Many will not pass the test. I think it is a test of our faith. Job was tested, and his wife told him to curse God and die, good thing he didn't.
God already knew he would pass though.
God gives us strength when we are weak. The Bible says He will not gives anymore than we can handle, and sometime as in now I wounder how much more I can handle.
When the pain is so bad, and knowing I could loose my home and the Internet might be turned off. Internet is my way out of this house for most part. a list of things rihgt now is going on in my life, I am being tested.

My twin lost his 18 year old daughter a yr ago in a car wreck she wasn't driving, my niece. He made it but he question God especially since this happened right after he fell out of a tree stand 20 ft, and now is paralyzed waist down.
He had just given his life to Jesus while laying on the ground alone 3 hours broken up. His friend didn't find him until almost dark. He still serves God. I will too. God is the answer and I would never want to live without Him.

Answer 3

In all the lost and tragedy I have been through in my life time, I've come to realize that people need someone or something to blame when things don't go right. So they blame god or whatever they belive in so they can stay angry instead of accepting the way things are. Anger is a very consuming emotion. In the past 5 yrs, I have lost my son a step daughter and my best friend not to mention that I too was run over by a tractor trailer and almost lost my life. I can't change NONE of that. My faith has remained strong and has helped to accept the things I can't change. Life is Good.

Answer 4

Is it not because we expect God to do everything for us as if He was our personal slave, we know that God is all powerful and so we like to think that He will pull us out of every difficulty and no questions asked.
However this kind of attitude and relationship towards God is not how it should be, how many believers have been jolted awake to reality by an experience of helplessness and found that it is so easy to love and praise God in the good times but let adversity come along and then God gets all the blame and like children we fall out with Him and take our ball home.
God is always there to help us as He knows best and not as we think best and humble dependence upon His goodness and mercy is right and proper but not to use Him as we would a prostitute, yes we will all have our faith tested at many times on our lifes journey but to fly in the face of God shows disrespect and even the Angels are shocked by our disregard of the awesome majesty of God.

Answer 5

I don't say that it's the case with them, but a lot of people see faith, and especially prayer, as a way to get what they want. For many people prayer consists of a list of things they ask for, and if God doesn't give them what they want, they get angry with him and dismiss him.

If prayer is what it should be: communication with a living God, you will experience his love and support when things go wrong.

It's been my personal experience in very dark times.

Answer 6

Because everybody loves you when things are going good. And turn their backs on you when they are bad.
Would you want half-assed friends like that? Niether does our Creator.
Actually, there are answers if one will listen to them. We all live more than once as humans. And we have all killed others as soldiers in war. Often going beyond the battle, and murdering innocents during moments of battlefever and bloodlust.
We all have to experience what it is like to have a loved one taken from us. Or have our lives cut short. To make things Right. It's all about overcoming self-righteousness and hypocrisy. How can
one condemn a man that dies drunk in a gutter. If he did it himself in one life. If he does. He might have to do it again!

Answer 7

IMHO I think that personal tragedy is not helped by religion. To some people it would seem to fly in the face of a Good God, and they see religion for what it is. Tragedy is a time when we have to go deep into ourselves to find that ancient peace that lives within us all and to re connect with its Source. We are our own healers and teachers. If you cannot find God within yourself you will never find Him outside. In this situation, others, however well meaning, cannot help.

Answer 8

Because faith is based in the material realm only. Faith, in the concept according to most believers, is when God provided everything and give lasting happiness to the believer. When something goes wrong, means that God is making some mistake or is unfair or has no power.
Spiritual life means knowledge of the real self and to know the nature of this world, that is full of miseries. In this world is danger at every step, and disease, old age and death is waiting for everyone. We should know that our family relationships are temporary and has to end. But the soul does not die, he continue to exist, and his relationship with God is eternal, is never lost. In the Srimad Bhagatan there is a nice verse:
"Persons devoid of ätma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction".
PURPORT
This material world is called the world of death. Every living being, beginning from Brahmä, whose duration of life is some thousands of millions of years, down to the germs who live for a few seconds only, is struggling for existence. Therefore, this life is a sort of fight with material nature, which imposes death upon all. In the human form of life, a living being is competent enough to come to an understanding of this great struggle for existence, but being too attached to family members, society, country, etc., he wants to win over the invincible material nature by the aid of bodily strength, children, wife, relatives, etc. Although he is sufficiently experienced in the matter by dint of past experience and previous examples of his deceased predecessors, he does not see that the so-called fighting soldiers like the children, relatives, society members and countrymen are all fallible in the great struggle. One should examine the fact that his father or his father's father has already died, and that he himself is therefore also sure to die, and similarly, his children, who are the would-be fathers of their children, will also die in due course. No one will survive in this struggle with material nature. The history of human society definitely proves it, yet the foolish people still suggest that in the future they will be able to live perpetually, with the help of material science. This poor fund of knowledge exhibited by human society is certainly misleading, and it is all due to ignoring the constitution of the living soul. This material world exists only as a dream, due to our attachment to it. Otherwise, the living soul is always different from the material nature. The great ocean of material nature is tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditions are something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self, wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living conditions, which are impossible in this material world.

Answer 9

Suffering puts us on the fast track to self realization

Answer 10

Because one cannot expect from a omniscent and compassionate God such a horrible destiny of such a lovely kid.

In fact I believe in Karma

sorry, we have what we deserve due to past actions....
the actions of today will lead you to a future destiny