This friend is very opinionated and against God, we've talked for about 4 yrs and his father is passing away. I always share my faith in everyday talking, no pushing. But he is very aware of my faith and how important is to me and my familia.
He point blank asked me "If there was a God, why does he let bad things happen". I know God is just and there's sin, but I need a really good response to sum it all up, any ideas?!
2007-10-25 05:55:19 · 26 answers · asked by Queenie` 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Only believers answer please.
I don't want to debate whether there IS a God, I KNOW God reigns and is here. And will pray for those of you that don't believe, but that wasn't my question.
I am asking how to share with an unbeliever.
2007-10-25 06:07:20 · update #1
The answer is that God gives us free choice. We are not robots so we are responsible for our own choices... to warn us that there are concequences of our actions.
Unfortunately, those actions reflect badly on the innocent.
Sorry, not an easy question to answer.
2007-10-25 06:19:48 · answer #1 · answered by Fred Head 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
God is beyond good and bad. He is neutral in all aspects. Good and bad are human choices. We make the decisions. Most of human sufferings rise from our desires and our want for more and more. People work hard, doing late shifts to earn as much money as possible. As a result you are mentally and physically stressed out. You spend less time with your loved ones and at times you release the tension onto them. Humans are never satisfied. We always want more and better of what we laready have. If you carefully analyse a particular problem you will find the root cause to be some hidden desire. However there are situations which arise not as a result of our desires. There are people who are born into poverty, broken famlies, people born with physical deformities etc. These are scenarios where we are baffled as to God's intentions. We feel cheated. Why are we put to suffer when we haven't done anything? Again even the above sceanrios reflect our own doing. You are a Catholic and may not believe in karmas and rebirths. But to explain your question, what we are today is a sum total of our actions in the past. The sufferings that we go through without any apparent reason may be due to our past actions. God never gives us sorrow. We choose that path through our actions.
2016-04-10 04:38:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God didn't creat humans just to have fun, sex, and live luxurious life without any purpose. God created this entire world for humans to live here and test their souls how they will perform under thousands of different situations. I can make a long list of God's differents ways of tests but it will be too long and i don't know how many people really read what i write.
It may be a selection process of God to weed bad souls out and pick the best souls for some higher purpose in next life which we don't know yet.
God tests us by putting us in so many situations like
death,sicknes, new born children, richeness, poverty, accidents, birth with abnormalities, earth quaks etc .....
to see how each person will behave under each situation for each person in each family and angels keep recording their every action. On the Day of Judgment all will be judged on their good or bad performances and will be rewarded or punished. The worst will be eliminated and the best will get to live far better decent life than we can even imagine. God has told only that much. . It will be boring life if I sit, eat, sleep, worship God and nothing else to do. . It is my personal belief that God may have some higher purpose for the best ones in next life which we will know only when we shall get there.
2007-10-25 06:19:55 · answer #3 · answered by majeed3245 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
How would he prevent bad things from happening? He would have to control everything we do and literally make it impossible for us to do wrong. Then everyone would be doing good things not because they are good things to do, but because they have no choice and no ability to do otherwise.
Instead, God gave us free will to do good or evil - and by entrusting this within us, makes it our responsibility to do good with this ability and not evil. You cannot say "the devil made me do it!" any more than you can say God made you do it - you are responsible for your actions fully and totally.
This is the whole idea behind having free will, which is a very key concept of Christianity. Beyond this and more specifically for your case, I think, is the concept that we will all eventually die and pass away from our bodies. When people are sick and dying it is always a sad occurrence, but when you believe that they will be going on to a better place it can bring comfort. You did not say whether his father is a Christian or not, but if he is then the idea that despite whatever may be happening to his material body his soul will be heading to a better place could be what he is looking for.
2007-10-25 06:09:51 · answer #4 · answered by Rangeley 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is nothing you can say to your friend that will console him on his loss, especially because he doesn't believe in God. However, if you are going to try then this is my view:
God does not cause bad things to happen, the devil does. Yes, God sometimes does not stop the devil from hurting others but that is because he is allowing his people/children/followers to be tested. God allows us to go through certain trials and hardships to strengthen us emotionally and to bring us even closer to Him. God doesn't allow the devil to hurt us because He doesn't like some of us or whatever. He allows it because He loves us and wants us to be strong whenever rough times come and He wants us to learn that no matter what happens He will always be there to help us through the toughness. An example is when a loved one dies. That is an extreme pain that sometimes feels unbearable and as if it shall never pass. However, have you noticed that we are able to still live on even after that person without extreme suffering everyday? That is God giving you peace and acceptance.
Another example, the devil worked within the murderer of the family member, God allows it as almost a test of your faith in Him and once He has tested you, the pain subsides as long as you turn to him during that time. Basically, it is all part of God's divine plan. If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Good luck and continue to share your faith with your friend, one day he will accept it.
2007-10-25 06:08:45 · answer #5 · answered by ALeoStar 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The Bible says in Matthew 5:45, "For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too." There are things on earth that contribute to disease (you didn't say what he's dying of) and our bodies aren't immune to these things, whether we're good or bad. We brought sin into the world, and because of that, our bodies do break down and fail us. I'm sorry for your friend's dad. Is his dad a believer?
2007-10-25 06:17:16 · answer #6 · answered by Linnie 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
your first problem is that you think god is just...
"Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all – old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin your task right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders. "Defile the Temple!" the LORD commanded. "Fill its courtyards with the bodies of those you kill! Go!" So they went throughout the city and did as they were told." (Ezekiel 9:5-7 NLT)
EDIT
baring anyone from answering is discrimination which of course is a violation of the TOS...
2007-10-25 06:08:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
God allows evil and misfortunes for the simple purpose of strengthening us. Have you ever heard of the phrase "more couragious when wounded". This world is our training ground. Evil and misfortunes are the obstacles in a course we must complete. So let us prove our worth, and get to Heaven.
2007-10-25 06:06:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Because God, believes that eternal torture is a just punishment for misunderstanding his will and not believing in his existence.
A God who has that mentality and nature, is very likely to let bad things happen, even though he has the ability to stop them.
Man being incapable of understanding God, doesn't mean that his actions are justified.
2007-10-25 05:58:59 · answer #9 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
God tests human beings to who stays a true beleiver even in the worst of conditions, that is gods purpose of creating us.
2007-10-25 06:04:09 · answer #10 · answered by nocturnal_monk 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋