A friend of mine has had an incredibly rough life. He's been through more than anyone I know.
Once, we discussed belief in God. He said that he first began to lose his faith when he lost his father to suicide.
On the other hand, I have another friend that experienced the loss of his own father to suicide, and contrarily, he was brought closer to God.
Why is it that the same event could cause two oppositte reactions?
2007-10-28 14:11:46 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I would think that the friend who turned away from God would see a glass as half empty and the other friend who turned to God would see a half full. Maybe the friend who is trying to live life without God could use some Therapy.
2007-10-29 01:08:13 · answer #1 · answered by Pamela V 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From the day I was born up until a few years ago my life was full of violence and abuse and tragedy.
I can't even begin to describe how bad it was for me how many terrible things I had to endure just to survive.
But oddly enough I always knew beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly who and what was responsible for all that went wrong in my life.
And that's Satan.
I never once thought that God did any of it or that He was responsible for my suffering in fact even as a child I always knew it was Satan.
But after becoming a Christian a few years ago and turning away from sin I have had Gods protection and love to always keep me safe and the devil can't do anything to me anymore.
This is Satan's world for the meantime and he torments us day and night especially if he knows ahead of time that one day we'll be saved and out of his reach.
It's the ones that Satan knows will never be saved that live in luxury and seem to always get what they want.
But I think the reason why the same event can lead one person to find God while another turns away from Him is because they're just not ready to accept God and turn from sin.
But for those who will be saved there will come a turning point in their lives that leads them to God but what point that leads them there all depends on the individual and when it's time for them to be saved.
Satan knows that his end is near and soon he'll be destroyed that's why so many bad things are happening right now and are only going to get worse the closer he gets to his own destruction.
I'm sorry that happened to your friends and I hope both find God and are saved from the torments of Satan.
2007-10-29 01:51:54 · answer #2 · answered by Adelaide B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it wasn't the same event. Or rather, not the same effect ...
the event of A's father commiting suicide and B's father commiting suicide, even if done on the same day, in the same manner would affect A and B differnetly as A nd B are differnt people. Even if their father was the same person (as has happened to two friends of mine), they reacted differently.
Their lifestyles, gender, age, outlook, upbringing and personal situation at the time of the event (in this case father's suicide) will affect their actions as much as (if not more than) where and who it is enacting the act.
Ultimately, the question of being brought toa deity is always a personal one, and a faith in something is always questionned before it is made stronger.
For me personally - it's only just starting (the questionning) after 20 years of self examination...
2007-10-28 21:17:59 · answer #3 · answered by p_giffney 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Everyone handles life in different ways. And these are the only two choices...be drawn closer to God or allow this to create a gap between you and He. Either way, God is still there, reaching out to us, waiting for us to realize He is always there to carry us and see us through. Even in the darkest of nights, He is still there if we reach out through the dark and take hold of His hand. Some people are already teetering with their faith and use this as an excuse to abandon their faith and blame God. He still loves them and is always ready and willing to be there to pick up the pieces when we realize we have no where else to go but up.
2007-10-28 21:19:42 · answer #4 · answered by swtserenity43 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A father commiting suicide does not mean just that. No even has only one, literal meaning. It depends on each individual, and how they percieved it depending on what they have each experienced. Just to give you an idea of what I mean, one friend might have lost faith because he connected the loss of his father a punishment from a higher, uncontrollable force (like God), and his death caused him to disown his belief. The other friend might have had a revalation of sorts when whis father died, where he began rethinking his life, and discovering ideas he had never thought of before. And this, he connected to a higher force (God) and felt closer than ever, both to himself, and to his father.
2007-10-28 21:19:49 · answer #5 · answered by Mosquito Algebra Fountain Thrash 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because the two different people chose to react to the situation differently. One decided to get closer to God for various reasons, and the other decided that he wants nothing to do with God. Everybody has to make the choice of whether they want a relationship with God or not, it is just that your friends made this decision on the heels of their fathers committing suicide.
2007-10-28 21:24:00 · answer #6 · answered by Marty 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
One reason why a person would get closer to god is cause he started off not appreciating god or life but when he realizes that life is so precious he appreciates all the things in life including god.
As for a person that goes against god..he might of started as a religious person but when thinks go bad he blames it on god. Person might think god is cruel etc etc so he starts losing his belief and even not caring about life much either.
2007-10-28 21:17:12 · answer #7 · answered by Evil Kenivel 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Some people need to lean on their faith to get them through the rough times - Some people see the rough times as proof that having faith is useless.
It's all in how you look at it.
My friend's mom got cancer - it brought her closer to God. Someone else could see the cancer as proof that God does not exist.
2007-10-28 21:25:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What a great question! I believe the two different reactions reflect where they were in their walk with the Lord. One seems to have blamed God in a sense for not stepping in to save his father from taking his own life, while the other one turned to God in his sorrow over his father's death, and consequently found peace. God bless you young lady!!!
2007-10-28 21:21:35 · answer #9 · answered by Virginia B (John 16:33) 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
people have different ways of coping. some want someone to blame(that being god, in your friends case), and others want someone to run to, that will make it all better(that also being god for your other friend). my best friends husband grew up in a very religious household, and they never went to the doctor because they wanted to show god they had enough faith to heal them, so his mom had 8 kids on their couch, no hospital, nothing for pain, and the last one she had killed her and the baby died as well, and later in life the father got ill, and layed on the couch and waited to be healed, but it was just his time and he eventually died, so now her husband doesn't want anything to do with god, i tried explaining to him that this wasn't god's fault, everyone dies, your not going to live forever regardless of your faith. and that god had blessed them the the chance to seek medical care and they refused, when god's doing his part and your not doing yours then you can't blame him if you don't get your miracle. of course god makes miracles happen everyday, but he doesn't expect you to sit around and do nothing, he wants you to trust that he will guide you to the right doctor and heal you. unless of course your stranded out at sea or something, then you can expect him to pull you through, and he will. but some people just want to blame him for all the bad and never really credit him for any of the good.
2007-10-29 01:05:23 · answer #10 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋