I don't understand how anybody could justify the existence of a god?

Question

There are so many horrible things happening to people all over the world.

People suffering the effects of famine, living in third world countries - what are they being punished for? Explain the deaths of babies?

If there truly is a god - it appears he lacks empathy.

Can somebody prove me wrong?

@ scottcollins83
You're wrong in assuming I dislike pro-god related topics/questions. I think they provide excellent grounds for discussion.

@ Connie D
Your post implies you believe all "non-believers" follow the big-bang theory. However, let's assume this is true for the sake of argument. What needs to be emphasized here, is that it's still just the big bang THEORY ;).

@ Kurenaii
If god is so powerful - why bother testing us? Could he not just predict the outcome?

@ Tab BEE <3
So people who are completely ignorant about the whole matter - born and raised where stories of god and bibles do not exist - deserve to suffer?

@ Damn PocketProtector
I'm not trying to "win anybody over" here. Just watching both sides of the field play at each other.

@ heiscomingintheclouds
All of your magical insights are subjective.

@ kj7gs
I worded my question to assume his existence, pointing out his lack of empathy. If he exists, and if HOW he works involves letting his children suffer - why does everybody adore him so?

@ zach
Yes, he allows us to make our own mistakes because he loves us, right.

You'd let your child make his or her own mistakes when you could intervene? "Let him fall out of that tree he's climbed so high in, dying will teach him a good lesson."

@ Blasphemer Bill
A response to your response (concerning my response).

I believe my definition of a theory complies with what it's meant to - and being a physics major I'd certainly hope it would. I gather you believe my response to Connie D's answer is an attempt to define what a theory is. You're wrong however, as my only intention was to provide some contrast in arrogance.

"Believers" as some may call them, argue that the bible (whether it be the Tanakh, the Qur'an or another fictional publication) provides definitive answers to the seemingly unanswerable. Yet us "non-believers" are modest enough to use the "theory" suffix when referring to our "explanation" of choice.

Hope that helps clear some confusion, I'd appreciate a response granted you have the time.

Answer 1

people are trying their best to justify the god of the church who is a thief and murderer,but they are blind to the true God of all called YAHWEH which mean I AM gotohttp://frikkiebotes.homemarker.com/cgi-bin/blog for the true understanding of GOD

Answer 2

Ah, the classic problem of evil that no theologian has ever given a satisfactory answer to:

“The gods can either take away evil from the world and will not, or, being willing to do so cannot; or they neither can nor will, or lastly, they are able and willing. If they have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not omnipotent. If they can but will not, then they are not benevolent. If they are neither able nor willing, they are neither omnipotent nor benevolent.. Lastly, if they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist? ” -Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE)

This argument disproves the possibility of a god with those attributes co-existing with evil in the world.

All attempts to blame this on the fall of man fail miserably when considering all-knowing god had to foreknow what the result of putting the tree in the garden would be.


Response to details:

You have no clue what a scientific theory is. A theory in science is not merely a guess. A guess is called a hypothesis. A scientific theory describes a set of falsifiable and well tested facts.

You are right to point out that you don't have to believe in the big bang to disbelieve there is a god. Science Deniers (Creationists) could disprove all of science and that would offer exactly 0 evidence for the existence of a god.

Answer 3

Somebody once told me something :
"There is no way to prove that God isn't real. Think about this ; if the sun were any closer to the Earth we would all be dead. If anything was slightly different today ; we would not exist." Does this not even slightly prove God exists?

I personally believe that it is as if.. some sort of "test" from God, if you will. He put us on this Earth and is watching us grow and build the world how it is today. You do have a point though, and I've heard if argued plenty of times.

I'm don't consider myself Christian, but I believe in God and everything. I just do not like being labeled a religion.. and alot of the stuff in the Bible I don't believe.

It appears as if we'll never know something like this. :) Unless God Himself decides to make a Yahoo account and post it for you.

Answer 4

If you think of good and a God you have to also think of evil and the Devil. There are always 2 sides to everything. You mention famine but why do those people still live in a desert? Are they dumb or maybe just uncivilized. Babies die for many reasons. Alot of which is genetics. Sometimes people have to suffer to realize that there truly is something else out there than what they can see or touch. Just because you can't do either doesn't mean He doesn't exist.

Answer 5

I know how you feel but I think that posting a delicate topic like this on a forum is just asking for trouble...

Personally no, i don't believe in God (for many of the reasons that you have already suggested) but that still doesn't mean to say that he doesn't exist and I still respect the beliefs of those who do. It is true that much of the suffering in the world is caused by humans e.g. murders and thefts and even poverty but by no means is it all a result of human actions e.g. natural disasters - volcanoes, tornadoes, floods etc.

In answer to your question, no I can't prove you either right or wrong and in my opinion, that is exactly how things will stay forever.

P.s. can anyone tell me why i'm getting the thumbs down? :-(

P.P.s If anyone's fealing bored check this out :

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/God

@ Kurenaii - you said:

"Somebody once told me something :
"There is no way to prove that God isn't real. Think about this ; if the sun were any closer to the Earth we would all be dead. If anything was slightly different today ; we would not exist." Does this not even slightly prove God exists?"

Well sorry but not really because in my opinion it was all down to chance. This planet used to be home to many small creatures millions and millions of years ago and from these creatures, we have evolved to fit the climate of the planet at the time. This process is called natural selection (Read up on this as it's quite interesting. This planet has everything for us because we have adapted to its climate e.g. we breath oxygen which is present in the atmosphere, our body temperature is in harmony with the climate of the world where we live etc. As you were saying earlier "if the sun were any closer to the earth..." yes this is true in the fact that we would all be dead but here's my question for you,
Would human kind ever have evolved in the first place?

No, now I think about it, I rekon that it's imposible to either proove or dis-proove the existance of God. I have come to this conclusion because how can you dis-proove the existance of a being that
1/You can't see
2/You can't detect him with ANY of your senses what so ever.
3/Even if you could, where would you start looking?

For these very same reasons, it is impossible to proove the existance of God either...

Answer 6

Your question seems to be - does't human suffering disprove gods existance? To properly answer that qustion you have to ask who is to blame for that suffering.

When Adam chose to listen to Satan instead of God, he challenged Gods right to rule over mankind. God thus has allowed mankind the opportunity rule themselves for a time. It is due to mankind own self centered greed that many of the evil things in the world happen, and are allowed to happen. People starve to death in third world countries, because in general, man doesn't care about what happens to his fellow man. It's is Mans rulership over his own dealings that allows these things to happen.

It has not however, been without outside influences. For example, when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the earth if he would bow down and perform a single act of worship to him (Matthew 4:8-9). How could Satan offer Jesus something if he did not already possess it. 1 John 5:19 says "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one."

In addition, "time and chance" befalls everyone (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Sometimes bad things happen to good or innocent people. That doesn't mean that God doesn't care for them or doesn't hear their prayers. But he does remember them.
When people loose someone they love for whatever reason, some church leaders try to comfort by saying that "God called them to him in heaven". But that type of reasoning makes God look selfish. James 1:13 says "it is not possible for God to be tested by evil, and he himself puts no man to such a test" It's not because of God that these things happen, rather unfortunate circumstance.

So according to the bible, Man allowing himself to be led by Satan, is responsible for the atrocities in the world. Not God.

God is not unsympathetic to man's situation however. Revelation 21:4 says "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, neither crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the old things are gone." So God intends to bring all of mans suffering to an end in his due time.

Answer 7

I agree with you in a way.

About a month ago my cousin passed away mysteriously, at the age of only 14. I'd always believed that there was a god, but this made me question it completely. If there really was a god, how could he take my cousin away from his family?

But I'd still like to believe he exists, and my cousin is an angel.

But the answer to your question is no, no one can really prove anything. You either believe, or you don't. You can keep trying to find proof, but you just can't.

Answer 8

I cannot prove you wrong, nor do I intend to. I personally believe there are no gods or one god. It defies nature, and while some people will say that there are many things that defy nature, this one is just too improbable.

The clash of different religions has been major issues over the course of humanity, but in truth, religion is just a belief system, so it is only humans believing in it that makes it existent.

Answer 9

Horrible things happening does not mean that there is no God. I believe that you are making an assumption that we are owed something, and we are not.

ADDED: Now if you are saying that this implies impotence, this is still not a denial of God. In fact, you've just admitted his existence, even if impotent. And if this is your argument, we need merely to debate HOW he works, not whether he exists.

Your response: I worded my question to assume his existence, pointing out his lack of empathy. If he exists, and if HOW he works involves letting his children suffer - why does everybody adore him so?

My reply: you worded your question to assume nonexistence unless there was benevolence involved. Read your own writing. But if we have now moved from nonexistence to existence, we can look at whether everyone adores him or not. You have already shaken your fist at him in challenging his perceived debt of benevolence to his creation. That is not adoration. That is not even respect. Maybe you don't exist.

Answer 10

God helps if you ask for it. And even when you ask for it you have to try to help yourself along the way. Think about it. People in third world countries and other places like that probably don't believe in God. And if you don't believe in him do you think he is gonna make your life roses? Doubt it. God has a plan for everyone. NEVER doubt what he does. God is better than anyone on earth. He knows what he is doing. Get some faith.

Answer 11

Isn’t it amazing that the accounts in the word of God – statements, precepts, commandments, and insights – made thousands and thousands of years ago are still true and perfectly valid in this day or in any day or age?


• He describes the six individual 24-hour days of creation.
• He lays out the necessary information to date the age of the earth and the universe.
• He records for us the first 4,000 years of this world’s history.
• He describes what went wrong in the garden of Eden.
• He tells of Noah and the great global flood and the reason why.
• He tells of the terrible sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and records its destruction.
• He tells us of Abraham and Moses and the great prophets.
• He tells of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, and the only savior of all those who call upon his name.
• He describes the spirit realm and how to interact with angels and devils.
• He gives supernatural instructions and insights into a literal multitude of issues.
• He even foretells the end of the world and a soon-coming judgement day.