Post by Josh on Feb 18, 2007 19:29:28 GMT -8
11/23/06:
The following is a response I gave to a friend who asked me what affect events like the Tsunami that struck India had on my faith:
Does the tsunami cause me to question why it had to happen? Well, it's hard for me to answer because I wasn't directly involved. But I'm not sure that it would necessitate questions. In the Christian worldview, disasters happen. God has allowed us to live in a dangerous world where the laws of nature generally hold sway. We have precious few guarantees. We aren't guaranteed to be protected from every evil just because we think we're good people. In fact, our physical safety is not the utmost good. The utmost good is that we use the time we have here to turn to God. God is not pleased by death; Scripture says he desires that none should perish, but at the same time he wills that we live in this temporary world where death can and does occur. He may not wish that any of us die, but he wills even stronger that love exist and that we make choices that really matter.
When Jesus was confronted with similar questions, his response was blunt:
"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with the sacrifices (an awful kind of death to a Jew) Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them (natural disaster)- do ou think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" Luke 13:1-5.
First, he says that a person's suffering doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their own moral character. Bad things can happen to anybody in this world that God created and we screwed up. It's not about God being pissed, but the real point is: we are all going to die sooner or later! What are we going to do with the time given us?
I don't think God is evil for allowing a world where pain and suffering exist. I fully admit that I must trust rather blindly that it will all work out and be worth it in the end. But, then again, considering the other evidences that God exists and is good, I think trusting him is a rational position.
Going through a disaster such as a tsunami and the amazing grief associated with the loss of loved ones would no doubt be an immense trial bringing on a host of difficulties that might be obstacles to faith, but much of that might really spring from the fact that most of us secretly think we are immune from suffering because we're good people and we don't deserve to suffer. That's not God's ultimate perspective, according to His word.
The following is a response I gave to a friend who asked me what affect events like the Tsunami that struck India had on my faith:
Does the tsunami cause me to question why it had to happen? Well, it's hard for me to answer because I wasn't directly involved. But I'm not sure that it would necessitate questions. In the Christian worldview, disasters happen. God has allowed us to live in a dangerous world where the laws of nature generally hold sway. We have precious few guarantees. We aren't guaranteed to be protected from every evil just because we think we're good people. In fact, our physical safety is not the utmost good. The utmost good is that we use the time we have here to turn to God. God is not pleased by death; Scripture says he desires that none should perish, but at the same time he wills that we live in this temporary world where death can and does occur. He may not wish that any of us die, but he wills even stronger that love exist and that we make choices that really matter.
When Jesus was confronted with similar questions, his response was blunt:
"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with the sacrifices (an awful kind of death to a Jew) Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them (natural disaster)- do ou think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" Luke 13:1-5.
First, he says that a person's suffering doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their own moral character. Bad things can happen to anybody in this world that God created and we screwed up. It's not about God being pissed, but the real point is: we are all going to die sooner or later! What are we going to do with the time given us?
I don't think God is evil for allowing a world where pain and suffering exist. I fully admit that I must trust rather blindly that it will all work out and be worth it in the end. But, then again, considering the other evidences that God exists and is good, I think trusting him is a rational position.
Going through a disaster such as a tsunami and the amazing grief associated with the loss of loved ones would no doubt be an immense trial bringing on a host of difficulties that might be obstacles to faith, but much of that might really spring from the fact that most of us secretly think we are immune from suffering because we're good people and we don't deserve to suffer. That's not God's ultimate perspective, according to His word.