Why does God permit terrible things to happen to good people?

Analogy:

When two year-old Johnny accidentally drops his lollipop on the ground and gets dirt stuck all over it, it is a terrible loss to him, his heart is broken and he cries. Yet, watching him, the child's father may laugh to himself, because the parent's understanding of his child's minor tragedy in the broad scope of things is vastly greater than his child's understanding.

Later, when a tragedy occurs to Johnny's father, a good person, it appears tragic only because one's understanding of the grand scheme of things is severely limited. If one's understanding of the "big picture" were great enough, he would realize that the tragedy that befell Johnny's father is actually only "a much bigger lollipop that fell in the dirt."

The only difference between the two heartbreaking losses is in magnitude.

Source withheld until permission granted.

JHAustin

Why does God permit terrible things to happen to good people?

it might be the beer
or why does a dog lick his balls?

because he can

tut tut tut

well,because He loves you.
A small child does something naughty........he is punished so that he remembers it in the future...

God allows suffering in each individual differently......

God is like a Father.......He loves you and does what a real father would do to his child......
Suffering may seem to be 'harsh' but in fact it is disguised that way so one that suffers can call for help.....one that suffers has a need for comfort.....

One that has no ''sufferings'' has no need for help or comfort.......they are comfortable in their situation and need not bother for anyone else....

God permits terrible things to happen to good people because he loves them and knows the mind of the good person.....and the suffering is the only way that the person is able to come closer to God......

If one has happy days everyday...........one has no need for a comforter...

Therefore God allows these things to happen because it strengthens one more each time they suffer......the more sufferings, the more strength builds up.....
Jesus Christ suffered on earth to show US that suffering is what we should accept as to coming closer to God......without suffering there is no Humility......without humility,one cannot be a true Christian .....
Humility is another form of suffering.....it brings you closer to God because you allow yourself to be judged and you do not judge.......You have humility because you are in no position to offend or critisize another person ......how can one offend another on his faults when one does not try to see their own faults!

God knows that we have a limited ability to understand the grand scheme of things. He also knows that we cannot possibly, fully understand love until we can fully understand evil.

I believe that this is why bad things happen to good people. By knowing evil, we can then fully understand God's love for us.

Jesus saw evil at its worst even though he already fully understood love. He was/is the ultimate example of good. Unfortunately, I don't think most people fully understand evil yet. When the events from the Book Of Revelation come to pass, those that stand firm in the face of evil will finally understand God's love.

For some, God's love is already mostly understood. For others, it will take the end time events for them to know.

JHAustin

Monk Seraphim Rose,a man who was a true philosopher and knew and understood the gift of suffering, once said.......

Why do men learn through pain and suffering,
and not through pleasure and happiness?
Very simply, because pleasure and happiness accustom
one to satisfaction with the things given in this world,
whereas pain and suffering drive one to seek a more profound happiness beyond the limitations of this world.


[Edited on 6/12/2003 by helen670]

Hello Helen670,

Well, we seem to be on the same page.

Thank you for posting.

JHAustin

The first virtue that suffering teaches is humility.
Those who have suffered intensely know that human strength alone is not enough to endure the pain of life.
It is only by the strength of God that they can endure it, whether it comes from an external source:sickness, bodily injury,or even torture;or from internal strife: loneliness ,despair,sorrow,abandonement and grief.
God teaches humanity through suffering to reveal human weakness so that we will seek the power of Christ.
The next virtue that suffering produces is patience.
Through enduring the pain and trials of life strength of soul is gained.Along with longsuffering patience,comes the ability to see beyond the temporal world with its difficulties and to see the 'big picture.''
The third virtue learned through suffering is compassion.
Only one who has suffered can have compassion for another who suffers.
'''Youth of the Apocalypse''' And the last true rebellion.....-Monk Seraphim Rose-Platina ,California


Hi JHAustin

[Edited on 6/12/2003 by helen670]

So the reason god made my dad leave me when I was 2 and then left the country so he didn't have to pay child support was because he loved me... It all makes sense...

No it's not god that is to blame for all the good and the bad that we have to endure. If that is the case, then why bother? Why bother to give life to something and then dictate what happens to that life? We are 'human' we make choices..we decide. Someone may decide that they just don't like me for some deep rooted reason and therefore they choose to make my life a living hell, and anyone around me that I care for. This is a choice they make, not mine, not Gods. It's no different then any other living species out there. Those especially that live in the wild, they make their choices on their instincts and sometimes those instincts can cause them to walk into a troublesome and life threatening situation. Well we sometimes do the very same thing.

People do not choose to be born into a life of termoil or illness and God doesn't choose that life for them either, He started the creation of His and has watched it evolve on it's own. He has all the trust and faith in His creation, not to have to make the choices for us. What kind of God would choose for someone to have to watch their families murdered in cold blood at the hands of another human? Do you honestly think He is the director in the movie we call life?

I can see Him now, sitting back in His "God" chair eating pop-corn and saying "Cut, No no..I think he should rape the 3 year old little girl, then kill her in front of her parents." OK, I am having a hard time visualizing that.

Perhaps this is the reason every human being doesn't see God the same way? We all see and feel God within us and we make the choice to believe in Him, and we make the choice to say that this was Gods doing and 'my' God would never 'make' this happen to me or another life he created. Noone really knows, and noone will until God chooses to show us.
Magestica

A good old question...

Firstly, why is God to blame if a kid drops his lollypop? God takes the rap for all the bad events.

The sources of bad things are...

Humanity itself .. the base nature of people that cause them to hurt others

The degraded genetic code that makes up man, perfection ended when humanity left eden, errors in the genetic code, or introductions by man made chemicals etc, lead to sickness, illness, disease etc

Natural forces, famine, earthquakes, gravity, are not beyond God's control but then humanity has to take the responsibility not to live on Mt Vesuvius, or in a famine ravaged land.

The alternative response to this question is "Thank God that he IS protecting us from much worse things."

Every day brings new blessings from God and often he is working to protect people. Arn't you lucky that you didn't get run over today?

A time will come when the Spirit of God will not be upon the earth, according to revelations, at that time we will see the aweful potential of what fallen humanity can do.

Also death is no big deal, we think it is and think how terrible it is for someone to die, but its not really, its a bridge that everyone must cross and is not the end of existance. If it happens at 10 or 100 its OK, it doesn't mean that a 10 year old has missed out on anything, that person may have had a better life than a 100 year old. Age at death is immaterial. Real life begins AFTER you die.




[Edited on 12-6-2003 by Netchicken]

Why does God permit terrible things to happen to good people?

Surely you don't believe God will allow you into heaven without first testing your faith? That's why bad things happen to good people. It's a test of your faithfulness.

God will test your faith in every way possible. But don't forget God will never give you a task that you cannot bear.

Look at the story of the Prophet Abraham and Job. God tested both of their faith's tremendously.

the way it was explained to me is that it is a test of our faith in god look at Job

Originally posted by magestica
No it's not god that is to blame for all the good and the bad that we have to endure. If that is the case, then why bother? Why bother to give life to something and then dictate what happens to that life? We are 'human' we make choices..we decide. Someone may decide that they just don't like me for some deep rooted reason and therefore they choose to make my life a living hell, and anyone around me that I care for. This is a choice they make, not mine, not Gods. It's no different then any other living species out there. Those especially that live in the wild, they make their choices on their instincts and sometimes those instincts can cause them to walk into a troublesome and life threatening situation. Well we sometimes do the very same thing.

People do not choose to be born into a life of termoil or illness and God doesn't choose that life for them either, He started the creation of His and has watched it evolve on it's own. He has all the trust and faith in His creation, not to have to make the choices for us. What kind of God would choose for someone to have to watch their families murdered in cold blood at the hands of another human? Do you honestly think He is the director in the movie we call life?

I can see Him now, sitting back in His "God" chair eating pop-corn and saying "Cut, No no..I think he should rape the 3 year old little girl, then kill her in front of her parents." OK, I am having a hard time visualizing that.

Perhaps this is the reason every human being doesn't see God the same way? We all see and feel God within us and we make the choice to believe in Him, and we make the choice to say that this was Gods doing and 'my' God would never 'make' this happen to me or another life he created. Noone really knows, and noone will until God chooses to show us.
Magestica

Hello Magestica,

The topic is not - Why does God do bad things to you? The topic is - Why does he permit bad things to happen. You are correct in that it is our decisions and the decisions of others that sometimes get us into bad situations. All I am saying is that God will not always interfere with what happens. Most of the time he does interfere on your behalf, you just don't know it happened.

In the case of the Three year old Rape and Murder Victim that you give as an example. God may not interfere for reasons we cannot truly grasp, but he most definately will give that child an infinitely better existence in Heaven than it had on the Earth. Also, for the Parents that witnessed the terrible event will his Grace be that much more for them in Heaven when their time comes. It is a test of our Faith, as others have stated. It is our decisions in those crucial moments that determine who we will be for the rest of our lives. Choose well and you will be shown more Love, Grace and Peace than you could ever even fathom.

Thank you
JHAustin

Nice answer JH.
Indeed faith is at the end the answer.
The problem is that we are ant sized and are trying to see life in a "human" sized scale.

Just as the ant has no real conception of the world that the human has, nor then does the human have a conception of reality as God sees it.

Imagine a 2 dimensional being trying to understand a 3 dimensional being, it can't, so no matter what our trite and textbook answers are to the problem of God's actions we will never know.

So in the end we are left to fall back on faith, that although the worst may happen it still in the hands of God that we place ourselves.

Originally posted by JHAustin
The topic is - Why does he permit bad things to happen. You are correct in that it is our decisions and the decisions of others that sometimes get us into bad situations. All I am saying is that God will not always interfere with what happens. Most of the time he does interfere on your behalf, you just don't know it happened.

In the case of the Three year old Rape and Murder Victim that you give as an example. God may not interfere for reasons we cannot truly grasp, but he most definately will give that child an infinitely better existence in Heaven than it had on the Earth. Also, for the Parents that witnessed the terrible event will his Grace be that much more for them in Heaven when their time comes. It is a test of our Faith, as others have stated. It is our decisions in those crucial moments that determine who we will be for the rest of our lives. Choose well and you will be shown more Love, Grace and Peace than you could ever even fathom.

Thank you
JHAustin

So the reason god made my dad leave me when I was 2 and then left the country so he didn't have to pay child support was because he loved me... It all makes sense...

It sounds like your dad was under the influence of the dark god.

I didn't read the whole topic, just the opening statement and the last two. That said, this reply is assuming that god (I.E. The Christian god, Jehovah) exists:
Why do "bad" things happen to "good people"? It depends on how you define "good" and "bad". Nothing can be defined in such a black-and-white scale - everything is usually in that grey area. A "good" action can have a "bad" consequence, and visa versa. To me, a "good" person coincides with a "perfect" person - of which none exist today. Therefore, every person is subject to something "bad" happening to them -- extreme Karma

The story of Job is horrible... Why would god have to test your faith... After all he knows all and created you... So he either wants you to go to hell or there is no such thing...

Originally posted by Syntax
The story of Job is horrible... Why would god have to test your faith... After all he knows all and created you... So he either wants you to go to hell or there is no such thing...

Satan was permitted by God to test Job at his faith because He knew that Job was a faithfull servant...

.....brought down fire from heaven and burn up the sheep of Job and shepherds and consumed them, and sent a great wind from the wilderness which destroyed the whole house ,in which were the children of Job(Job 2:7;1:16-19)

It does sound like a terrible thing,but only to strengthen one's faith.....I know this in itself is terrible to even think about....
God does not wish anyone to go to hell.
People do as they please and have ''Free will' to choose ......
God permits certain things to happen for reasons that sometimes we cannot comprehend....
But we are given only as much as we can take......although it may seem to much to bear...