Why does God allow natural disasters?

People ask this question because they have many common misconceptions about God. The assume that God is only a god of love, and shouldn't let these things happen.

Is God more loving or more wrathful? Most would say loving. This is not true.

They are forgetting that God is EQUALLY a god of justice, holiness, grace, mercy, wrath and anger. We tend to just latch on to the love part though as it's "nicer" to think about.

When sin came into the world through man's rebellion, God cursed the earth in his wrath and anger, and sent a very simple method for redemption in his grace and love. He will send those who do not accept this to their eternal death in his wrath, and those who do accept this to their eternal life in his love.

So because of this curse, which is mankind's fault, we have natural disasters (among other things). It sucks but you reap what you sow.

Also, about the "God has had it in for the little ones" comment. That's a very bold statement to make for someone who doesn't know much about who they're arguing against. He said it was better to be childlike, as children are the best judges of character (in general). Jesus also rebuked his disciples who wanted to tell the children to go away and leave him alone, saying "suffer the little children to come onto me".

Life is a game of chance.

God operates in the world not in the fashion of the finite and relative but as the infinite in the finite and the absolute in the relative.

God does not operate on the world from above or from outside as unmoved
mover, but from within as the dynamic, most real reality in the process of the evolution of the world, which he makes possible, directs and completes. He does not operate above the world process, but in the world process; in,
with, and among human beings and things. He is himself source, center and goal of the world process.

God operates not only at particular, especially important points or gaps in the world process but as the creating and consummating primal support and thus as the world-immanent, world-transcendent Ruler of the world,
omnipresent and omnipotent---fully respecting the laws of nature, of
which he is himself the source. He is himself the all-embracing and all-
controlling meaning and ground of the world process, who can of course be accepted only in faith. (ref Hans Kung "Does God Exist")


We really must let go of our childish images of God. God is the always greater God, who is always greater than our ideas of him and the wishes we might put to him.


In a little book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," Rabbi Kushner
concludes that God is not all-powerful, that God walks by his side unable
to change the situation.

Originally posted by GoneGrey
There seems to be as many 'holy books' as there are religions. Which of these do you purport to hold all of the answers and represent the word of God? How do you know this for certain? Why are the others not the the word of God?

the bible, because only it provides answers to questions that are relevant in our lives like - "why does god permit suffering" "where do we go when we die" "will suffering ever end"

bible is a book of prophecy and has proven itself time and time again as accurate.

the bible has shown itself to be protected despite efforts by the church itself to destroy it.

but i have to ask, why are you changing the topic? whether or not the bible is god's word is a separate thread

If "God" is omnipotent, why is this entity unable to present itself to all men in a manner that would convince all of us beyond doubt of its existence?

he did. several occasions. one of them in front of all of israel. no wait, i get the feeling you are going to tell me that didnt happen because you didnt see it yourself

Why would this "God" create an existence where man is continually spiritually divided (and violently so, in many cases). If this is explainable, would you consider this "God" to be a benevolent one then?

that was answered in the article.

god did not create the existence, man did it to themselves. its about independence from god which god himself respects so yes, he is "benevolent" especially because he opened the way for people who see the bad effects of independence to go back to him.

but the fact is, most dont want to be told what to do.

just one example. "do not commit adultery" or fornication. in other words, you shouldnt have sex with anyone but your marriage mate.

there are advantages to living this way. the couple trust each other emotionally. they avoid the possibility of certian diseases. if a person isnt married, then they avoid unwanted pregnancy. it helps the people involved and allows the children that sex creates to grow up in a better home. good advice no?

but most people feel that the bible is antiquated in this regard. they reason sex is natural, so im going to do it whenever i want. some people criticize the bible about it. at one point i heard someone say that a god of love would never hold back sex for any reason. others think that god is holding back something for no reason.

well fine, its your choice. you have the free will to follow god's commands or not. whether or not you follow them is between you and god.

but lets say that disregard them. go out to a party and meet a beautiful woman. you go home with her and by the next day you feel very happy with yourself, the condom broke, but its ok, your both clean.

except much later you are HIV positive.

now i ask a question, is your suffering (both emotional and physical) god's fault or yours?

are you suggesting that a benevolent god would have parted the sky and stopped your night of passion before anything bad would have happened?

look around you. a majority of the suffering in the world is directly caused from mismanagement from man. both globaly and personally in our own lives.

[edit on 21-1-2010 by miriam0566]

reply to post by miriam0566


I can't find the star function on BTS at the moment!

If I could... I would.

God is glorifying you.

Before anyone on this planet can even begin to debate who is God, What is He, and Why, we need to realise one small fact, and that is we are all given this extraordinary gift of free thinking which means, no ones views are identical, which to say whatever you beleive in that comes from within and feels right to you, without judgement of others is possibly the right way for you, people Question Why? ... does he let natural disasters happen... note... NATURAL, the world forms itself due to our thinking, positive and negative thoughts which influence the energy we put out there..., can you imagine if everyone had to wake up tomorrow morning and be filled with love, unity, and peace, no need for materialistic matter, we would have a completely different understanding as to what life really is, i think that due to societies and circumstances we are all put into a war of marching soldiers, with this, BiBlE that i think has alot of truth in it aswell, but then again wasnt emailed to us by GOD, it has been changed and altered throughout history, the basics stay there, but by changing one word can alter the complete meaning of the actual events portrayed...
We all know when we have done something wrong... we have a feeling, a feeling that comes from within, and same goes for what is right, we know we feel good, So you cant actually debate between two people that there is a god or isnt a god, due to evidence we say that god doesnt exist, but due to reality and its evidence we say that there is definite a stronger force that has shaped everything into existence,

On that note, if you feel what you believe in is right and it gives you a sense of being real, not because someone else told you that you must believe, but because you have experienced it for yourself then so be it, I will not judge anyone on this planet if they tell me that their religion is the one , because it is personal preference, and you have been given that right at birth to beleive what you want to beleive, we will never know the answers while we are here, as no one on this planet has enough knowledge about everything to make that CONCLUSION

Peace and inner understanding

youre makin assumptions based upon the statements of some religions, god doesnt control earth, life and disasters, freewill does everything on earth, or the natural, human and animal freewill, and no home is without errors, likewise with earth, it is our home but is also itself, which probably wasnt for our own use to begin with.
i believe in god but also of freewill,

reply to post by thegreatestone


me, too
and so Nature - who is a sentient being and not at all inanimate - has freewill, too.

LET US MAKE THEM in the image of our likeness

therefore GOD has freewill
Nature has freewill
you and i have freewill

the thing is, most of us don't really exercise our right to free will and if we do, our minds are mumbled-jumbled messes from all the B.S. distractions this society uses for diversionary tactics to keep everyone just gettin' by instead of living...

and then, to top it off, most humans only use about 2% of their potential capacity for thoughts at any given time.

and that isn't really directed WILLFULLY, if you know what i mean!

but all those things aside, if a person doesn't fit into those boxes...and KNOWS it...well, there really is no limit to the power of that mind's free will!

no limits at all

The Earth acts according to mans rebellion. God is a father and made it this way. Like karma.

we sin and rebel, the Earth rebels against us. yet the worst thing that can happen is?

death.

That's not bad because death comes to us all.


But to rebel over something like earthquakes shows lack of understanding in humans and thus the cycle continues.



" weather weapons "

This is a good point. Governments can alter earthquakes I think from what i have heard. But this goes back to the point that man will try to become God in the end times and they will bring about the end.

what's from God and man I don't know, but I do know in some instances God made nature like karma driven. I'll have to do research what the saints have said about that.

peace OP.

[edit on 22-6-2010 by JesusisTruth]