The News and God

[Mooria]

I wonder if anyone can help, i am a chrisitan, and believe strongly in God, But last night i was watching the News and Couldn't help wondering where on earth God was during the Chinease Earthquake and Burmease Cyclone. Those Poor Children, Families. it actually made me cry. Can anyone provide me with some sort of Spiritual Guidence - Village Vicar are you about ?? TIAx

[ludwig]

Well I don't know, you might decide that we live in a godless universe and that life has no meaning. This belief may cause your grief to fester and turn into a seething ball of anger which manifests itself in you turning to a life of violent crime.
It's not my test - I don't know how it's supposed to work.

[Mooria]

Thank you for all your answers, in particular those who knock my belief that there is a God, I believe that there is a God and to call it a 'ridiculous notion' is completely unfair! I would not knock your belief not to believe. what i have is FAITH. not a knowledge. I have faith that there is a GOD and that he is there for us!!! Yes there are times when it is difficult to believe, and additional guidence may be required, but i still believe.

For the Record i believe that it is a Ridiculous Notion that God doesn't exisit!!

[monkeyeyes]

So God, knowing that there will be a catastrophe (either just because he does or because he's going to cause it) actually does nothing to intervene and allows his children to suffer death and great loss and unimaginable torment...........

Then, because the survivors do not becomed maddened by grief and can somehow fight on to put one foot in front of the other this is given as evidence as Gods great love ?

He tests us and our faith and providing we keep crawling back to him on our knees, literally, he will see fit to pat us on the head, tell us that we haved 'passed' and light our way to everlasting glory ?

I don't think I would wish to spend eternity with this narssisistic, cruel, manipulative and egocentric monster.

[jake-the-peg]

Of course one conclusion that people sometimes reach is that there is a God but he's not the way that they've always been taught.

The "Heresy" of the Cathars in Southern France held that there's were two Gods one that controlled the intrinsically Evil world but another god of true Love and untainted by the world whom they worshiped and believed they could escape to

Christianity formed it's texts 2,000 to 1,500 years ago and it's imagery is set in that time.

Angels and God in the sky, Hell underground.casting out demons into pigs, miracles of walking on water.

And we won't even mention revelation and all the psychadellic nonsense in there!

Maybe you ought to start by asking yourself whether those people who wrote the Bible really could understood the true nature of God.

[keyplus90]

What we call catastrophe is just another way of ending our stay or time in this world. In simple words people call it dieing. This is another sign of we not belonging to this place and are here only for a limited period of time. Until scientist find a remedy for death (which in fact will never happen) people will keep coming to this world and going back where they come from. Now it is of course up to the people, few would believe few would never and keep on banging their head trusting their intellect which in fact is nothing and clearly is unable to give us few answers. That is where faith jumps in. We human when dream at night feel it so real that only when someone gives us a nudge realize that it was only a dream. During the dream we have no doubt that it is not real. For people who think. God says that there are clear sign that what we are and what he is. Rocket scientists can not solve these mysteries, certain things we just can not see, we have to believe in them.

[123everton]

At the risk of repeating myself, people built the buildings in China that collapsed if they'd built the properly to withstand earthquakes then the death toll would be far less.
Global warming is the new rapture and I'm sure many people will blame that (and shoddy buildings) for the death toll there.
So you could say it's our fault.

[mibn2cweus]

If I believed in God I would feel guilt at every calamity, natural or "man made" because I realise that it is our ignorance for which we are victimised and believing in God adds nothing to our knowledge of causality and in actuality degrades our ability to perceive reality as it really is and determine how best to live in it. Faith offers no solutions, it is a surrendering to the lack of the knowledge that once obtained provides the means to find them and the ability to solve our problems. Where there is a way there is a will.

Seeking solutions beyond reality and resolution beyond the grave is poison to the appreciation of the value and meaning that living with both as ones standard and enriching them as ones purpose provides.

The cost of refusing to face the grimmer side of reality and to learn and to grow is in evidence all around us. To hide from sorrow through evasion or delusion is to blind oneself to the path to joy.

[123everton]

I don't understand the point your trying to make Mibs, hiding from the grimmer side of life is not accusation that can be levelled at the truly religious and devout. These people will be found in the darkest places of humanity working tirelessly to ease suffering.
As opposed to the decadent ethos of "one life live it!" that I see adorning many 4x4 covered in mud after a day out churning up fields.
Of course come the summer a load fading pop stars could gang together and have a festival and the people can all go and get drunk and eat takeaway comforted by the knowledge theat it's all for a good cause.

[mibn2cweus]

123, To clarify . . . facing reality means accepting that it makes its own rules and that it is up to us to understand them if we are to abide by them and thrive with them or in spite of them rather than constantly dealing guiltily with the consequences of our ignorance.

God, serves only as a distraction . . . much like flinging mud or any other mindless diversion.

Anticipating further posts . . . No none of us are omniscient and there will always be calamities to deal with and I do enjoy helping others deal with misfortune. Many or most of us are mired in the struggle of day to day life. Given the tools we are borne with we have much to learn just to fend for ourselves. Among these tools the most valuable is the ability to gain and use knowledge to our advantage. If I can perhaps point the way to a brighter day is this not also helpful?

[123everton]

If your philosophy makes you happy and (as it appears) allows you to live a life without harming others. Then that is indeed the way to your brighter day, and is the right answer for you.
But I don't agree with the notion that believers seek to avoid reality, they don't subscribe to your reality but then who does? Or mine for that matter.
A believer will face the same fates and failures as everyone else they just rationalise it differently.
One of life's curiousities is that we're life and death are far more frequent visitors, faith is at it's strongest.
What brightness could you offer a man in a favella?

[beso]

God created the Universe for His own entertainment. It had been pretty boring being the only thing that existed. Do you think those TV soapies would be so interesting if bad stuff didn't keep happening all the time?

The Earth Channel is competing with millions of others for His omniscient awareness and it takes profound suffering at a personal level to get noticed. Remember we have to compete with supernovea eating up planets that harbour advanced civilisations. Fortunately these events are only sceened as final episodes since the set is totally destroyed. Floods, fires and tsaunamis are the stock and trade of the industry.

The last really top rating episode we had was 65 million years ago but you can't do giant meteorites too often because it does turn over at lot of the cast. The 40 Day and Night Flood episode apparently didn't rate as well as hoped because it really wan't that plausible and God thought Noah was a bit of a ponce.

The currently developing story line with Global Warming should really start to heat up soon and get His attention in a century or two. Apparently the Arab war plots are beginning to get really trite after 3000 years despite His initial sentiments for the Israelites.

He had really hoped to see the end of them in the Hitler series but you know how hard it is to dump some cast members even when nobody likes them anymore.

[123everton]

A very creative piece of writing Beso, quite amusing and entertaining.
Perhaps you agree with me that life is a comedy for those that think and a tragedy for those that feel.
You're distracted by the fact that people built the buildings that collapsed, you can engineer storm and earthquake proof buildings (you only have to watch the Christian Aid Week adverts to understand that) one thing I've noticed (I'm not an engineer) is that the schools in China that collapsed did not apper to have staggered supports for the floors (a shop in Taiwan or Korea collapsed in a similar fashion about 15 years ago) this is a cardinal sin in structual engineering (I think it's called retention) so when 1 floor collapsed the next one could'nt bear the weight and failed also and so on.
The floor supports should be staggered a bit like the bonds on a brick wall.

[brionon]

He was busy punishing Gays and unmarried Mothers.
Give him a break.

[savedbygrace]

God is the one 'crying' with you. He shares your grief. Look for the miracles that come out of such horrific, tragic circumtances.

[Marijn]

keyplus you said.... "the only thing we can do is to help these and any people the best we can, because that is our test". Are you really helping people so as you can pass a test? Or because you want to help? Also on this site a few days ago, someone was implying that god-fearing people were nicer/kinder than atheists, because it's their religion that keeps them good. When an athiest is kind, it's an unselfish act because they are not expecting a reward in heaven. And when they resist a temptation it's not because they are afraid of retribution, but because they have a conscience. I'm not implying that atheists are all better people or that believers are all selfish.

[naomi24]

savedbygrace, what miracles? Men saving what lives they can when thousands have been destroyed? That's no thanks to God. The gratitude and the credit should go to the people who risk their own lives to save others. And if God is crying with us and sharing our grief, then if he's so very powerful, why doesn't he do something a little more positive? His tears help no one.

notafish, excellent point.