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Why Does God Allow Suffering?

 
 
 
 
 
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In this free ebook produced by the United Church of God, you will see how the Bible addresses this enigma: Why does God allow suffering?

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09/26/2007
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Bible, Business, Life & Spirituality Ebooks ..., Religious, Religious Books, Silverfox Library Group_add

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vtbluedragonfly 8 months ago

I find it fascinating that people who appear to be non-believers are drawn to this article. In each case, you voice your anguish or disbelief with your statements and comments. Did you ever wonder why you feel the way you do? Do you ever wonder why you search for answers to the questions you're asking? Do you ever wonder why you feel lonely, empty and angry sometimes? Could it be that God is at your very doorstep this very moment and you refuse to answer His call, convincing yourself He's not real?

God will draw us to Him, and then the choice to open our hearts and minds to His truth is ours. It is beautifully ours, because Jesus does not want a personal relationship with a robot He controls, but rather someone who has freely chosen Him, accepted Him, and when that moment happens, if that moment happens, we are bestowed with the greatest gift life has to offer, God’s boundless grace and love.

Have you ever wanted to find a way to handle the trials of this life; the suffering, the pain, the loneliness, the distrust, the emptiness, the hurt, the sickness?

My friends, this life is the warm-up for the real and endless journey you know as Eternity. As for me, I have made my choice, and I can never fully describe the blessings in my life. These are not blessings of money, fame, or perfect health, but rather the greatest blessing of all, which is to know the reason I'm alive and to know that there is more meaning to my existence than what I’ve learned from the world before me, to know there is a place for me in the House of God, not because I’ve earned it, but simply because I chose to accept Jesus in to my life.

My story is similar to countless others who have discovered the same thing.

Regardless of what you think or believe, truth is truth and God is God. He is unchanging and unchangeable, and He welcomes all of us in to His realm, His kingdom... to be a part of His story and His plan.

My prayer is that you open the door to the possibility that there is truth in my words. For if there is, then a new life awaits you, a life beyond anything you could have ever dreamed.

And remember this when tragedy strikes. There can be no faith, without a reason to not be faithful.

With warm blessings to all.

Jedi Ninja 10 months ago

I will pray for you.

onlymeman 10 months ago

Hi people
I have just been told that I have only 3 months to live, for some reason this does not bother me, but what does bother me is that so many people still believing god, I think its time you all woke up and realized there’s no tooth fairy / farther Christmas / angels / bogy men / or anything else that you was told when you were young, if you believing god then look at your parents, they are the only gods on earth, there is no one or nothing else, have a nice day

rezak5 about 1 year ago

Yes this is true the Muslim who does Hallas work will be rewarded

uhjyrd about 1 year ago

I find it hard to believe that people still believing god, very sad, but if you do then you must believe that when a Muslim becomes a suicide bomber, he will be sent 13 virgins, and if you don’t believing that, then why do 80 million Muslims believe it

God's Angel about 1 year ago

Also God will reveal things to others and let them tell you. That's how we have prophets and those special people who get visions from God and can tell others about it. They can sometimes change people's lives

God's Angel about 1 year ago

I agree. We cannot tell others what to do. it is up to you to change. Now God might allow someone to tell you but it is up to you to listen and actually fall through with the message!

30080 about 1 year ago

in response to ufus 14 days ago, God died to give us a chance and a choice. We still sin because we do not make the right choices, but God wants us to choose him and love him by our own wills.

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

God does not control us. We have the free will to make our own decisions, and therefore we are fully responsible for our actions. God, being omniscient, knows everything, both past, present, and future. Therefore he already knows what actions we are going to chose, even before we chose them. Contrary to popular belief, free will and predestination are actually compatible. I can explain further if you would like.

borg about 1 year ago

As god mapped out our lives from birth till death, are we in gods plan, therefore he knows when we will be born and when we are to die, because it is gods doing?

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

Obviously, if God instructs someone to kill, then it is not unjust for them to do so. I don't think this happens very often, but it has happened. The deaths of 3000 Israelites was punishment for building the golden calf.

I don't like the idea of God ordering the deaths of 3000 Israelites any more than you do, but God is who He is, not who we want Him to be.

borg about 1 year ago

Hello everyone
I’ve been reading the resent post by Jedi and Ufus; I must say that I tend to lean towards Ufus in his beliefs, it doe’s seem to me that the bible is confusing and in most cases hard to belief
Here is one very simple example. On the day Moses comes down from Mount Sinai with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, he discovers that the Israelites have created a golden calf. To punish the people, Moses gathers a group of men and takes the following action in the book of Exodus, Chapter 32:
Then he [Moses] said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' " The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
So... one minute we have God carving into stone, "Thou shalt not kill." Then the next minute we have God telling each man to strap a sword to his side and lay waste to thousands. Wouldn't you expect the almighty ruler of the universe to be slightly more consistent than this? 3,000 dead people is a lot of commandment breaking.
They are many chapters in the bible that seem to suggest, that god is a big brutal bully, and if you don’t bow down to him he will wipe the floor with you just like the big bully at school.
I will post again soon.

ufus about 1 year ago

Wrong! Gays are unrighteous, not sinners therefore they will be sent to the fire of hell, but they will be Ok as your bible is misinterpreted by modern man.

And now for my conclusion, God or Gods do exist, but God did not create the universe or any planet, they are terrestrial’s beings that came to earth probably from another galaxy. Many artifacts discovered on earth tell the true story of who the Gods where, and how they advanced civilization at that time, you can gain more info from the web site link below, scroll down the page and read the section on ( This unexplained world )

It’s been good to talk to someone with so much faith in the Bible, you have been a great help and kind by putting up with my questions, I wish you good health and happiness, many thanks Sam

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:HwCdPP4xsCkJ:www.mendhak .com/other/95/is-god-an-a lien.aspx+god+is+an+alien &hl=en&ct=clnk&am p;cd=2&gl=uk&clie nt=firefox-a

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

When was our government - or any government - ever God-fearing? Maybe a long time ago, but definitely not now! The liberals who push for gay rights are certainly not God fearing, and the conservatives aren't much better (don't even get me started on President Bush - many of his policies are extremely unchristian).

Should you tell gays not to bother going to church? Of course not. The Gay Rights Movement will certainly not be happy about the fact that homosexuality is a sin. They already know that we think it is a sin, so there's no need to tell them this. Unfortunately, there are a lot of hypocrites in the church that are angry at the Gay Rights Movement, and they judge and condemn the gays, holding anti-gay rallies and waving signs that say "You're All Going to Hell!" This is absolutely sickening, and it could not be more opposite from what Jesus would do. Jesus was and is the friend of sinners. He ministered to sinners through love, teaching them as a living example of righteousness.

I believe in the Bible, and therefore I believe that homosexuality is a sin. I do not hate or oppose homosexuals themselves. We are all sinners. This is not by any means an excuse, but it is a fact. I would like to see all gays come to repentance and overcome homosexuality (and yes, it has been done before), but obviously this would be their decision to make and I can't make it for them. I believe that the best way to minister to homosexuals is to be like Christ by speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

For as it says in 1 Corinthians 13:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

ufus about 1 year ago

So God did order the killing of innocent people, well never mind, lets move on.
This is interesting, our God fearing government is promoting gay rights, yet in the bible it says!
Unrighteous people won’t immediately ‘inherit God’s Kingdom’ upon their resurrection, as do the righteous (see Matthew 25:34), for notice what Paul wrote at 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, ‘Don’t you know that the unrighteous won’t inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t make any mistakes about this: Sexually immoral people, idol worshipers, adulterers, gays, men who have sex with men, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, insulters, and extortionists, won’t inherit God’s Kingdom.’
I don’t think the gay rights movement is going to like this, will God / Jesus cast them into the lake of fire. There’s a gay that lives on our road, he always goes to church every Sunday, should I tell him not to bother?

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

(continued from my previous post)

Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

Jesus taught a message of unconditional love, even towards ones enemies. This is in contrast with the Law of the Old Testament, because during the time of the Old Testament God was concerned with protecting the children of Israel, and paying immediate justice to evildoers. But because of Jesus’ incredible sacrifice for us, we now live in the Age of Grace, where we are instructed not to judge and condemn, but to love everyone unconditionally, and leave the justice up to God. God is also a God of love, for even before we were born, he loved every one of us enough to sacrifice his only born Son in order to save us. As it says in John 15:13, “No man hath greater love than this: that he lay down his life for his friends”.

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

(continued from my previous post)

However, God is not a big fan of human sacrifice like you said he is. There are only two human sacrifices in the entire Bible, and only one of them actually happened. That is, of course, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. But God is not mean because he sacrificed His Son. On the contrary, God is incomprehensibly loving to have made such a huge sacrifice in order so save sinners like myself who only deserve to die. Remember that Jesus willingly accepted his death on the cross. He had twelve legions of angels at his command (Matthew 26:53) and it only takes one angel to destroy a city (1 Chronicles 21:15). Jesus was completely obedient unto the Father, even unto death (Philippians 2:8).

Jesus did not teach that men should castrate themselves. The only thing even remotely close to that would be his teaching, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into the grave.” (Matthew 5:29). Obviously he meant this in a figurative sense. Most of his teachings were figurative, after all. The point of this teaching is not that we should be dismembering each other, but that we should give up anything that causes us to sin. Jesus taught that it is a sin for a man to look at a woman with lust. Some of Jesus’ followers castrated themselves to keep from committing this sin, for it is impossible for a castrated man to feel sexual attraction. Jesus never taught anyone to do this. They did so out of free choice, in an effort to make themselves more holy.

In Luke 16:17, Jesus is saying that the Law will not pass away, and this is true. For as it says in Matthew 5:18, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” The Law will always be with us, a reminder of our sin and our desperate need for salvation. But the Apostle Paul made it very clear that we are free from adherence to the Law. As it says in Galatians 5:18, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

Even if the Law were still in effect, much of it would have changed, since Jesus taught things that contradict the Law. In other words, you could not follow both the Law and Jesus. You could follow some aspects of the Law, but other parts of it would be changed by the teachings of Jesus. For instance, the Law taught “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24). But Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not tu...

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

(continued from my previous post)

But of course, God cares about all people. Those people killed by God, many of which are seemingly innocent people who just happened to be in the way of the Israelites, are not necessarily destined for the lake of fire. Some were spiritually blinded.

You see, many times throughout the Old Testament, God acted in ways that showed the Israelites His great power, so that they would believe in Him. Take, for instance, the plagues on Egypt. Pharaoh probably would have let the Israelites go after just one good plague. But the Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go until after ten plagues. Why would God bring all this destruction upon Egypt, including the plague of the firstborn which killed every firstborn son in the entire Egyptian population? God said to Moses in Exodus 10:1-2, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am Yahweh.”

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he could perform more plagues in order to reveal the greatness of His power to the Israelites, so that they would believe in Him. This was critically important, for it was a time in which the Israelites did not know God. Even Moses did not know God when he first talked to God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13). Pharaoh probably would have let the Israelites go after one plague, but God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that God could perform ten plagues in order to show the Israelites who He was. Does this mean that Pharaoh could be held responsible for not letting the Israelites go nine times in a row? No. And likewise, many of the seemingly innocent people who were killed by God are not condemned, but on the contrary – they are saved!

Jesus taught that some people have been spiritually blinded, so that they cannot follow God. Because of this, they cannot be held responsible for their sin. When discussing spiritual blindness with the Pharisees, Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin” (Matthew 9:41). It is very likely that those seemingly innocent people killed by God, and even those evildoers killed by God, were spiritually blinded by God so that God could show his power to His chosen people, and make an example of them for generations to come.

I won’t pretend to know exactly who is and who isn’t going to be saved at the Final Judgment, for it is not my place to judge, but God’s place. We can rest assured, however, that God is a God of justice, and his justice is far more just than man’s justice. And God is a God of love, for he loves us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only born Son that we might have a chance at salvation.

However, God is not a bi...

Jedi Ninja about 1 year ago

First of all, mankind truly has been wicked throughout history. Just open up any history book and you’ll see countless wars and death and destruction. Even people who are relatively good people are still sinners, for it only takes one tiny sin to become a sinner. As it says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only though Jesus can we gain the forgiveness of sin that we need to be saved. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). We are all sinners in need of salvation through Jesus Christ. I am not saying that we should be accusing each other of sin, but rather I’m saying that we should have the humility to acknowledge that all of us, especially myself, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and therefore we need the forgiveness of sin which can come only though Jesus.

Now, saying that God allows child abuse and bashing babied against rocks is an exaggeration. Those verses simply say that those things will happen, and they have, not that it is okay to do them. Nor did God ever allow slavery as we know it today.

The slavery described in the Law of the Old Testament was a contract (usually lasting seven years) in which people exchanged work for housing and food. Slaves were treated as members of the family. It was not much different than signing a contract with an employer like people do today, and it was radically different than the slavery that existed in the 1800s. The difference is that, in the 1800s, slaveholders often abused and even killed their slaves, but in the Bible, slaveholders had to, by law, treat their slaves fairly (Ephesians 6:9). It was a sin to kill a slave (Ex 21:20). If a slave was injured, he had to be set free (Ex 21:26-27). If a slave ran away, he had to be free (Dt 23:15-16). So as you can see, slaves actually had a great deal of freedom. If they didn’t like how their masters were treating them, they could simply leave their master, and they would be free.

Some slaves were women, but nowhere in the Bible is the idea of selling or buying “sex slaves” allowed. Daughters could be given in marriage, but rape is a sin (Deuteronomy 22:25-27), and prostitution is a sin (Deuteronomy 23:17) and sex with slaves is a sin (Leviticus 19:20) and any sex outside of marriage is a sin (Ex 22:16-17, Dt 22:28-29).

It is true that God killed people, and sometimes instructed his followers to kill people. Murder is a sin, but obviously, direct instructions from God would override that. In the time of the Old Testament, God executed immediate punishment towards evildoers (for instance, in the flood of Noah, where the entire world population except for Noah had turned to evil, so God disposed of them immediately), and he cleared the land of Canaan of its former inhabitants in order to build the nation of Israel after he lead His chosen people out of Egypt. But of course, God c...

ufus about 1 year ago

You say that mankind has been extremely wicked throughout history
Saying that you know the Bible inside out, please tell me that the paragraphs below are not true
God orders the killing of innocent people even after the Ten Commandments said “Thou shall not kill”. For example, God kills 70,000 innocent people because David ordered a census of the people (1 Chronicles 21). God also orders the destruction of 60 cities so that the Israelites can live there. He orders the killing of all the men, women, and children of each city, and the looting of all of value (Deuteronomy 3). He orders another attack and the killing of “all the living creatures of the city: men and women, young, and old, as well as oxen sheep, and asses” (Joshua 6). In Judges 21, He orders the murder of all the people of Jabesh-gilead, except for the virgin girls who were taken to be forcibly raped and married. When they wanted more virgins, God told them to hide alongside the road and when they saw a girl they liked, kidnap her and forcibly rape her and make her your wife! Just about every other page in the Old Testament has God killing somebody! In 2 Kings 10:18-27, God orders the murder of all the worshipers of a different god in their very own church! In total God kills 371,186 people directly and orders another 1,862,265 people murdered.
The God of the Bible also allows slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave (Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 and Isaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9).
Jesus also promoted the idea that all men should castrate themselves to go to heaven: "For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." (Matthew 19:12 ASV) I don't know why anyone would follow the teachings of someone who literally tells all men to cut off their privates.
The God of the Bible also was a big fan of ritual human sacrifice and animal sacrifice.
And just in case you are thinking that the evil and immoral laws of the Old Testament are no longer in effect, perhaps you should read where Jesus makes it perfectly clear: "It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid." (Luke 16:17 NAB)
Interesting don’t you think, but is it all true?

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