Questions I Have Yet To Understand About God And Religion

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The first question is one that we have heard all too often....If there IS a God and he is so miraculous and all of that, then why does he allow bad things to happen?

2nd Question...I think somebody has already mentioned this one) If God
knows all, sees all, hears all, etc., what's the purpose of prayer?

3rd Question....Whenever something wonderful or miraculous happens, people think that God played a huge role in making the miracle happen. Yet when something bad happens, God had nothing to do with it.

4th Question....If we pray for something and we get it, was it REALLY the prayer that did it? Or would the same thing have happened if we didn't pray in advance? True enough....I can't prove that it DIDN'T help, but can anyone prove that it did?

Final Question....If Heaven is such a wonderful place, then why do we do everything in our power to avoid death?

I believe in God to a certain extent, but it's questions like this that make me wonder.

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Disclaimer: I am an atheist so you are preaching to the converted.

1) The standard answer is that god wants men to have free will. If he wanted a perfect world with robots he would have made it. Instead he has given us free will and the result is that sometimes bad things happen.

As tp the natural disasters that is the common atheist comeback there are usually a few arguments against this.

One is that god is punishing someone or some people. The other is that these things are simply part of the world god made and we will understand when we go to heaven.

2) This one is pretty easy, god said in the Bible that he is a jealous God. Your husband/wife might already know you love him/her but they like to hear it every now and then.

The atheist rebuttal is that it's a ritual intended to capitalize on some of the benefits of rituals.

3) Yeah, there is great duplicity in this. But to be fair some actualy give God the blame for the bad stuff too. When thousands die in a natural disaster I have witnessed Christians claim that god was punishing the nation because a coupld of missionaries they knew once got kicked out of the country.

4) The simple answer is "who knows". I think not but Christians like to think they changed something.

Once, as a child i decided to test God. My "fleece" was that if i didn't have eggs with bacon and cheese (an atypical breakfast) the next morning I'd kill myself.

Well I did have bacon and eggs the next day and for years I credited God for saving my life till i admitted to myself that at the age of 4 my promises to kill myself woulf probably mean I'd have shot myself with a rubber band the next day.

But since I am playing teh devil's advocate here and tring to lend theists a hand i will note taht it can be proven that prayer helped. at least as a placebo.

And it's important to not discount the importance of a placebo.

5) Well, here's my reasoning from when i was about 6. I figured that I had eternity to be in heaven and one shot at being here on earth.

So why not take advantage of this momentary blip because I have eternity to spend in heaven.

When I thought of that I decided not to jump in front of the truck and find out if God was real. I figured I'd know eventually and if i was wrong i'd have wasted my only shot at life. So for that month's adventure I just ran away from home instead and slept in a pyramid. I got in big trouble for that.

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Hey, is this a Christian God we're talking about, or just your average non-denominational God?

My God doesn't work that way at all, but it's not my place to push what works for me, when there are so many nice ones to choose from. Plus, you could synthesize a brand new perfectly logical, consistent and compassionate God that makes sense to you.

Maybe the custom fit would suit you best, but I'd like to know what your direction with these questions is anyways, before tackling them.

(Sounds silly, but I'm serious).

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heys.. You know, even though I believe in God and I am a Christian there are still some questions that i have which are left unanswered. But i'll try my very best to answer you questions.. so don't blame a christian if he or she can't answer your questions.. It's better that we answer one that we really know than not know.. sO here goes...

1)God is Almight and miraculous. Yea He is! Someone told me that God made man along with a will. He gave men the power to choose between the right and wrong. so it is up to us to choose what is right and wrong. It isn't God's fault that bad things happen sometimes. Sometimes it is ours as well.. He allows it to happen because we have to face our consequences on the sins we have made. If God had allowed everything to go on fine.. then He could have just simply programmed us to do what He wants us to do and by that we wouldn't learn anything now would we? There is a purpose and a lesson to be learnt in everything that is happening in this world or in our lives. Bear in mind of that.

2) Why do we pray? Well I don't know. I'll be honest. I have never asked myself that before. But I know I pray to God because He is my friend and I wanna talk to Him. I wanna communicate with Him and I wanna build up my relationship with Him. I want Him to know everything that is going on in my life and I wanna let Him know that Im going to trust Him and let Him help me. Well i think it works this way. If you have a friend, the only way to communicate with your friend is by talking right? Works the same way with God. A prayer is just like a conversation between you and God.

3) I dont know what others think about God but I think that God played an important role in everything that is happening in my life. Good or bad. It doesnt matter to me. The thing is I believe that God has everything to do with whatever is happening. When good things happen... praises goes up to the Lord. When bad things happen.. I'd have to say I'll still praise Him. It's either His test on us or He just want to teach us something. Like i said earlier.. He has a purpose in everything and God works in mysterious ways. Remember that!

4) Hey there isnt any proove for that question. I gotta be honest with you. Sometimes i wonder about that as well. But as i grew to know more... I think that it has to do with your faith and believe. If you believe it is from God.. then it is. I think that all prayers are answered by God and yea.. sometimes it might be true that it couldnt have been the prayer. But it all depends on your faith and beliefs.

5) to your last question.. that's a tough one. Well... i dont know why we do that.. probably it is because we try to cherish the life that God has given to us on earth. What we do on earth will be judge by God in Heaven. Whatever we say and act.. it'll all be under the judgement of God. But the question to avoid death.. im not really sure. So if you really wanna know.. i'll be glad to ask someone about it and tell you.

I hope that this helps and if it doesnt, i hope that you'll come to understand God better. He is very mysterious and even sometimes I don't understand Him. But i know that He is my strenght and He Loves everyone. The sinners and the Good. He Loves You too! God Bless!

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I believe that if there were a god, and that particular god gave humans free will, then the end result would be that we are ultimately responsible for our own actions, and prayer is only useful if it fuels faith in oneself, not in an external being.

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Quote:

"If there IS a God and he is so miraculous and all of that, then why does he allow bad things to happen?"

The attitude of mankind is very self centered. Mankind is determined to rule himself without the intervention of God. Bad things that happen is situations that man himself has started.

Quote:

" If God knows all, sees all, hears all, etc., what's the purpose of prayer?"

How can a Father know what his child wants if the child does not ask or does not even know what he wants. That is how it is with God. Prayer lets God know what you are thinking and what you are seriously asking him.

Quote:

"Whenever something wonderful or miraculous happens, people think that God played a huge role in making the miracle happen. Yet when something bad happens, God had nothing to do with it."

God does not cause bad things to happen. The ruler of earthly kingdoms now is Satan, also known as the accuser and the tempter. Satan is the one responsible for the evil that occurs, Satan is the father of evil. God never tempts us to do bad.

Quote:

"If we pray for something and we get it, was it REALLY the prayer that did it? Or would the same thing have happened if we didn't pray in advance? True enough....I can't prove that it DIDN'T help, but can anyone prove that it did?"

We don't always get what we pray for. It is important that a person should pray for the will of God. For a faithful person who has prayed for something, it is their faith and spirit of God within that lets them know they have gotten what they prayed for. And God will only answer the prayer if it is his will.

Quote:

"If Heaven is such a wonderful place, then why do we do everything in our power to avoid death?

To say Heaven is a wonderful place; also must come understanding of how truly wonderful a place it is. People are afraid of death because they don't have accurate knowledge of what happens when they are dead. Some people are very afraid, because their conscience tells them they have lived in sin without salvation. They truly fear there may be a judgment.

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CodeBorg wrote:

My God doesn't work that way at all, but it's not my place to push what works for me, when there are so many nice ones to choose from. Plus, you could synthesize a brand new perfectly logical, consistent and compassionate God that makes sense to you.

That's about where I am. Monotheism? I believe there are more than 6 billion gods out there, at least one for every man, woman and child. More as needed.

Or maybe I've been hanging out with the Unitarian/Universalists too long...

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Hi Sbreen,

All of your questions are predicated on the first assumption: "if there *is* a [christian] god".

If you reverse the assumption, then all the questions become moot. Maybe that's telling us something.

Best Regards,

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Re: Questions I Have Yet To Understand About God And Religio

sbrean11 wrote:

The first question is one that we have heard all too often....If there IS a God and he is so miraculous and all of that, then why does he allow bad things to happen?

Bad things happen to good poeple, and good things happen to bad people. Life is a lesson one learns by 'living' it. When struggle comes, or 'bad' things happen, it is an emotional test. If you are angry and act it without first repsecting the other person as you respect yourself, well something bad will happen to you in return. You have just done something bad to someone else, even if in response to something bad they did to you.

Quote:

2nd Question...I think somebody has already mentioned this one) If God knows all, sees all, hears all, etc., what's the purpose of prayer?

There is no 'if' to this. All who believe in God knows that the mind and heart are like open doors. The religious definition of prayer does not allow for common sense to apply. The worshipers already believe in the doctrine. The lack of a 'need' for prayer does not absolve them of their belief that they must treat their god as blind and deaf. I personally ask for the things I need: spiritual growth, understanding, knowledge, and how to apply it in my life. That is something I don't have that God has in abundance. Something I need that I seek, not pray, for.

Quote:

3rd Question....Whenever something wonderful or miraculous happens, people think that God played a huge role in making the miracle happen. Yet when something bad happens, God had nothing to do with it.

God is Good. The Devil is Bad. This is the mentality.

Quote:

4th Question....If we pray for something and we get it, was it REALLY the prayer that did it? Or would the same thing have happened if we didn't pray in advance? True enough....I can't prove that it DIDN'T help, but can anyone prove that it did?

What came first, the hen or the egg? Why ask if the only thing you are concerned with is eating them?

Quote:

Final Question....If Heaven is such a wonderful place, then why do we do everything in our power to avoid death?

Because they don't *know* what it means to die. Even though they 'believe' life comes after death, they are not certain of it. This is the truth in the mind of most every christians. When it comes down to living or dying and they are presented with a choice, believing in something is often not enough to go on and they opt to live. That way they can research and be 'sure' next time.

Quote:

I believe in God to a certain extent, but it's questions like this that make me wonder.

Believing in God is good but if we all conducted ourselves as if God believed in us, then we wouldn't be worried about the little things. We'd be too busy trying to fix our bad habits. Like cursing, being judgemental, lying, cheating and the like. Most of us would be too busy trying to perfect ourselves in the sight of God instead of worrying about religion in the first place.

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I definitely prefer stereoism to monotheism. I mean, let's get into the 20th century already.

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SBrean

I won't try to deal with all of your questions, but the final one is interesting.

Quote:

Final Question....If Heaven is such a wonderful place, then why do we do everything in our power to avoid death?

Actually, not all of us do everything in our power to avoid death -- as the young men who commandeered those planes on 9/11/01 showed.

They were convinced there is a Heaven -- and that it is a wonderful place -- and they did not attempt to avoid death, but rather welcomed it.

Early Christians did much the same thing.

Many Samurai and Kamikaze pilots ditto.

The guy who murdered the abortion doctor who was just put to death in Florida -- same thing.

So, the avoidance of death -- by people who think Heaven is a good thing -- is not universal.

Although it is interesting that people who do not try to avoid death -- and who lust for Heaven -- are usually dismissed as nut cases.

Just an observation!

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Ruach wrote:

Quote:
" If God knows all, sees all, hears all, etc., what's the purpose of prayer?"

How can a Father know what his child wants if the child does not ask or does not even know what he wants. That is how it is with God. Prayer lets God know what you are thinking and what you are seriously asking him.

Hello!!!

You are responding to a hypothetical that says "If God knows all..." -- and you are saying that "prayer" is necessary for him to know.

That truly makes no sense.

Quote:

Quote:
"Whenever something wonderful or miraculous happens, people think that God played a huge role in making the miracle happen. Yet when something bad happens, God had nothing to do with it."

God does not cause bad things to happen. The ruler of earthly kingdoms now is Satan, also known as the accuser and the tempter. Satan is the one responsible for the evil that occurs, Satan is the father of evil. God never tempts us to do bad.

Really? And where did Satan come from?

If your god is responsibel for Satan, Ruach, the buck stops with your god.

Quote:

Quote:
"If we pray for something and we get it, was it REALLY the prayer that did it? Or would the same thing have happened if we didn't pray in advance? True enough....I can't prove that it DIDN'T help, but can anyone prove that it did?"

We don't always get what we pray for. It is important that a person should pray for the will of God. For a faithful person who has prayed for something, it is their faith and spirit of God within that lets them know they have gotten what they prayed for. And God will only answer the prayer if it is his will.

That is very convenient. With that explanation, "believers" get their butts covered no matter what.

Prayer is absurd.

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bookmark - amen!

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Frank Apisa wrote:

Prayer is absurd.

be gentle man :wink: Exclamation

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husker wrote:

Frank Apisa wrote:
Prayer is absurd.
be gentle man :wink:

Okay, you gotta point.

Ruach, regarding "prayer" -- may I respectfully suggest that perhaps it is not all it is cracked up to be!

How'd I do?

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Much better! Thanks! I knew you had it in you!
Peace! Smile

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Meditation is helpful -- the concept of God provides a target only.

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Ruach wrote:

God does not cause bad things to happen. The ruler of earthly kingdoms now is Satan, also known as the accuser and the tempter. Satan is the one responsible for the evil that occurs, Satan is the father of evil. God never tempts us to do bad.

Twinkie defense.

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Satan is the one responsible?

Every person, plant and animal is not resposible for itself?

Cool.

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A symptom of watching "The Exorcist" one too many times.

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Questions I Have Yet To Understand About God And Religion

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