Why does god allow suffering? (page 4)

DesertRat

Of all the issues that enraged & confounded me while growing up in the Org, this has got to be the biggest one (so please forgive me in advance if I rant just a little). The usual WT explanations of integrity, proving God's right to rule, etc. (as discussed earlier in this thread) just didn't hold water for me...

I once came up with an analogy similar to yours, GBSJG, but tried to put myself in the place of the supposedly 'loving' Father. Suppose I had a son who was out playing ball with friends in the front yard. The ball goes sailing out into the street, right into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Could I say that I loved my son if I saw what was about to happen, was perfectly capable of intervening, & yet did nothing about it? "I love you so much, son, I'm going to help you ENDURE this!!!"

It is slowly beginning to dawn on me that maybe the problem I have is not with the idea of God himself (if He exists, or how), but 'God' as dictated to me by the WT publishing company all those years. I try honestly to read the Bible & Christian publications at times, but always run up against the same obstacle--the ideas of God, Jesus, etc., immediately trigger their JW interpretations in my mind. Which only gets me angry & frustrated all over again. Many others I have met who left the Org (including some I have met on this site) have maintained a Christian outlook or belief system. I sincerely wonder how that can be done..

Though I am a long ways from figuring everything out for myself (including the nature of God or a Higher Power), there IS one conclusion I have arrived at: 'God' as manufactured by the WTS is a self-serving being who loves & protects individuals only to the extent that it accords with 'His' plan or interests. The young German JW of WWII, with a young wife & newborn child at home, who is about to face a firing squad for his beliefs, MIGHT have been delivered via angelic intervention if it was in line with 'God's' will (or whim?). Then again, he might not have been. The first time I ever swore in front of my mother was when I said, "If Jehovah is so loving, why doesn't he just TAKE DAD'S F***ING CANCER AWAY!!!" All I got for saying that was a slap across the face...

I cannot help but think of a line (which I have almost memorized) from the movie 'Devil's Advocate,' where Al Pacino (playing the 'Devil') says the following, "Let me give you a little inside information about God...God likes to watch...He's a prankster...Think about it...He gives man instincts...He gives you this extraordinary gift & then what does he do, I swear, for his own amusement--his own private, cosmic gag reel?...He sets the rules in opposition...It's the goof of all time..."Look, but don't touch"..."Touch, but don't taste"..."Taste, don't swallow"...(he laughs)...And while you're jumping from one foot to the next, what is he doing?...He's laughing his sick, f***ing a** off!!!...He's a tighta**...He's a sadist...He's an ABSENTEE LANDLORD (emphasis mine)."

Thanks for letting me vent

DR

the dreamer dreaming

good and evil are arbitrary and the story of Adam and Eve is about this.... many assume the TREE has to do with KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, as if Adam and Eve had no such knowledge prior...but its not about KNOWLEDGE but about the ABILITY to determine the DIVIDING LINE between good and evil and who has the RIGHT to do so.... and as an unbeliever, I see this as a WARNING to anyone outside those claiming to speak for God... those who wrote the story were telling everyone everywhere that THEY had the sole right to draw the line between good and evil, and that democracy was of the serpent... now what draws that line is not as easy to see...but simple to explain--- its whatever you imagine as THE IDEAL WORLD... what ever helps you make your life closer to that ideal is good what ever harms your attempts to get there is evil.

in the REAL world, suffering need not be seen as good nor evil, but just part of HOW reality actually happens... its only when you compare this to your IDEAL world where suffering NEVER happens that suffering can be labelled as EVIL.

Brigid

There is a theory and I thought it was called the Observable Universe theory but after googling, I find that I was wrong (did find a very interesting subject on Schrodinger's Cat Paradox) but I digress. It's postulated that without sentience to observe the Universe, it does not exist. As if until we notice it, it is not.

But yea, we've gotten way off track. "god allows" suffering perhaps because we allow suffering, we being mini-gods. We all have the potential to be our own and each other's saviours--perhaps god is asking us: why do YOU allow suffering.

just a thought....

~Brigid

PaNiCAtTaCk

As imperfect as all of us are, if we had the chance to end all suffering RIGHT NOW, WE WOULD!! So if God is so loving why does he have to prove anything to SATAN?? HE could just end it RIGHT NOW! Everyone is suffering because the first human pair ate the wrong fruit?? Does that make sence or sound loving?? Do you punish your second and third child because of a glass of milk that your first child spilled 12 years ago?? These are all questions that I have because none of it makes sence to me. The book "Jehovah Unmasked has an answer for these questions. Some of the answers make a little sence and then some sound far fetched to me, so im not sure what to believe.

daystar

Brigid

I think you're referring to the "observer effect".

Brigid

Yes! That's it. Read it first in my Discover Magazine a few years ago then I couldn't remember it...thanks!

moshe

Stop worrying about the small stuff. God has his hands full trying to stop an asteroid collision. Unfortunately, the last time ,big bad T-Rex and his kin paid the price for not doing what God wanted. Let that be a lesson to the Human Race.

alt

anewme

He just does.

And because he does where does that leave us?

Stop watching the news if you feel its too much.

Remember, there is alot of good news going on but it has been proven it does not get near the ratings as blood and death does.

Do what you can to bring love and joy and happiness and relief to your corner of the world. In this way you are doing your part to make the world a better place.

TopHat

I really wish if there is an Almighty God up there, that people who are truly evil like terrorists/suicide bombers/child molesters would have an instant heart attack and not be filling up space.

Sometimes I wonder if Satan is the one who Inspired the scriptures in the Bible because a lot of it does not make sense. The thought is a scary one to me. Still I believe we are here and have life because of an Intelligent Creator.

Satanus

Here is a hypothesis: history shows a tendency towards less suffering. While humankind has made many bluners, they have also wiped out or seiously reduced the numbers of predators in the wild, while domesticating animals useful to themselves. It is true that we are also carnivors, but by and large, we tend towards treating our food animals more humanely, killing them humanely.

As well, on a worldwide scale, peace is more abundant now than perhaps any time in written history. Lifespans are at an alltime high.

Another thing; a lot of the kids' programs are teaching negotiational and peaceful resolutions to conflicts and problems. This predicts that the next generation would lean more towards this kind method when they take over the running of the world.

I put out these observations for discussion, not necesarily conclusions at this time.

S

Why does god allow suffering?

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