God and Suffering

by AK - Jeff 322 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  restrangled

  I am with HappyGuy: (except I can stomp on spiders)

  I don't understand suffering on any level. From an animal being abused, to a human being tortured.

  What kind of person could have driven nails into Christ, or think of the Spanish Inquisition, or someone in our own Government water boarding, to children being abused. What kind of twisted minds commit these horrible acts? How do they justify their actions? From Hitler's sick agenda, to people allowing dogs to sit in the heat without water with metal collars slowly cutting their necks away, to people who do medical experiments on animals.

  It's all horrible insanity, and I don't know how God can sit and watch it all for thousands of years. Anyone with compassion, tries to stop these things as quickly as they can.

  The old line that "God is letting mankind prove they can't rule themselves", doesn't fly with me. It does not take thousands of years to prove that point. It took Hitler under 20 years, and he was able to destroy 6 million people.

  If the flood was for real, God was so pissed he saved only 8 people. What, to have history repeat it self?

  I am at a loss.
• 

  Perry

  agonus,

  When you turn off your light at night, do you create darkness? Or, is darkness simply the absence of light?

  Evil is the absence of God.
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  agonus

  I'd like to believe that Perry - but I'm just quoting Scripture...
• 

  cofty

  Perry your image of god is true to the vindictive & capricious invention of bible writers. Pat Robertson's god is a lot like yours.

  Most christians are a lot nicer but in reality they have invented a god that is not true to scripture.

  It is the most honest, and most unpleasant, answer to the problem of theodicy

  The problem of suffering is only a problem if you assume god is love. Your god is a complete bastard; therefore no problem!
• 

  agonus

  God can be a real bastard, but he does have some redeeming qualities... I'm pretty sure I hear his good side in a baby's laugh...
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  cofty

  So is it more logical to believe in a capricious god or in no god?
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  agonus

  Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't reached a "more logical" conclusion yet. May never...
• 

  agonus

  But from my own personal experience I can't deny the existence of a higher power/intelligence. There's SOMETHING out there... damned if I can figure it out though...
• 

  Perry

  restrangled,

  I don't know where you are or have been with the WT, but you'll have to shed the WT doctrine of "current judgment" to get further. For instance, the WT teaches that we are currently being judged based on how we accept the Kingdom (WT) message, which is to be a Witness "in good standing".

  The bible teaches that Judgment is AFTER we die (Heb. 9: 27). Furthermore, that judgment will be based on righteousness not religious creed. God's righteousness says do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not murder. So, if any are guilty of those things they will be judged and righteously punished with eternal separation from the Light or worse.... depending on the crimes.

  Now you rightly surmise that God if he wanted to COULD stop sin at any time. But really the only way he could do this is by taking away our freewill. God's method is to punish sin rather than to eliminate choice.

  In fact, God is pro-choice in all it's horrible consequences. The idea of choice is so high on God' list of priorities that he took on the form of a man and suffered and died for those that would believe on him..... thereby extending choice even to his enemies.

  These forces of punishment and freewill are being worked out. God hasn't asked us to endure anything that he himself wasn't willing to endure. These are very important issues.

  The WT explanation about who has the right to rule is non-sense and is not biblical.
• 

  beksbks

  Jehovah's Witnesses are so liberal

  This comment tells me that you either have no idea what a liberal is, or you were never a JW.