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Baldeagle8 on 04 April 2018
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CrazyGamer2017 said:
Baldeagle8 said:

I would recommend reading "The Hiding Place", the story of Corrie Ten Boom about her experiences of how God can be used for good even during the tragic times of world war 2. Great book regardless. 

 

You can look at life through 2 different lens...

We are here by random chance and those who face tragic events just got "unlucky" and there is no redemption or purpose for their life. 

Or, despite the brokenness of this world, there is still beauty that comes out of these tragic events with redemption for those who suffered unfairly.   

 

I can say that most believers do struggle with the notion of the "why do these bad things happen", but it is through that friction and struggle that most become stronger people and closer to God. 

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me.  So what you are saying is that asking these very relevant questions like "Why do these bad things happen" get people closer to the very being that creates these bad things or at the very least allows the bad things to happen to people? What is this? Like some perverted version of the Stockholm Syndrome?

It's as if a victim of nazism said, only through asking the question: Why did Hitler do or allowed all these bad things to happen to us victims, only through asking such questions can we get stronger and closer to... Hitler!

So not only do religious people get no answer to that very fundamental question but asking it makes all the bad stuff magically go away and makes them get closer to the God that is at the origin of all their suffering, that's so illogical and at the same time such a very religious thing to do.

As for how to look at life, the second option that you state, looks pretty and ideal but as a freethinker and a truth seeker I cannot ignore the hardcore logic of the first option as demonstrated by all the evidence around us.

Yes, reading that again I can see how it wouldn't make much sense. I didn't explain the sense of "questioning God" very well. The example of Hitler isn't very good because he is just but a man. The Bible actually warns us not to follow people blindly, but to line up their words and actions with the Bible. Obviously, Hitler had some beliefs that strongly contradicted what the Bible taught about morality. Corrie Ten Boom actually experiences this in the book.

 

To further compound on the "struggle" that we humans have with why do bad things happen is that fact that some things we just don't know. It is the unknown that brings us closer and more reliant on God.  You can add the counter point believing this way just to feel better about bad things happening seems convenient, which I can understand. But as a believer, we know most things require a certain amount of faith. The best argument for this is people who have had horrible genetic or location luck, made the decision to honor God and use their experience and condition to actually bring glory to God. It would appear that most of these people, who had every right to just be hateful and resentful, embrace their situation and live life to the fullest extent possible. 

Nick Vujicic is a great example of this. He was born without arms or legs, but has embraced his condition and used it to help other people. I understand you don't need to be a believer in God to be happy despite facing horrible challenges, but there is something about believing your story has a purpose beyond just keeping our species alive.