How do we know that? And even if there wasn't anything to stop Him how would we be able to even comprehend His reasons? The BEST I can come up with is being a father. I have three kids and they sometimes fight and squabble. I choose not to intervene most of the time not because I like watching them fight or hear them whine and cry or yell at each other. I choose not to intervene because I want them to learn to deal with one another without me having to take a side each and everytime. It's a chance for them to learn to deal with conflict before they grow up and have to do it in the real world. It also leads to a more harmonious household more often than not.

Am I callus or uncaring because of that? I don't think so.

Another reason I suppose is why have free will if God is just controlling everything? Personally I wouldn't want to live in a world where everthing is controlled and my every move is measured and guided. I want to chart my own destiny and make my own choices. Even if that means that tragedies  happen from time to time.

Well, if He prevented some terrible things from happening we wouldn't know about them, so the question is worded badly. But, rolling with the spirit of the question, with respect to the terrible things that do happen, perhaps He does want to intervene but E. Free Will or F. Cosmic Plan requires a lack of intervention unless presently unknown criteria is met.

Fighting and crying at each other is not necessarily a terrible thing. If your kids start attacking each other with sharp objects though, surely you would do anything you can to intervene? Same thing if your kids ever get bullied in school: I would not consider you a responsible parent if you choose not to do anything about it.

Protecting your children from "terrible things" is one of the core responsibilities you have as a parent. We are all God's children, and evidently he does not protect us from terrible things. Conclusively, God is not a responsible parent.

God would not be controlling everything just because he protects us from terrible things, just like the government doesn't control us because certain actions are prohibited. Even if the police was able to stop every crime from happening (through divine surveillance or whatever), we would still have people wanting to kill others and commit crimes. I.e. evil would still be present. The only difference is that the good people would no longer fall prey to it.

If this was the case then God would also not allow people to do terrible things.

Do this

Boil some water, find a live ant hill and poor the boiling water all over and in it. See if God stops you from doing this "terrible" deed

This thread is pointless

Au contrare'  there are people who definitely classify screaming and fighting in ANY context as 'terrible' I know parents who do exactly the opposite of what I do. They would feel like the worst parent in the world if they didn't dote over their childrens' every move. This is really the problem with this debate though is that while most of us might recognize 'terrible' as the sensless killing of another human being or a world war etc. some might see them as not really terrible but as a normal part of the human condition. Just as while you and I don't classify kids screaming at one another as terrible others might.

My only point was CHOOSING not do do something does not equal not WANTING to.

I agree that if not protecting one's children is definitely a breach of good parenting but should tragedy befall your child does that make you a bad parent? Of course not. Just read a story of a little girl killed when a gust of wind upturned the family trampoline sending it flying and killing the girl on top of it. Bad parents for allowing her to play on a trampoline? Bad God because he didn't catch her or resurrect her? I mean the idea is as absurd as absurd can be.

The possibilities for WHY it happened and God did not intervene are infinite! Even if the reasons are something we dont agree with doesn't mean we are right. Just as I am no more right to let my kids duke it out at home than it is for supermom to step in anytime there is so much as a hnt of tension between Bobby and Susie.

Just as choosing not to does not equal not wanting to it does not equal inability either. I use my analogy from using my children learning how to deal with confilict. If God intervened all the time when would you or I learn what right and wrong looks like? What good would your free will even be at that point?

1) This suggests that you faced a dilemma; a dilemma where you ended up choosing what you wanted to choose the most (in this case because you wanted your children to grow) despite also wanting to make the other choice (stop them from fighting). The problem with this point is that God does not face dilemmas. He always knows what he wants and proceeds to do it.

2) You are indeed not a bad parent just because tragedy happens to befall your child. However, if you are aware that a tradegy is about to befall your child and you do nothing to stop it despite being able to, you most certainly are a bad parent.

3) Who said that having a completely free will is a good thing? In heaven there is no evil and you cannot choose to enter hell even if you want to. And yet, heaven is a place that pretty much every religious person wishes to go to after they die. Alternatively put, where would you rather live: In a place where no one ever wishes to harm anyone and everyone lives in perfect harmony with one another, or in a place where everyone is free to harm and exploit his fellow men? I know which place I'd choose.

And I know in which place I'd rather place my future children.

On a related note: Which religion you "choose" is almost always declared by your parents. Teaching your children what religion is the "right one" while they are still young and very impressionable is a way of manipulating their "free" will to your own benefit. If you truly value free will you will not tell your children what faith you belong to and teach them about all major faiths in an unbiased manner. That way they will truly choose what path to follow instead of having you pick their religion for them.

Something tells me that you'd rather interfere with their free wills in an attempt to protect them from terrible things though. Because unlike God you are a responsible parent.

1) You make a valid point, however it is one of supposition and we simply do not know if God 'just decides and proceeds'. We have no understanding of how God works and anyone who says otherwise is not a believer nor worth yours or my time. We can suppose and offer anectodtes as I have but really it isn't in our realm to truly know. And even if that were true that He decides and proceeds then who are we to challenge that? We, who are the root cause of the great majority of atrocities that occur on our planet. God choosing not to act doesn't wash us of our wrong doings it only shows the great restraint He excercises in allowing us to live out our lives how we choose. I don't blame God or anyone else when I fail or do wrong. He doesn't need us, we need him is where I guess I would come down on that.

2) Again, I agree but when I talk about God and us as his children we are still talking about adults. Adults with responsibilities and the ablility to make informed decisions. Children are not for the most part (within reason). 

3) Well I personally think free will is wonderful. Why live as an automaton? That's not living to me. And sure I would most certainly prefer to go to a place where bad things don't happen or there is at least peace and harmony. But according to scripture you definitely do have the ability to choose where you go. Every day on Earth the choice is presented to you when you awaken to a fresh new day.

And as for manipulating a child's free will to your own benefit is a very harsh accusation and one I definitely take umbrage to. I know it's not leveled personally (at least I hope not) but what are parents for other than to guide and protect their children? Should we never instill any ideas to our children? Or is it that you simply mean religion or matters of spirituality should be kept form our children? If you believe in God then you most certainly should teach that to your children. If you don't I recognize your right to teach them the opposite. I think it is wrong headed to omit matters of spirituality but hey they aren't my children. I do respect your idea of allowing ones child to learn about other religions etc. and for the most part most people of faith have no issue with this. Sure, sure that's not true of everyone but that is something best left up to each individual and is waaay more complex than we could ever get to here.

Thank you for at least being polite and thought provoking. Respect.

Yeah, the "own benefit" part was certainly not meant to me offensive. I'm just one of those guys who believes that every decision we make is based on whichever option seems more beneficial than the other. As for the rest of your post it is becoming more apparent that we agree to disagree.

And thanks.

So you call the arguments used by Ricky Gervais underdeveloped but then call all athiest who seek to provide arguments against the existence of god  are attention whores and not just people seeking to eliminate a commonly held false belief. You then follow this up with the notion that athiest only exist because there is a god without explaining how that makes sense in any way, which is akin to saying if you have to prove something wrong it must be right.

All you have done is  slander athiest rather than just deal with the arguments they have presented.