No confusion at all. So if a child loses his loving Christian parents due to a destructive tornado, and God loves that child, then it means he wasn't capable of preventing that tornado from killing his parents. And if the child's parents get killed by the tornado and God can do anything, then he didn't love that child enough to prevent the tornado from killing his parents. Once again, this is pretty simple stuff.
If you are equating God's love to earthly comforts what you are saying would seem to be true.
Perhaps some background is in order. Many of the Christians I have encountered claim God can do anything. They are either right or they are wrong. If they are wrong, then the statement "God can do anything" is inaccurate, meaning if God exists, then the statement "God can't do anything" would have to be accurate or correct.
He probably will not do whatever it takes to prove Himself to people who don't believe in Him. From my understanding of Scripture He doesn't have the level of narcissism most people have when one person doesn't believe the other person and then the other person feels that they have to prove themselves to show they are right.
I've done an extensive amount of study on the logic behind this. There is no other way to reconcile the problem of evil - whether there are two Christians or two billion Christians.
I guess the most logical way to see it is that God has allowed the evil for His glorification; yet, we are operating on our logic which would be limited compared to God's logic (Satan does have limited power in the world--after all, this place isn't heaven. God doesn't want anyone to suffer--yet we live in the world and it is almost guaranteed we are going to suffer. His own son suffered, and God loved His only son. It is difficult for someone whose mind is fixed in the comforts of the world and especially so for someone who can't believe that there is anything other than this world, but to suffer is proof of God's love for us).
If your child were raped by a rapist, would you say it's OK - simply because of some words written in a holy book?
It wouldn't be a simple, easy thing to go through and something entirely impossible to get through without breaking down without strong faith in God. And it would definitely not be OK. Sin is not ok, but unfortunately it happens.
What do you think are the reason(s) God doesn't intervene and prevent tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes from killing loving parents and leaving their children as orphans, people losing their homes or people suffering serious injuries?
Because God doesn't exist to give people here a heaven on earth; His love is not equated to earthly comforts and nothing else. So many people seem to mistake that. To understand this and then ask why should one worship or love a God such as this then is to be fixed with a humanity-centered mindset. To worship and love a God such as this which does not work for a person but that that person works for God, one must have a God-centered mindset. I do not believe this can be accomplished without the help of the Holy Spirit.
So you're saying Christian ministries would serve no purpose if there were no major catastrophes such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Am I correct?
Not really--Christian ministries exist to bring people to Christ. Unfortunately, many times until someone has something tragic happen in their lives, they do not turn to God because their lives here on earth are going so well. Suffering exists, in my perspective, to restrain our attachments here on earth, to bring sobriety to people's lives. This might be something which will bring much scorn or derision to someone who is attached to this world and who believes there is nothing else.
It is just too bad that when something terrible does happen, sometimes perhaps some people will feel they are abandoned by God or as you posit here that God can't do anything. I understand how it can feel that way and how someone whose faith might not be that strong for it to become weakened and possibly crumble.
I feel this is such a danger for those who adhere to the gospel of prosperity. God's word is a wonderful thing which can bring the only lasting peace to a person's life, but when one reads it with only the idea of God's love and not His judgment, how can faith in such a god withstand tragedy? Then you would be correct: this god can do nothing. And a God who will enact judgment and chastise people is not one to whom most people will cleave to when fixed with themselves foremost in their minds and not God. They do not want this God; they want the one who will bring earthly comfort to their lives.
If God can do anything, he could wire me differently so that I believe he exists.
God predestinated some unto everlasting life and some onto everlasting death. This is one of the harshest doctrines of my faith--it almost seems to verify the idea that God does not love everyone. Yet, it makes sense as to why some people believe in Him and others do not. Before I was converted by the Holy Spirit, I had much the same perspective as you do (the problem of evil in the world with an all-loving and all-powerful God). It just did not add up.
I hope He will give you faith, whether it be in an all-loving God or the harsher one of my faith--whichever one will sustain your faith (they're the same God, He just gives each person their own measure of faith; I feel this is a significant reason for the different denominations). That you're asking these questions seems to mean you are seeking. I don't have all the answers; I am just starting out in my faith so I have many of the same questions as you do. However, I trust in God alone and His word says that He is good, just, and holy. And that I do believe more than any imagination of man.
