if god is real, then why are their bad things? PLZ REPLY <3

[Yort mada]

Hello all,

i'm a christian but i have a young friend who does not believe in god yet his parents make him go to church anyway... which btw has nothing to do with my question =P

me and him was talking and god came up (by me on purpose) i'm like so do you believe in christ or no? he said no i dont believe in anything. i said God has been awsome to me ( i speak of god pretty often to everyone) and he said i can understand why you think he is real and thats fine but i dont.

long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist? then he had to sign offline... this person is a really good kid with an open mind, i'd like for him to start in the right direction how can i answer this question and have a shot with a decent debate?

by the way i couldnt find the right forum for the question so i figure non believer is close enough for a question like this ... i'm sure their are skilled debaters in here.

Thanks, yort

 

[TheReasoner]

Hello all,

i'm a christian but i have a young friend who does not believe in god yet his parents make him go to church anyway... which btw has nothing to do with my question =P

me and him was talking and god came up (by me on purpose) i'm like so do you believe in christ or no? he said no i dont believe in anything. i said God has been awsome to me ( i speak of god pretty often to everyone) and he said i can understand why you think he is real and thats fine but i dont.

long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist? then he had to sign offline... this person is a really good kid with an open mind, i'd like for him to start in the right direction how can i answer this question and have a shot with a decent debate?

by the way i couldnt find the right forum for the question so i figure non believer is close enough for a question like this ... i'm sure their are skilled debaters in here.

Thanks, yort

Normally people don't understand this in my experience. But the reason bad thing happen is that we have free will
We have the will to choose between good and evil. God, who loves us will never force neither on us. This is because love cannot be forced. If love is attempted forced, it turns to hate.
So, we have free will, we choose to do bad things sometimes, because we do not see things as clearly as we sometimes wish we should. Or focus too much on our own pleasure. Or want to avenge pain. Or whatever. You know humans, you - like me - are one.

Anyway... Because we have free will, God does not interfere lest we ask him, normally. He lets us pretty much do as we please. For now, we all know that will come to an end. Unfortunately what we want to do is hurting us. And many of us humans don't even care - or know that it hurts us. We, homo sapiens - are as dumb as dodos are dead.

 

[tanglefire]

Normally people don't understand this in my experience. But the reason bad thing happen is that we have free will
We have the will to choose between good and evil. God, who loves us will never force neither on us. This is because love cannot be forced. If love is attempted forced, it turns to hate.
So, we have free will, we choose to do bad things sometimes, because we do not see things as clearly as we sometimes wish we should. Or focus too much on our own pleasure. Or want to avenge pain. Or whatever. You know humans, you - like me - are one.

Anyway... Because we have free will, God does not interfere lest we ask him, normally. He lets us pretty much do as we please. For now, we all know that will come to an end. Unfortunately what we want to do is hurting us. And many of us humans don't even care - or know that it hurts us. We, homo sapiens - are as dumb as dodos are dead.

Brilliantly put.

The reverend at my church did a sermon on this. He talked about how we shouldn't doubt God because of the bad stuff around. He pointed out that if we paid close attention when we're thinking, "God, why is this going on? Why don't you do something about it?" the answer is clear, "I did do something about it, I created you. Now why don't you help me do something about it?"

 

[Rafael]

As Faith Guardian shared, a key to understanding is how love cannot be forced, and God wanted mankind's love to come from a free will choice that would teach them what true love is by the experiences that happen in this life. There are many that wiol argue this point, but it seems very evident to me that mankind was made special for His fellowship as family but fell into sin and death by their own hand and choice. Tell your friend that God has bought mankind back frofm that death by giving His own physical life in the flesh as Jesus for us - those who would accept His free gift of eternal life with Him. We all still choose to know God and His salvation today, and God is patient - waiting for us to repent and turn to Him for help.

2Peter 3:9 ¶ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.

I JOHN 3:16-19 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down
his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If
anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no
pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not
love with words or tongue but with actions and truth. This then is how we
know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his
presence whenever our hearts condemn us.

 

[WickedServant]

Brilliantly put.

The reverend at my church did a sermon on this. He talked about how we shouldn't doubt God because of the bad stuff around. He pointed out that if we paid close attention when we're thinking, "God, why is this going on? Why don't you do something about it?" the answer is clear, "I did do something about it, I created you. Now why don't you help me do something about it?"

Nice.

As someone much better with words than I wrote,

Is this state of affairs in the world according to His will, or no? If it is, you will say He is a strange God, and if not, you will say how can anything happen contrary to a being with absolute power? But anyone who has been in authority knows how a thing can be in accordance with your will in one way and not in another.

It might be quite sensible for a mother to say to her children "I'm not going to make you tidy your room every night. You have to learn to keep it tidy on your own" Then one night she finds the room in a mess. It is against her will for the room to be this way, butit is also her will which left the children free to be untidy.

I hope that helps in some small way.

Bless me

 

[soap]

As Faith Guardian shared, a key to understanding is how love cannot be forced, and God wanted mankind's love to come from a free will choice that would teach them what true love is by the experiences that happen in this life. There are many that wiol argue this point, but it seems very evident to me that mankind was made special for His fellowship as family but fell into sin and death by their own hand and choice. Tell your friend that God has bought mankind back frofm that death by giving His own physical life in the flesh as Jesus for us - those who would accept His free gift of eternal life with Him. We all still choose to know God and His salvation today, and God is patient - waiting for us to repent and turn to Him for help.

2Peter 3:9 ¶ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.

I JOHN 3:16-19 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down
his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If
anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no
pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not
love with words or tongue but with actions and truth. This then is how we
know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his
presence whenever our hearts condemn us.

Good reply! Yort Mada, If you remember in the account of Genesis, God told Adam & Eve that if they ate from the tree of life, they would surely die. When they did eat from the tree, they disobeyed God, and sin was brought into the world. If they had never disobeyed God and eaten from the tree, they would never have died. After that, the world became a fallen place. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden--never to walk side by side with God again until the afterlife, and things weren't so easy for them anymore. Hard work, painful childbirth, etc. God still loves us, but he is also a God of justice, and because of His holiness, sin cannot be tolerated and let go of; but because He loved humanity so much, and because He wanted to spend eternity with us, right after the first sin was ever committed, he provided a way for us (humanity and God) to be together--which was the Messiah. This prophecy of Him is recorded in Genesis 3:15.

 

[DancingwiththeAngels]

okay, basically this is my point of view:
God allows bad things to happen because we sin. We choose to go to hell, God doesn't send us to hell. Sometimes bad things happen to "good people" to strengthen them or maybe it's a test from God. Deuteronomy 8:5 says: "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you." But remember, God will never give you more than you can handle!

 

[CPman2004]

God has a morally just reason for all the evil that does happen. A wonderful example of this would be the trail, tourture, and execution of Christ.

Sometimes it looks like nothing good can come out of things, but we must have faith that God does, as he has in the past, have a morally right reason for what has happened.

 

[kwanseemun]

I love the free will argument...but what about natural disasters? i.e. tsunami...earthquake...

 

[Jesus+is+Lord]

If God Isnt Real Then Why Is There The Sky And The Earth And Space If There Is Evil Then There Is Good

 

[kwanseemun]

Non-Christians will most likely answer to that with the theory of evolution

 

[Reformationist]

Hello all,

i'm a christian but i have a young friend who does not believe in god yet his parents make him go to church anyway... which btw has nothing to do with my question =P

me and him was talking and god came up (by me on purpose) i'm like so do you believe in christ or no? he said no i dont believe in anything. i said God has been awsome to me ( i speak of god pretty often to everyone) and he said i can understand why you think he is real and thats fine but i dont.

long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist? then he had to sign offline... this person is a really good kid with an open mind, i'd like for him to start in the right direction how can i answer this question and have a shot with a decent debate?

by the way i couldnt find the right forum for the question so i figure non believer is close enough for a question like this ... i'm sure their are skilled debaters in here.

Thanks, yort

Hello yort. The answer to your question depends on how you look at the things you experience. God has told us that nothing we experience is ultimately bad though it may be difficult to endure. All things have a purpose in our lives. Even the things we may think are good can often be to detrimental to us. For instance, many people would think that inheriting a large sum of money would be a good thing because they would no longer have to worry about finances. While this may make our lives better temporarily, it can also be very bad for us. It can cause us to stop counting on God for the blessings that we so desparately need to be conformed to the image of Christ. It can cause us to become infatuated with materialistic things and, in doing so, pull us away from a proper worship of God. It can cause strife in our relationships because people may constantly be wanting to borrow money. Of course, if handled properly, such a blessing could be very helpful. We must always remember that the blessings we receive in life are given to us to help others as well as ourselves. Even the difficult things we experience are not to be thought of as bad. Your non-believing friend looks at the things he experiences as good or bad based on how he views people's response to them. As a Christian, however, we must learn to view all things in a positive light. For instance, imagine you encounter a very angry, grumpy, selfish person. While I admit this type of person may be difficult to be around, learning to deal with them in a godly way is invaluable to our spiritual growth. After all, how hard is it to glorify God when everything is going as we want it to. Look at the story of Job. He lost so much in such a short time. People often fail to see the point of the sufferings that Job experienced because they focus on how Job suffered rather than how he grew in the midst of suffering. It was at God's behest that Job suffered as he did. Why would God bring such suffering into Job's life, a man whom God Himself said was righteous? The answer to that question is the answer to your friend's question. Bad things happen to us so that we may learn our dependence upon God and cleave all that much closer to Him. We learn to glorify God even in our most difficult of times. Job Himself said of his misfortune, "The Lord givith and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." After all Job had experienced he still would not deny his Lord but, instead, learned, truly learned, a deeper understanding of the majesty of the Lord. He expresses this in an old Hebrew saying, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." When the Lord God humbled Job and Job's pride in his own self-righteousness no longer blinded him his response was one of genuine understanding, "Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job knew God from being taught of him. He had heard and learned of God but his true knowledge of God had not fully penetrated the pridefulness of his heart. God helped Job gain a greater understanding of the Lord's greatness, the Lord's sovereignty, the Lord's magnificence and Job did what any of us would do. He was humbled in the true presence of the Lord God Almighty.

I pray the blessings of the Lord be upon you and that He give you peace and patience when dealing with your young friend. Remember always that your friend isn't simply being obstinate. Faith in God is, itself, a gift of God. If He has been pleased to bless you with such strong faith don't think that you can simply convince your young friend to believe by the power of your persuasive ability. Share the Gospel with him. Leave the work of coming to faith to the One who bestows such gifts, praise be His Name.

God bless

 

[Yort mada]

Let me just say thanks a ton for replying guys. My pal wasnt online tonight for very long... i had to work late so i caught him right as he was goin to bed.

I love the free will argument...but what about natural disasters? i.e. tsunami...earthquake...

This is come up in the conversation, please help me be ready for it <3

 

[£amb]

The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17. Does God sometimes cause natural disasters as a judgment against sin? Yes, Numbers 16:30-34. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.



In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to demonstrate the consequences sin has had on Creation. Romans 8:19-21, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the universe we inhabit. Everything in Creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

 

[soap]

The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17. Does God sometimes cause natural disasters as a judgment against sin? Yes, Numbers 16:30-34. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.



In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to demonstrate the consequences sin has had on Creation. Romans 8:19-21, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the universe we inhabit. Everything in Creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

I think also to add to that is to consider the account of Job. In the first Chapter, God and Satan are conversing about Job and his faithfulness. God was looking upon Job and thinking of his faithfulness. God's eye stopped on him. Even so, many disasters came upon Job, and Job didn't understand why. We do not always see what is going on behind the scenes. God sees the whole picture, but we only see pieces of the puzzle. That is why it is so important to trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding.

 

[Radagast]

I've posted this before, but it's still good. Dorothy Sayers wrote this during World War 2, on the question "why did God allow Hitler?":

“‘Why doesn’t God smite this dictator dead?’ is a question a little remote from us. Why, madam, did He not strike you dumb and imbecile before you uttered that baseless and unkind slander the day before yesterday? Or me, before I behaved with such a cruel lack of consideration to that well-meaning friend? And why, sir, did He not cause your hand to rot off at the wrist before you signed your name to that dirty little bit of financial trickery? You did not quite mean that? But why not? Your misdeeds and mine are nonetheless repellant because our opportunities for doing damage are less spectacular than those of some other people.”

-- Radagast

 

[JJay]

Hello all,
long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist? then he had to sign offline... this person is a really good kid with an open mind, i'd like for him to start in the right direction how can i answer this question and have a shot with a decent debate?

by the way i couldnt find the right forum for the question so i figure non believer is close enough for a question like this ... i'm sure their are skilled debaters in here.

Thanks, yort

We read in Genesis:
Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Because God is a just God we should be happy that he doesn't pop up when things get bad or to make things right. No one seen his face and surely if someone did they would have to be judged for there sins right on the spot.

The world is ours to do what we want without him coming in and telling us what to do, that would be breaking his promise of one day to know Jesus if the case would be Were where not Christains or believers of the faith at least. God's given us "free Will" Man does what he wants opon the earth and the sea and the skys. We are in control if you want to put it this way, This dimension with limitations.

 

[AvgJoe]

Hello all,

i'm a christian but i have a young friend who does not believe in god yet his parents make him go to church anyway... which btw has nothing to do with my question =P

me and him was talking and god came up (by me on purpose) i'm like so do you believe in christ or no? he said no i dont believe in anything. i said God has been awsome to me ( i speak of god pretty often to everyone) and he said i can understand why you think he is real and thats fine but i dont.

long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist? then he had to sign offline... this person is a really good kid with an open mind, i'd like for him to start in the right direction how can i answer this question and have a shot with a decent debate?

by the way i couldnt find the right forum for the question so i figure non believer is close enough for a question like this ... i'm sure their are skilled debaters in here.

Thanks, yort

Alot of good replies. The only thing I would like to add is the fiollowing illustration.


-------------------------------------
Whose Fault Is It?

A preacher and an atheist barber were once walking through the city slums. Said the atheist barber to the preacher: "This is why I cannot believe in a God of love. If God was as kind as you say, He would not permit all this poverty, disease, and squalor. He would not allow these poor bums to be addicted to dope and other character-destroying habits. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits these things."

The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially unkempt and filthy. His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of stubble on his face. Said the minister, "You cannot be a very good barber or you would not permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood without a haircut or a shave."

Indignantly the barber answered: "Why blame me for that man's condition. I cannot help it that he is like that. He has never come in my shop; I could fix him up and make him look like a gentleman!"

Giving the barber a penetrating look, the minister said: "Then do not blame God for allowing these people to continue in their evil ways, when He is constantly inviting them to come and be saved. The reason these people are slaves to sin and evil habits is that they refuse the One who died to save and deliver them."
--------------------------------------

God gives everyone the choice to believe but will not force anyone believe, for that would no longer be belief.

 

[In A Perfect World]

Non-Christians will most likely answer to that with the theory of evolution

Non-sequitor

Anyway, I say to the OP: let your friend be. Whatever path your friend chooses be his/her friend. Don't push your religion onto them.

If you want a good argument you can explain that it is the way of nature, and that disasters bring people closer to god.

god also creates evil for the common good. we can use evil for greater purposes.

• I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)

 

[Milla]

long story short it ended with if God is real then why does bad things happen and exist?

Long answer short: free will

Also, consider: steel is forged in fire. What kind of adult does a child who has always lived in comfort, given all he desires, grow to be? Like muscle, character cannot be built up without being stressed and torn.