Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering

[mcarans]

My review of "God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils" by Thomas Jay Oord on RLC:

https://www.redletterchristians.org/why-god-cant-take-away-suffering/

 

[com7fy8]

The article mentions how ones after tragedy can use this evil as their reason to be atheists; however, also, ones can keep on believing religious things, "intellectually", but they live as "practical atheists" >

What I think of with this is how a human can tend to be mainly concerned about oneself and how things are going for people who are close to him or her. This is a human tendency, in general. So, yes I can see how someone who has been hurt can be a Christian in theory but unforgiving and losing ability to have hope because of things going against the person.

But this can happen, even if the "trouble" is only how one is not getting one's treasure pleasures. Ones have even done major crimes when they found out they were being effectively interfered with so they were not getting the pleasure they treasure.

So - - with or without a tragedy, someone mainly about oneself can lose hope and even suffer deeply in unforgiveness. But one might hold on to the Christian label, for purposes which suit the person.

And one thing which is happening is the person is allowing treasured things and love idols to have power over him or her, so that changes in those things can cause changes in the person.

"I will not be brought under the power of any," Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12. And in 2 Corinthians 6:12 he says "you are restricted by your own affections."

So, yes whatever or whoever we are mainly attached to can be what or who decides what happens to us.

 

[alv_c]

My review of "God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils" by Thomas Jay Oord on RLC:

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering – Red Letter Christians

God has appointed everything that exists to exist, because all things are predestined and determined by God, whether good or evil, including death and suffering, which exist for different purposes, where one of those purposes, is that through death and suffering, such as the death and suffering experienced by the Messiah, God may express his own love for his own people through his very own representation. God has also appointed the end of death and suffering, at the completion of the appointed time for this heaven and earth, and then in the new heaven and new earth death and suffering will cease to exist. Read about predestination here Predestination, All Things are Determined by God, Even the Outcome of a Roll of a Dice | Wisdom of God .

 

[mcarans]

God has appointed everything that exists to exist, because all things are predestined and determined by God, whether good or evil, including death and suffering

Ah yes the classic Calvinist "good news"

 

[alv_c]

Ah yes the classic Calvinist "good news"

Calvin did not invent predestination, it is written in the scriptures.

 

[RACarvalho]

Reality is that the question should be flipped: Why are we not all suffering???
God will be glorified anyway, the only difference is if you will glorify God by obedience or by desobedience and suffering can happen for any reason, including the fact that some were chosen to glorify Christ through suffering and death.
But back to the question, way more worth is to question why I'm not suffering or why I'm not suffering more....

 

[SkyWriting]

My review of "God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils" by Thomas Jay Oord on RLC:

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering – Red Letter Christians

Hold your breath. The pain you experience encourages the next breath.

 

[mcarans]

Reality is that the question should be flipped: Why are we not all suffering???
God will be glorified anyway

It's a good question. If everything is predestined then the fact some suffer far more than others paints God in an awful light. If God can't unilaterally prevent suffering then He is not culpable for it.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

If God can't unilaterally prevent suffering then He is not culpable for it.

What can't God do? God can not only prevent suffering, but he has also been the cause of it. The real question is whether you have the gall to stand in judgment of God for being culpable. You make the argument that he is not culpable, because you would judge him if he were. What is the greater sin, that God should exercise his right over his creation, or that a mortal man should condemn him for it?

 

[mcarans]

What can't God do? God can not only prevent suffering, but he has also been the cause of it. The real question is whether you have the gall to stand in judgment of God for being culpable. You make the argument that he is not culpable, because you would judge him if he were. What is the greater sin, that God should exercise his right over his creation, or that a mortal man should condemn him for it?

The problem is that if everything is preplanned and we cannot judge any event as being good or evil since they are all part of God's plan, then we cannot know how to act in any circumstance. An example of the problem is this. If you see a child being raped and you try to prevent it, you may be working against God's plan - how would you know? Perhaps God was teaching that child a lesson about suffering?

 

[1213]

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering

Evil and suffering doesn’t last forever, only this sort temporary lesson. That is why I think God takes them away, but apparently, we have to first learn what good and evil means, as Adam and Eve wanted.

 

[SkyWriting]

My review of "God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils" by Thomas Jay Oord on RLC:

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering – Red Letter Christians

The book is malarkey.

Love requires the option not to love.
Living inside this option is painful.

As an example I always use: Morphine will remove all pain. Fully remove pain and the heart stops beating, lungs stop moving. Pain is life in the physical. IF we choose to Love God, He will remove every tear, in the next life.

God can end your life in an instant. He has full power to end the pain.
The book is malarkey.